plainfieldguy

I don't know if you're still looking for a preceptor, but reach out to the faculty at Valencia College and UCF. Just call and ask if they accept MSN students for field experience work. They can ask around the faculty to see if anyone would be interested in having a MSN-Ed student.

There was an earlier thread about this topic if you do a search for it....but here's what I wrote then: -Teach students (or parents) about: Hand hygiene, Colds vs flu, Bullying/cyber bullying, Poising (look-alike products-is it medication or candy? Is it toothpaste or hemorrhoid clean? -Conduct a Teddy bear clinic (for kindergarten) -Attend a workshop/conference -Organize a fundraiser, school walk etc to promote awareness about a health topic -Volunteer for your state school nurse organization

And be sure to mention the loss of instructional time that is needed to complete the lice checks. Administrators don't like to hear about that....

Will your district pay some of the cost of the Master's degree? If so, then go for it! I have mine and I work as an adjunct at a local college. You can focus on nursing ed if you're interested in teaching or look at other programs. Some colleges (not many) have MSN in school nursing--look in NJ/PA for some of those. New Jersey City University has an online Master's in Health Science with a school health focus. Some colleges put school nursing under the MEd. programs so check their education schools. Health administration, public health, community nursing are some other emphases you might look into. A lot of NP programs are online if you're interested in diagnosing, prescribing, etc. and many still haven't transitioned to the DNP so you can squeak in before they all change over...

If you're a NASN member, there are some online PD opportunities on the NASN website for free! The Asthma and Allergy Foundation has some free online PD as well. Continuing Education for Asthma and Allergies | AAFA.org The Epilepsy foundation has online training: Managing Students with Seizures: School Nurse Training Program | Epilepsy Foundation Concussion CEU-from CDC Heads Up Concussion - Clinicians Training

If you're looking for something to do.... -Start making a list of supplies for Fall...place an order now if you have the funds available! -Check exp dates on clinic meds, AED pads, etc. and place your order if necessary -Pack up clinic paperwork for storage (if your not computerized) -De-clutter and organize the clinic so you'll be ready to go next year without much hassle -Do you send home any paperwork/packets in the fall? Get the master copy organized... -Do you give a presentation to the staff/faculty? Make your outline, powerpoint... -Make a list of students with chronic health problems (diab, epis, etc.) so you can touch base with their families the first day... -Unplug/defrost/turn off refrigerator and/or ice machine -Set dates for next year's hearing/vision/BMI screenings... get them on the calendar to reserve your days!

Here are a few more: -Teach students (or parents) about: Hand hygiene, Colds vs flu, Bullying/cyber bullying, Poising (look-alike products-is it medication or candy? Is it toothpaste or hemorrhoid clean? -Conduct a Teddy bear clinic (for kindergarten) -Attend a workshop/conference -Organize a fundraiser, school walk etc to promote awareness about a health topic -Volunteer for your state school nurse organization

My students can self-carry the Epi-pen but not Benadryl. All PO meds are administered through the clinic. If their action plan says to first give Benadryl, then I make sure the parents supply that as well. I do have stock epi and Benadryl, however, just in case...

A few other options---Maybe a friendly letter to local optometrists/ophthalmologists for funding? Or to your local LensCrafters or other eyewear company? Or try social media funding like gofundme, if allowed by the district.

I'm gonna work PT for summer school for one month--and use that money for my Christmas trip to Bogota, Colombia! woohoo!

I'd probably go for the smaller school, too! But certainly try to shadow another nurse if you can and make connections with the district or state school nurse liaison to make sure you are completing all of the required tasks that the state will come knocking on your door for.... like screenings, immunizations, etc. Ask around some of the schools where you live--you can probably find one or two who will let you 'volunteer' or shadow with them as we're winding down the year. Some states offer a training for new school nurses--if so, be sure to attend! You can probably google a 'back to school' checklist for nurses to give you an idea of some of the tasks ahead of you. Use the summer to read Selekman's book "School Nursing: A comprehensive text". Next year, ask the school if they have or can arrange to have a consult doctor--someone who can sign off on some basic standing orders. Lot's to learn... we're all still learning. It's a great job :)

In my clinic, I inherited a system where meds/inhalers are kept in small Tupperware containers and kept in a locked cabinet (if you have the space for that). I write the student's name on the Tupperware using masking tape so I can reuse it. :)

One of my students told me yesterday, "I know I can be a pain in the butt, but thank you for taking good care of me." And a parent brought me girl scout cookies (shortbread-yummm) last week for "putting up" with her two kids. LOL It's the little things that brighten my day....

