krhknob

Vaseline works great for gum in hair. The petroleum disolves the gumminess.

I took one class at Chamberlain 2 years ago and really liked it. The whole experience was good and I would have loved to continue. Unfortunately, it was just too expensive. We were going through a difficult financial time and had a son who was going to be starting college in a year and I just couldn't justify spending $15,000 on an education for myself. Maybe someday....

Go back to what you like to do. NOTHING is more miserable than hating your job. I just returned to school nursing after leaving it last year when the 2008-2009 school year ended. I had decided I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm not a career oriented person at all and got into school nursing for the typical reasons (schedule same as my kids, summer's off, etc.). I'd been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years prior to that and was ready to work again and figured this would be a great job. My school was 2 miles from home - it was perfect. I loved it the first year. It was just challenging enough and with all the time off we get, it didn't feel so much like a full time career. The second year was fun because I knew what I was doing and felt very comfortable. By the third year I was bored. I fondly referred to it as my "Groundhog Day" job (giving a nod to the movie). Same routines, same kids, same teachers, same stomachaches. And, although I much prefer autonomy to the hassels of daily 'teamwork', it did get very isolating. Monday - Friday was also a grind and I was constantly behind at home which really bothered me. I loved the environment and had gained the respect of the principal and teachers, the kids liked me and I got along well with the parents so it was a hard decision but I felt it was time to move on. Well....I took a job as an employee health nurse at a hospital working 3 days a week. I figured the money wouldn't be much less since school nursing doesn't pay as well as working in the hospital does. And I thought it would be an easy transition - sort of like being a school nurse for adults. Oh my. I absolutely HATED it. The hospital environment was stuffy, foreign and uncomfortable to me, the bureaucracy frustrated the heck out me and the work was even more rote than school nursing. I only lasted 10 weeks! Next, I went to work for a travel vaccination company who also did flu clinics in the fall. I enjoyed the flexibility but it, of course, was seasonal. I decided to learn the travel part of the business but the pay was inconsistent (commission based) and the work very, very repetative and non-challenging. I was just miserable and wondered what was wrong with me that I had had 2 great opportunities to make decent money working part-time and wasn't happy. This winter, a friend of mine and fellow school nurse was offered another job she couldn't refuse so I waived the white flag and decided I needed to return to what I knew. I asked her to tell her principal she had a replacement for her if she was interested. I realized my full-time school nurse gig wasn't so bad afterall. So here I am. I'd rather not work Monday-Friday but I'm comfortable, in my element and discovered that all I really needed was a change of scenery, not a change of job. My story's a little different than yours but the lesson is the same. I was tired of my job and all the irritating problems that came with it but found out that the grass isn't always greener. There will always be compromises and concessions - I found I'd rather spend my weeks doing what I'm good at in an environment I'm comfortable in and just try to embrace the parts of the job that are less than perfect. Not liking your job sucks the life out you - you need to go back to what makes you feel good. I empathize greatly with your struggle to balance what you need and what you think is best for your kids and family but be gentle with yourself. Your family will understand. If not immediately, they will some day. Good luck!

I can identify with everything that is being said. I've nipped alot of this stuff in the bud by being proactive this year. I educated the teachers at the begining of the year by giving them written guidelines for sending students to see the nurse. It covers just about everything mentioned on this thread. It was precipitated by my personal pet peave last year of "I bumped my arm on the desk and the teacher told me to come and get ice". 99% of the time I'd have to ask the student to point to the "injury" because there wasn't even a mark, let alone a bruise or swelling! What dawned on me was that possibly no parameters have ever been set for them and, because they aren't nurses (and we have a lot of young teachers so alot of them aren't Moms yet either) they really aren't sure what's nurse-worthy and what isn't. So, I made sure I had my principal's support and presented the guidelines this year with a sincere attitude of empathizing with the various reasons they might have for sending some of these kids down but at the same time empowering them to use their good judgement in determining if a complaint or injury, etc. was valid. I assured them I am here if they ever have any doubts whatsoever - that's my job - but really encouraged them to feel confident in their ability to handle alot of this stuff. I briefly explained to them what my limitations are as a school nurse to clear up any misconception that I can diagnose strep throat or the reason someone's back has been hurting for the past 3 days. I also supplied them each with a box of bandaids for minor cuts and scrapes, itch spray for bug bites, a tube of vaseline and Qtips for chapped lips and a bag of cough drops (with very specific criteria for giving one to a student). The result of all this has been like night and day. I have a real feeling of working as a team with the teachers to ensure that students aren't coming to the clinic and missing classtime for unnecessary things. The daily visits this year are significantly less and much more legitimate. There will always be the gray areas of stomachaches, headaches and a handful of high maintenance teachers who you just have to smile, nod at and move on but I really feel it's our responsibility to establish and reinforce the boundaries. Bottom line is there has to be good communication, mutual respect and some give and take (like saying to yourself, "ok, I won't gripe about a few stuck zippers and fallen out earrings if they use their heads about other things...")to work cooperatively with the teachers in this area. This includes educating them, providing the supplies they need and cheering them on. Once they understand that you're "on their side" and not just trying to get out of work, it'll fall into place.

