Orienting/Onboarding

I had 1/2 day training regarding the system used for payroll, charting, requesting time off and email. I had 1 day orientation in a clinic with another nurse. After that I was on my own feeling overwhelmed, scared and unsure if I had made a good choice in choosing a school nurse position. Luckily I had another clinic nurse, a good friend that I had worked with at a previous job, who worked in the same district and was a phone call away whenever I was unsure or had questions. The RN over several of the schools in the district was very little help. Every time I would ask her a question she would say she didn't know anything about the clinic. To this day I'm not sure what that nurse's job actually is. ??

I got a "good luck" and a short intro to the computer program.

I had 2 days of orienting with a bunch of teachers. Nothing at all specific to health services. Just here it all is, make sure you have access...Have at it!

I chose to swing by my district nurse's office twice before the end of the previous year was done to see how it was, how the charting system works, procedures...etc.

Orientation? ?

Literally thrown to the wolves! Thanks god for this forum!

9 minutes ago, LikeTheDeadSea said:

I got a "good luck" and a short intro to the computer program.

Haha! Me, too! I was told the wrong orientation date by the HR lady, so I was never briefed on the payroll/PTO/benefits side of things (actually, she told me it was for teachers so I "didn't need to worry about it"... smh). As for the actual duties of the SN - I emailed my local SN professional organization with a list of questions and started googling the state regulations/requirements. I had long conversations with Dept of Edu and Dept of Health Nurse liaisons, posted a BUNCH on here, and basically figured it out myself.

This weekend, I am going to a one-day SN conference particular to my state, and they hold a two-day conference closer to the start of school. It's out of my price range, but if I would have known about it last year it would have absolutely been worth the $$$ (I have to pay for my own conferences). If you can find something like that local to you, I'd highly recommend it. You can also get contacts from colleagues that you can call upon later when you have questions!

I actually had a 2 week period with the previous nurse before she left. TONS of focus on health screenings as that's what she was in the middle of when I started. Brief discussion on our charting program and annual immunization report. After 10 days, she was gone and it was all mine.

I feel like I wasted those 10 days because, at the time, I didn't know what I needed to ask! Those questions came after she was gone and I got to "put my big girl panties on and deal with it"!

I don't think my story is all too common...I had the district nurse take me under her wing for the entire year. It helped that she had just taken the district wide position and had left the school that I was hired for, so she knew all of the people/ins and outs/etc. I also had 3 additional nurses at other schools that I was able to call if I had questions. If it wasn't for all of them, there is absolutely no way I would still be in school nursing let alone be in the position that I am in (I am in a different district now with a much higher level of responsibility).

I'm at a private school and the former nurse still has her children here, so she was very invested in making sure I was ok on my own. I shadowed 2 days before starting (shadowed in June, started in August), and we have a 2 week orientation each year. She helped me prep the office, order supplies, she went over common injuries and illnesses and how to deal with them, she set me up on an email list with our Department of Health and Board of Education and nearby private school nurses, and pretty much went over everything with me. I don't have a district or any other nurses.

I already worked at my school as a para/media center aide when I was hired as SN, so I knew the ins and outs of payroll,ect. Plus I had subbed a few times for the previous nurse. So I had some idea, but no "behind the scenes" knowledge. I got to spend 4 hours with the outgoing nurse during the summer to learn about the computer programs, state requirements, ect. It really wasn't enough, but I got through it.

If you're lucky you'll have one nurse you can call for advice on "how this district does things." Also if you're lucky your Policy and Procedure manual will be on line. Before you do anything, look up the P&P. (Not for run of the mill band aids, etc.) Yes, it's time-consuming but it will help.

I had nothing. I also did not have a computer (telling my age) to look up anything of for support as no one did at that time in the schools except the secretary. I didn't even have an office my first week as a school nurse! LOL!! Every few weeks the health services director would call or show up and say ok now you need to do Kg screenings or whatever. I was shown how to tube feed one student by another nurse that had that student who was transferring to my school. I stayed for a few years and then stayed home with my kids for many and then when I returned it was actually much more overwhelming because there was SO much computerized that I didn't know how to do and I was taught over the phone how to enter stuff. It was crazy. Now our nurses get a few weeks plus a mentor they can call at any time.

2+ weeks of general HR, didactic health classes, computer training, and then working with five other clinic nurses in the district. It was amazing. There are 200+ nurses in our district, and in my sub-area, there are 16 of us.