Can you make a clinic webpage on the school website for that information? That's what I'm doing for next year. We waste a lot of paper by sending home a packet of health info that gets tossed in the trash... I'm going to post the necessary information/forms and parents can print off what they need.

Lots of great advice so far... also try to shadow another school nurse for a few days if you can. They will point out stuff you never thought of! And go through your clinic as soon as you can to get rid of old supplies, clean out the cobwebs, etc. When I started last Oct, I found some tongue depressors and gauze from 2013!!

So this morning one of my middle schoolers with a hx of Ewing's Sarcoma came bouncing into the clinic and told me that her scans came back clean and they took out her port! I had nothing to do with any of that, but it's nice to get some good news for a change... :)

Any suggestions on how to talk to a middle school boy about using deodorant? Teacher was complaining and asked me to talk to him. Any unique approach/strategy to use that isn't embarrassing for the student?

So I had a real head scratcher case today.... a middle school student came to the clinic and was sneezing about every 15 seconds. No known allergies. It just started while sitting in class. He tried blowing his nose, sitting in front of a fan, using moistened gauze to clean the nares... nothing! (And I don't have any exciting nasal meds in the clinic.) I called the parent for pick-up because it just didn't stop...Have any of you experienced this before?

So I'm liking my new job as a middle school nurse, but it's a little lonely. Access to the health office is through the main office so I can't really go hang out in the hallway and interact with people. Most teachers are in other buildings. I eat lunch alone because I wait until the 3 lunch periods are finished since that is the busy time. The various administrative staff is nice but they're working too...Any suggestions to be more sociable so I don't get claustrophobic here in the clinic all day? :)

So I had planned to become a school nurse in NJ a few years ago but got side tracked. Now I'm down in FL and just landed a school nurse job at a middle school in Orlando... yeah!! I've been lurking online for a few years and trying to absorb the nuggets of wisdom that everyone posts here... keep 'em coming for us newbies!!

Hi rbytsdy, I'm going thru Rowan University starting in May for the summer session. I had originally planned to go thru Rutgers but that program doesn't start until the fall. With Rowan I can finish sooner. :)

So I've finally signed up for two summer courses r/t school nursing towards my NJ certification. This forum has been such an inspiration. I look forward to learning more from everyone and sharing my own wacky school experiences in the future. Keep up the great work!!

If you can hold out, I would suggest staying at least a year and then look around the hospital for a transfer to another department (if you like the hospital setting). Perhaps ambulatory surgery, mother/baby, or some other department might be just the escape you need!

One more idea... allnurses and other websites have cartoons about nurses, doctors, healthcare environment, etc. Put a bunch in a basin, let students choose one and discuss. There are kernels of truth in the humor that relate to nursing practice (bullying, work stress, patient complaints, staffing, etc.). It can be a fun, non-threatening way to talk about professional issues!

Here are a few ideas that might be helpful... 1. Perhaps you can find some other health professionals to come speak to your clinical group (e.g., wound care, infection control, risk management, pastoral services, etc.) That can give you a little break while showing them the importance of interprofessional collaboration! 2. Use a piece of posterboard or other large sheet of paper and have them collaborate on a giant concept map for a patient with COPD, cholecystectomy, new ostomy, delirium, etc. 3. Give the group a short case study to analyze and discuss. Throw in curves balls to change the case study as they are discussing it... now what would you do? 4. Have the students reflect on and discuss their attitudes, values, emotions about their clinical experience with "difficult" or unusual patients---for example, the elderly woman with no family to visit her, the detox patient who is unruly, the end-of-life patient, etc. How does it affect their perspective on nursing? 5. If you have access to an empty room, set it up with a bunch of "mistakes" and see if students can find them all. (foley on bed, expired IV tubing, etc.) If the staff have time, ask them to play out a brief patient scenario with mistakes. Did the students notice if the nurse "scrubbed the hub" for a long enough time? Did the nurse leave the bed in high position? etc. This requires a little planning, but it was one of my favorite activities as a student! Good luck!