TXNurseBSN

I graduated nursing school with my BSN in May 2006 - I worked adult med-surg for only 3 months and then went right into school nursing. I have a middle school of about 1100 high needs kids. I jumped in feet first and have no regrets. Although alone at my school - I have plenty of more experienced school nurses in my district that are just a phone call away!! Luckily, I work for a large school district that pays pretty well. When I break down my salary into the hours I actually work - it is abouy $29-$30/ hour. I made $20/ hour at the hospital and wanted to vomit before every shift. Your years of med-surg experience puts you way ahead of me!!! You have a lot of experience in physical assessment and prioritization already. I had to learn those things (still am) as well as what the role of a school nurse is.

You may see me complaining frequently on these boards. However, my wost day at my school beats any day working med-surg. pros 1. no nights / weekends / holidays 2. lots of time off 3. autonomy (you run your clinic the way you want) 4. The kids will sometimes drive you nuts - but can give you so much joy when you know you have helped them cons 1. you are usually the only nurse in the building - can be very lonely 2. autonomy (nobody to lean on or pick up the slack) 3. The plethora of non-nursing duties you seem to get stuck with. Do you need a nursing license to give safety pins and clean clothes??? 4. no shif diffs, etc It really depends on you - school nursing is not for everyone - just as hospital nursing was not for me!!

Yes - there is some immigration issues there. However, many times I notice these same families driving brand new SUV's, getting their nails done weekly, having i-pods and expensive cell phones. To me it is more about mixed up priorities.

I don't think anyone here has a chip on their shoulder. We all just need a place to vent is all. If you notice, almost none of the posts state that the children we care for are our pet peeve. The frusration lies with parents / staff who want us to be there to make their life easier. We are NOT there for their needs, we must advocate for our students. And, the student needs to be in class as much as possible.....not coming to the nurse for stupid stuff. When I have a kid in the clinic 15 minutes everday for dumb stuff....he misses more than an hour of class time a week that he can never get back. In a month...5 hours. How is that helping him? How is that removing barriers to learning????

For many, the decision comes down to cost. TWU is cheaper than Baylor. I think you will get a good education no matter what you choose! PM me if you have any more questions. TWU Grad - May 06!!!

I am tired of seeing kids who have tiny boo-boos that they received at home and the parents already know about. What else do you want me to do???? Getting a child into a free vision clinic or working hard to get them a voucher......and yep, they no show for the appointment!! I could go on and on and on.......bit, I will spare you!!

I agree with the above posters - do not disturb something that was placed by a physician. I will look, redress, etc. if it was did at home. However, I will only do this once. The staff / parents at my school think I should follow every kid with every booboo everyday. With 1100 students, this is just not possible. The staff feel they need to tell me about every illness or injury a kid ever had. It gets to be too much when you are treating everything!! I get kids sent to my clinic for things in which they are already under the care of a physician for, parents know about, they are already on meds for, etc. What else do the staff think we can do at that point??

I do baseline peak flows on all of my asthma kids. Then, I do another one when they come in for their rescue inhaler. I am in middle school and many of my kids use their inhaler to get out of class, get an excused tardy, etc. When the child AND parent see that you have objective data - you will not see them in your clinic everyday. Not to mention - peak flow will tell you their status when they ARE having an attack, and to see if their inhaler is indeed helping.

What kinds of silly / unnecessary things do your teachers send to your clinic. Here are some of mine. Actual notes from teachers. 1. He was driving me crazy 2. She said she had a nosebleed last week 3. I have sent x student to help translate because y student only speaks spanish (only one tiny problem - student x did not know one word of english) 4. My brother in law wanted me to ask you if he has skin cancer, here is his picture. Students being sent down for 1. pimples (hello - he is in middle school) 2. talking back (hello - he is a middle schooler and that is not a medical condition) 3. the student doesn't know - "my teacher just told me to come here." 4. being sleepy all the time and the teacher swears he is on drugs. I ask the kid what's up and he tells me "I can't sleep, my 3 week old brother cries a lot" ( i am sure he would have told his teacher the same thing if she would have bothered to ask) And how did the nurse become responsible for: 1. having an endless supply of safety pins 2. torn and dirty clothing 3. handling the students that teachers do not know where else to send (guess I missed those days in nursing school). Then, after seeing these things all day long, skipping lunch, and holding your bladder all day - one of the teachers ask you - why haven't you screened Jose's vision yet?

I so feel your pain. This is my second "first year" as a school nurse. Last school year, I started late and went on maternity leave early...so this my first complete year. I am at a middle school with 6-8 graders. Low income, primarily hispanic. I have the opposite problem of you. Parents don't complain too much. They just want EVERYTHING FREE. Free eyeglasses, free medical and dental care. You get them the glasses, next month they are broken and are asking me for another voucher. When I look up a phone number, actually reach a parent, and they come to pick up their kid with the 102 Temp in less than 3 hours - I am shocked. I have had to threaten parents with calling CPS just to get them to come get their kid whose arm might be broken. I have had to call 911 several times for asthma attacks because the parent will not bring a rescue inhaler to the school. And the teachers........goodness - they send you stupid stuff, second guess you, and think all you have to do is sit there and wait for them to send the kids they get tired of having in class. Yes, I sit around a lot. I am one of the first people on campus to arrive, I have no free period, I eat lunch at my desk while inputting info into the computer, and all of the teachers cars are gone when I pull out of the parking lot. But, I feel much like you. I can put up with it because the schedule is wonderful and I hate working in the hospital. I run my clinic the way I see fit. If some of the staff don't like me, I don't care. I am trying to focus my attention on the kids that need me. I am there for them.......not the teachers!

Congrats to all! It is soooo hard to believe that I was waiting with bated breath 3 years ago this month for my letter. Now, I am a graduate almost a year out. PM me with any questions!

Being a new grad is very stressful. Being pregnant (especially for the first time) is pretty stressful. My advice......take your NCLEX right away while the info is fresh. Worry about work after the baby is born if money is not a huge issue. Last year, I graduated in May, started work in July, by August was pregnant. Too much stress, no breaks, 12-14 hour days. I started bleeding, so I left and got a job as a school nurse. If I didn't need the money so bad, I would have waited until after the baby (which will be here in 21 days).

Keep in mind....many of those pre-nursing students never make it into a program because space is so limited!

Well said. Nursing is a 24 hour job. However, that doesn't mean that one nurse can work 24 hours straight. It should be teamwork between shifts. That is why there is 2 shifts. I threw in the towel because I was sick of staying until 9:00pm. At the floor I worked on, god forbid anything be passed on to night shift. But, it was perfectly ok for night shift to pass along to day shift. Now, I am a school nurse.....I usually leave about 5-10 minutes early everyday!! I work at a low income urban middle school and I do a lot for my kids but still get home in time to enjoy my own family!! Sometimes, the grass is greener on the other side!! I have a friend who is in PACU. Several times lately she has worked 19 hour shifts. NO THANKS!

EXACTLY!! CMA's, CNA's, etc. are all an integral part of the health care system. HOWEVER, only those that have went to the proper educational program, pass the NCLEX, and hold a license from their state board are NURSES. As an RN with a BS degree, I would not go around calling myself a Doctor!