I just really don't know if, at age 48, I want to invest that much time and money into it all. I'd be 55 by the time I was done since part-time is all I could do right now. The other piece of this puzzle is that I maybe don't want a BSN at all but, instead, a BA. I feel like I've been there, done that when it comes to nursing and if I'm going to have to invest that much time, I may as well actually learn something different (Not that I wouldn't have a whole lot more to learn about nursing but, like I said, I went that route once). I'd still end up with an RN and a bachelor's degree. But my main frustration is that no matter which type of bachelor's I would choose, it looks like I have to repeat the basics and that just doesn't seem right. I sound like a whiner - maybe I am on this topic. A little history: I'm a nurse who went back to nursing after a 15 year absence to raise kids. I vowed that I wouldn't return to nursing in a million years but, when the inevitable "kids don't need me 24/7 anymore" hit a year or so ago I realized nursing was all I was qualified to do. I was fortunate enough to land an elementary school nurse job 2 miles from home - something totally new to me - and I absolutely love it. I'm not that passionate about nursing per se and find the school setting the perfect balance of nursing skills, people skills, organizational skills, technical skills and, not so unimportantly, 'mom' skills. However, in about 6 years when my youngest child graduates from high school I want to move back to my home state but have discovered that I wouldn't be qualified to be a school nurse there due to my lack of degree! Talk about a slap in the face. So, there you have it. More than anyone wants to know. It's just disheartening to realize that, even though I'm an RN, I will have worked a total of 20+ years, 7 of which will have been in the field of school nursing, I won't be able to continue just because of that damn 'piece of paper'! Sorry for the length of this post!!

Help! I'm very frustrated. This is about the 5th time in 10 years I've gotten the bug to check into getting a bachelor's degree but each time I get discouraged because I discover I basically get NO credit for any of the basic courses I took because they weren't taken at a university but, rather, through a diploma nursing program. I would have to retake them all - anatomy, physiology, english, psychology, etc. as well as the nursing requirements! This has me going back to school for about 3 years! I took all those darn classes years ago and have no desire to repeat them at my age. I find that I get a few credits for my diploma but not much. Does anyone know of any credible institution that allows a diploma RN the credit for these basic courses or is it "too bad, so sad" for us diploma nurses who wasted our time getting our RN years ago because we didn't know it would be discounted 30 years later!??!

Thanks, I'll check it out. I've refered to the website before for other things and it's not very user friendly (Texas). In what capacity do you teach, if I may ask? Do you just pick a topic and do research on the internet or at the library?

Hi. I am an RN and have recently started presenting 1 hour CEU's for hospitals, insurance companies, etc. I am currently getting work through a healthcare education company (I am working as an independent contractor and am not an employee) who contracts with the various organizations. I am strictly a presenter of the education company's material and, therefore, make a fraction of what is charged to the organizations. I found that I really enjoy doing this, have gotten good feedback on the evaluation forms and realize through discussion with participants after the presentation that there is definitely a market for good onsight CEUs. I have also determined that I could develop good programs myself and have begun to research what is involved in getting programs approved as CEU's as well as what topics people are interested in so I can branch out totally on my own. The question I have is this: Are there any sources for pre-prepared topics or outlines for this very purpose or does one have to develop programs from scratch? I realize that a lot of research and cross-referencing needs to be done as well as organizing the material into a good presentation but I haven't been able to find a source to use as a jumping board. I just don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to! Is anyone out there in the business of providing CEUs and, if so, how do you go about developing your programs? Thanks for any input! K.

Hi. I am an RN and have recently started presenting 1 hour CEU's for hospitals, insurance companies, etc. I am currently getting work through a healthcare education company (I am working as an independent contractor and am not an employee) who contracts with the various organizations. I am strictly a presenter of the education company's material and, therefore, make a fraction of what is charged to the organizations. I found that I really enjoy doing this, have gotten good feedback on the evaluation forms and realize through discussion with participants after the presentation that there is definitely a market for good onsight CEUs. I have also determined that I could develop good programs myself and have begun to research what is involved in getting programs approved as CEU's as well as what topics people are interested in so I can branch out totally on my own. The question I have is this: Are there any sources for pre-prepared topics or outlines for this very purpose or does one have to develop programs from scratch? I realize that a lot of research and cross-referencing needs to be done as well as organizing the material into a good presentation but I haven't been able to find a source to use as a jumping board. Is anyone out there in the business of providing CEUs and, if so, how do you go about developing your programs? Thanks for any input! K.