RNPediatric18

Thank you!

I am SO frustrated and need to vent! Last year from February to October I was a student at Averett University in their RN-BSN program. I completed 6 classes, 5 with a grade of "B" or higher. I took a leave of absence in October due to the impending birth of my daughter. Back in June I contacted the advisor I had previously worked with to re-enroll in the program. I completed a readmit application and other necessary paperwork as she requested. After this, I emailed her multiple times in July to inquire about the status but never heard back. Life got busy and I decided I'd restart at a later time. Yesterday I again emailed this advisor only to receive an email from an admissions counselor stating the following: "You and I spoke over the summer about your situation. I am so sorry to have to tell you that we are no longer offering the online RN to BSN. We are revamping our nursing department and rolling out new programs in late 2019 but I do not know that an RN to BSN will be offered. I think you should explore other avenues. I know that Grand Canyon as a good program. I also know ODU has many options. If you want to talk, please call me." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! When were you going to let me know? Why did you let me fill out a readmission application this summer? Why was it not posted to social media or your website? I am so frustrated. I do not have time to apply to every RN-BSN program to find which one, if any, will accept the credits that I did complete. I'm afraid none of the classes/credits will be accepted as they were program specific, one class at a time, and not completed 'by semester'. If that is the case I'll be out of 9 months of my time and approximately $6-7k. I only had about 8 months left until I would have been finished. I am BEYOND frustrated at this point. What advice can you offer or what program are you currently attending? I need one online since I work full time and have a family. Thanks!

I am SO frustrated and need to vent! Last year from February to October I was a student at Averett University in their RN-BSN program. I completed 6 classes, 5 with a grade of "B" or higher. I took a leave of absence in October due to the impending birth of my daughter. Back in June I contacted the advisor I had previously worked with to re-enroll in the program. I completed a readmit application and other necessary paperwork as she requested. After this, I emailed her multiple times in July to inquire about the status but never heard back. Life got busy and I decided I'd restart at a later time. Yesterday I again emailed this advisor only to receive an email from an admissions counselor stating the following: "You and I spoke over the summer about your situation. I am so sorry to have to tell you that we are no longer offering the online RN to BSN. We are revamping our nursing department and rolling out new programs in late 2019 but I do not know that an RN to BSN will be offered. I think you should explore other avenues. I know that Grand Canyon as a good program. I also know ODU has many options. If you want to talk, please call me" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! When were you going to let me know? Why did you let me fill out a readmission application this summer? Why was it not posted to social media or your website? I am so frustrated. I do not have time to apply to every RN-BSN program to find which one, if any, will accept the credits that I did complete. I'm afraid none of the classes/credits will be accepted as they were program specific, one class at a time, and not completed 'by semester'. If that is the case I'll be out of 9 months of my time and approximately $6-7k. What advice can you offer or what program are you currently attending? I need one online since I work full time and have a family. Thanks!

Wasnt complaining at all and I'm sorry you took anything that I have said that way. As well, I'm sorry you had zero training. I wasn't aware that in schip nursing it's not uncommon to just be thrown in. Also, I never said I was comfortable with everything. I would never say that as there is always something to learn in this field. I am comfortable with my daily tasks but past that am completely running blind. Thanks for the advice! I'll be looking into these things!

I had no idea there was even a 60 day deadline. They did all the screenings before I started...although there was a stack of ones that needed re-screened left here. So I am assuming the coordinator will get with me at some point to get that taken care of. Thanks for all the links! I appreciate it!

They completed the vision and hearing screenings before I came here, although I attended a re-screening at one of the middle schools two weeks ago. I honestly had no idea there was a certain time frame these needed to be complete in and I believe the coordinator has the hearing machine? I feel lost as to what really goes on since I came in two months after the school year started. Thank you for the link and yes, anything else you have would be really helpful!!

Yes, this is exactly what the coordinator did with me too. I got the 3 hours training and then was told to call her or any of the other high school nurses in the county with questions. Which was fine and I did! I can be pretty self sufficient...as I think most nurses are. But past taking care of the students, triage, handing out medications, and documentation, I need a little more guidance. And YES! I love policies and procedures so that I can protect not only my license but me!

Yes, we do have a head nurse for the county who is over top all of us. That is who trained me for the 3 hours. I reached out to her for further guidance yesterday and didn't receive much feedback other than adding in a weekly visit with the elementary school and middle schools. I sent another email today to her and an email to a fellow high school nurse in the county in hopes that she can give me some further direction as well. Unfortunately since it is high school and there are no required immunizations for high school in Virginia, that wont help keep me busy much. My last position was outpatient, Monday-Friday 8-5, and while I did quite a bit of admin work I also was up and down a lot more than here. Additionally, I shared an office with two other nurses and had a lot more interaction with coworkers. I basically am sitting and doing nothing in between the 5 scheduled kids and maybe 4-5 others I am currently seeing a day. I know it will get busier with the changing of seasons and flu right around the corner. I just worry if this position is going to be challenging enough for me on a consistent basis to keep me satisfied. Right now my daughter is only 8 months and when she does attend school it will be in a different county, 40 minutes away. So maybe I'm just in school nursing at the wrong time?

