schoolnurse/dr

I have worked this two ways. I only send home a letter when the student fails vision test. It gives them the results and the option to see a DR. I let them know their are resources available if they need them and list my number. This year I sent home the referral letter for free eye care with the referral. I have not had 1 person respond. We have 5 pairs of glasses sittting in the office, we can't even get the kids to come down and claim them. The parents don't follow up when the kid breaks their glasses or loses them. I usually send up a foolow-up reminder letter several months after the initial one. (I also call the parent with the first letter so they know to look for it). I still haven't gotten any responses. I can't make them take them to the Dr. or get glasses for their kids. However, if they're failing because of their vision, they won't even go any further till the problem is remedied.

Our school district does not allow any over the counter meds without a Dr's order. We can't even give cough drops. We have all the other essentials you mentioned. I also carry artificial tears, as we have alot of dry eyes and allergies. I have a minority population, and vaseline and lotion for dry lips and skin are essential. The most used product is an ice bag- it helps ha's, stomachaches, injuries and some times just I need to get out of class for whatever reason. I also give out alot of journals to kids whom are Frequent fliers- just need tlc.

This thr ead is much funnier than the the nursing humor thead:D Some Ive seen: Don't put a glass test tube up your rear end(male) and then tell the surgeon " I have to catch a plane in an hour":( PLEASE don't name your daughter lady parts cause it "sounds" nice. Or Christa Shanda Leer, or Female (pronounced fam mal lie)they didin't understand english very well and thoght the nursery nurses had named the baby for them. No amount of explaining changed their minds. Please remember to tell pt's mothers to remove the wrapping from the ectal suppository before inserting. Don't lay on the floor of your room, with your IV on the ed, have horrible veins, and tell the nurse you don't know how that got there. Don't be a real "B" and have a boyfriend who deals drugs and owes his provider great deals of money. Baseball bats to the head don't come out with good results in that situation.

I have been a nurse for 30 years, and have worked in every area but surgery and L&D. I have to agree- float you may not ever find your niche, I havent' yet, I'm still looking. LOL I'm now a schoolnurse. I've worked for insurance company, agency done school nursing before, but you can never get enough experience from different areas. Because of my experience I've had the opportunity to do supervision for the entire hospital, be on committies, revamp nursing forms, etc. etc. But I guess I've worked med-surg the most ovr the years. There's rarely a dull day and never the samething twice. Nurses who stay in the same area have stunted growth, and they have a hard time seeing the big picture, they get stuck in a rut. If you float you will see what I mean.

NO WAY! I'm an old med-surg nurse, and we're the ones that have to DIG them out. And I do mean DIG!

Our district lets only principals under certain circumstances transport students due to the liability and insurance issues. Your school board/superintendant should be informed of your state's nursing policy statement, and I would not do it personally unless the district provided that insurance coverage.

I don't think it's overreaction! St. Louis had over 75 cases of RSV by the 2nd week of November, and that was just at 1 of the many hospitals in our area. The dept. of health actually sent out a Respiratory Etiquette alert to all the hospitals, Dr's offices, hospitals and anyone else that takes care of patients, even schools. I've never seen them do that, in the 30 years I've been a nurse. I don't think they would do that on the basis of the media.

Any St. Louisans out there? I'm interested in getting my Bs online, but want it in psychology, not nursing. I've done that for 30 years and am tired of it. School nursing's great, but the pay stinks. I want to get into something else for a career change totally different from nursing but don't know which direction to go in, any suggestions?

You need to be ready for everything, literally. Kids do everything from break arms to have asthma attacks, when you're unable to reach their parents and they have no medicine at school. It's a great job if you like autonomy, weekends and holidays off and the summer off. Most of the kids you see during the day just need to get out of class for awhile becasue they're stressed by something at school or at home. You give out lots of bandaids and TLC, be proactive for your school community, and teach classe on everything from handwashing to growth and development. If you really want to be part of the school community , you attend PTA meetings, and staff meetings, and attend school programs. You screen for vision and hearing, keep track of immunizations and other health issues, sit in on staffings when students are having problems, and share anything that might be affecting their academics. There are numerous opportunities to teach- they may not present as a distinct class, but public health is ongoing. I teach the kids, parents and teachers on a daily basis. And when and if you have a slow period, you can catch up on your paperwork. During the summer, there's summerschool nursing, camp nursing, agency or per diem work, or if your lucky you can just be off! I just had a little girl come in with her earring stud stuck down in the pierced hole too far-pushed it out.See what I mean! No two days arew ever alike, I could tell you some stories. But in all it's great fun and makes you feel worthwhile.

I'm a schoolnurse in an elementary school. I sent 20 kids home on the 15th, all with flu symptoms. Wev'e had 4 kids end up in the hospital with temps of 104' that they couldn't get down using tylenol and motrin. One quit eating and was unable to talk for 4 days. Mondays are the worse because the kids have all been sick all weekend and the parents won't keep them home, because they're sick too. I tell them to give them lots of fluids and watch thier temps, but alot of them don't even own thermometers. You wouldn't believe how many of them have never had their temp taken till they come to me sick! They act like I'm going to stick them or something when I try to put the probe in their mouth. Oh well, hopefully christmas break will see them all well so that when we come back after the new year they can be here and learn. Happy Holidays everyone and hope you all stay well.

You definitely need experience for agency work. You are basically on your own when you work agency, most places treat you like a scab worker covering a strike. They know they desperately need you, but they try to ignore you and most won't help you because you make more than they do, and they resent it. I've been a nurse for 30 yrs, and have worked for several agencies, you can end up on a different floor evry time you work, or in a different place eery time you work, and you have to catch on to how the equipment works in each place and where things are, because that orientation they promise you when going to a new place, doesn't happen.

Check out this website: Nurses House- they help people financially when they're having problems.

WOW! Where have you been all of my life?

:zzzzz Good old common sense! If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck. Patience is the next best thing to possess. Poverty is a good one, you won't get rich. You must be able to multitask as you will be a mother, counselor, protector of wee ones, confidant and maybe the only stable adult in a child's life. First aid skills are critical, but TLC skills are essential. You must be able to teach to a wide variety of audiences, and be proactive for your students. You will have many bosses to answer to; the principal, the secretary, the teachers, the parents, the custodian, and the administration. If none of these have turned you off, you Qualify! Good luck.:kiss

:kiss I first let these little things get to me. However we're trying to teach our kids to be responsible for themselves. So if they come in full of mud, I sahow them how to clean off and let them do it. They usually don't do it a second time. If they mess up the floor in the process, they're responsible for cleaning it up too. If the least thing I have to do all day is pin a kids pants up, I feel blessed. The smile you get in return is worth it. The kids are under enough stress already to conform to fashion, and their parents allow it. We are just an instrument providing safety, and that's what we're teaching when we do these minor things for them. The teachers don't have the time or the safety pins, and I get to interact with the kids and get to know them a little better. Try looking at things from this perspective and hopefully it will help you see how they may be inconviences, but to a kid their big things. Feel blessed that you get to spend time with this child and maybe that you made their day a little easier. And no, I don't know of any job description that lists these duties, but I've been a nurse for 30 years, and haven't worked a job yet that lists all the actual tasks a nurse has to perform on any job.