Thank you for this feedback! I actually have been on that website looking around and used the interactive office. I'll take another look! My position before this was outpatient, Monday through Friday 8-5. I worked closely with the case managers and clinicians to make sure our patients were receiving the care they needed regarding their mental health. So the pace was good...nothing like inpatient.

So you're saying that most school nurses get zero training? I haven't seen one policy or procedure on how I'm even supposed to be doing anything. I understand they may not exist. But Lord only knows if I'm doing anything correctly. I dont want to regret leaving either, but I'm bored out of my mind currently. I even reached out to my supervisor today for guidance and that was a bust. Was only given the advice to visit for an hour each week the elementary school or middle school, alternating between the two as I might need to cover their clinics at some point.

YES! Thank you for not making me feel so crazy for feeling this way. School nursing is a highly coveted position in my area and it's exactly what I thought would make me happier...being able to spend more time with my daughter at home. Now I'm not sure what to do or where to go from here...give it more time or look elsewhere. Ugh.

Thank you for all of the advice. I just don't know where to even begin with half of it. I might add that I was pretty much thrown into the job...I had 3 hours of training from my nursing manager and that's it. The nurse that was here before me had been gone for 4 weeks and so I unfortunately didn't get to hear her side of how things usually ran in the clinic. I'll reach out to her and see if she can help guide me in the right direction.

I have the opposite feeling regarding school nursing, than most of the other school nurses here. I just started my position on October 1st but am already feeling bored, not challenged, and isolated. I came from a local community services board where I worked primarily with the Pediatric Psychiatrist. And yes, money isn't everything, but I took a $14k pay cut. I'm in a school of only 480 high school students with 2 independent diabetics, 3 students who receive daily medications, and a handful of others with seizure or allergy action plans. On average I only see an additional 7-8 kids for mostly sore throats, HA, nausea, etc... Of course, there is the occasional emergency. I haven't been here long enough for many of those. I have already found myself searching the local hospital openings. The hours for school nursing are great, but I don't know if that will be enough to keep me happy in this position. Am I crazy to be wanting to go to the hospital, working night shift?! It sounds like you have a good grasp on what a school nurse does and the situations she may face. Plus, with your experience and background I think you would make a great school nurse! Additionally, you always have co-workers within the same county/city at other schools that you can reach out to for advice. Just make sure that you are ready for a change of pace and take all aspects into consideration!

I started a job as a School Nurse on October 1 in a local high school, 30 minute commute each way. The kids are sweet, the teachers (that I've met) are nice, and the job isn't bad at all. I knew I would enjoy the busy parts. However, when I took the position I worried about the slow pace. The high school I am in is only 480 students and I have 5 scheduled students daily; 2 independent diabetics and 3 ADHD meds at lunch. I have two students with epilepsy and quite a few with food allergies. On an average day I see 7-8 additional students for the usual; sore throat, nausea, HA, emesis, etc... Some days more and other days, like today, nothing. Besides this my days have been filled with trying to find busy work; reorganizing, completing CME's, organizing some more, etc... Even though I am enjoying this job, I'm not sure if it's going to make me feel fulfilled and/or challenged enough. The schedule is going to be amazing with holidays and summers off, I get that...but I can't help but think what I could be doing or providing to people. History on my past employment: pediatric office for 4 years as an LPN, telemetry/renal/stroke unit in the hospital for 1 year after completing RN school, and most recently 2 1/2 years at a local community services board working primarily with the Pediatric Psychiatrist. I loved my job there, coworkers, the children, and the doctor I worked with. However, I wanted to be at home more often with my 8 month old daughter. Therefore, I took this position and a $14K pay cut along with it. Yes, money isn't everything but it has weighed heavily on my mind. Recently, I've found myself looking at the job postings for the local hospitals. I'm not sure why. Today, I found a listing for a night shift position at one of the hospitals on the pediatric unit and cross training in the mother/baby unit. I am contemplating applying for this job but am afraid I am prematurely wanting to jump ship before giving it more time here at the school. But then I also think, when you know..you know. Sorry for this long post but I just need some guidance and advice on where to go from here. I feel lost and unsure what to do. I don't know how night shift would be with having a family, plus the hospital the position is at is also a 30 minute commute. However, I don't want to be somewhere just because of the amount of time off and not feel like I have a satisfying career. Thanks for taking the time to read!