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I just finished talking to my 6th graders about self-harm and I'm feeling.... frazzled. Over the last two days, the middle school staff noticed that many 6th graders had cuts on their wrists and arms. They asked me to come in a do a quick talk about it during 8th hour today. All of the talks went fine, but I'm still feeling shaken by this. The cuts are different than most self harm cuts I've seen - instead of many shallow cuts, these are one to three deep cuts. I'm concerned. Most of the staff was very concerned - it was encouraging to see how quick the staff brought up concerns and asked me to talk to the students. Even during the talk, a lot of the kids were genuinely interested. Some were surprised when we talked about the dangers. They had great ideas of different things to do instead of cutting. I had several good friends in high school and college who cut. I was the go-to person for one of them. I helped her clean out her room of all sharp objects. I was the one she called instead of cutting. I was the one who told her parents when things went too far. I'm happy to say that now that friend is doing fine. She's found other ways to cope (some still not great, but definitely better than a knife). I also haven't talked to her in years. I betrayed her trust by going to her parents, and even though she can rationalize now why I had to, it ruined our friendship. It's hard to see my students doing this. They are in 6th grade. They are 12. They have no idea how addicting cutting can be, how it can change them and their lives... Stressful afternoon. Just needing a little debriefing session with people who understand.

I always want to ask teachers if they ever ask students WHY they needed to come to the nurse. I just had a 3rd grader run into my office and interrupt a phone call because she got toothpaste in her hair this morning, and now her hair "felt weird".

Thank you so much for all your replies! The majority of my students are from very poor families. I understand that some of the kids may really need another pair of pants, so they keep the pants I give them. I'm sympathetic to those students, and don't bug them as much about getting the clothes back. However, the kindergartner who has an accident daily and has kept or lost over 10 pairs of my pants since September, I have less sympathy for. (This student does not have a medical problem - she is too embarrassed to use the bathroom at school. We've tried many, many things throughout the year but nothing is working for her. She is also much younger than the other students in her class - only 4 at the start of the year). I don't think I could get my principal to go for charging families for the clothes -- we buy them at walmart so they are only $3-4 a pair. And we don't have a washer or dryer at the school to wash the dirty clothes. But, I will try asking for donations from staff/community and sending notes home immediately with the kids. Thanks everyone for your great ideas and stories!

I keep a stack of extra clothes in my office for students that have bathroom accidents. I tell the students to bring the pants back to me the next day, but I rarely get anything back. I'm almost out of pants for the second time this year. Over winter break, we bought about 30 new pairs of pants in all sizes and four months later I only have 4 pairs left (and they will only fit the very small kids). We've talked to students and parents, called and sent notes home. Parents either have no idea their kid borrowed pants, have no idea where the pants are, or promise they will send them the next day (which rarely happens). I started writing our school's initials on the tags of all the pants, but it wears off when washed... Any ideas on how to get pants back?! I'm beginning to get desperate!

Talking to the student's teachers can be helpful too. I had two fourth graders that came to my office at least twice a day for a while. After the second week of that, I talked to the teacher and said how many times I had seen these students that month alone and the teacher was shocked! She had no idea the students were going that often, and definitely was not giving permission for them to see me that often. We set up a pass system for these two students, so if they came to my office without a note from the teacher and did not have an emergency, they got sent back to class immediately. That definitely has helped!

Thank you for the ideas! I'm not an NASN member, but I've heard good things about that program. I will check into new eyes for the needy and with my local Pearle Vision. Thanks!

Have any of you helped a student without insurance get prescription glasses? What programs have you used or found helpful?

Do any of you have non-nursing staff that give medications under go a medication administration training? If so, what does the training consist of? We have an middle schooler who takes a daily medication (Adderal, two pills twice a day). He typically gets it from the middle school office assistant. This student also comes in for a Saturday tutoring session, and takes his medication on those days, but the normal office assistant is not there. He has been receiving the meds from his Saturday tutor, but the tutor is concerned about administering the medication and wants to take a medication administration course. Our medication administration form that this student's parents have filled out and signed specifically says that the med will likely not be given by the school nurse. Just wondering what you do at your school and if you have suggestions about how to proceed. Thanks!

What are your hours at work? I work 8:30-4:30 Would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? Salary is for the full year (I have a 12 month contract, not just the school year). After taxes, it's a bit over 2k a month. Do you work during the summer else where? I have a 12 month contract so I keep working at the school during the summer How long were you a nurse before you started school Nursing? (experience) I graduated nursing school in May 2011. I worked the summer at a camp and then started as a school nurse in the fall. My final semester of school, I was interning in a school. Was this a hard field to get into? What steps did you take? It was not too difficult to get into. I routinely check local school district websites and the Minnesota School Nurses Organization page for job openings. What do you do and do you have an assistant? No assistant, although office staff sometimes help out. Do you have your own office? Yes. It's small, but big enough for two beds and a desk. Do you get a lunch break? Sort of. The office assistant is supposed to cover for me as I eat, but she mostly just lets me know that I have kids waiting. I eat in the staff work room that is right next to my office. I take about 10 minutes to eat, and I am usually interrupted at least once while eating. Do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do? No. I do stay for conferences and open houses, in case there are questions, but the meetings I attend are during school hours. What school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)? My school is K-8, 850 students. What's your least favorite thing(s) about this job? Least favorite thing would be the isolation. I work in a charter school that is it's own district so I do not have any other school nurses to talk to or get opinions from (other than this website - it has been my savior!). If you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? Yes.

I have heating pads, but my students don't like using them. If they want, I'll give a cup of warm water to drink and let them rest for a few minutes. Fortunately for my students, not too many get cramps regularly (my school only goes to 8th grade).

I also call home for every head bump. For the most part, the parents are appreciative for the call, although I have head a few who have told me not to call about future head bumps (I will anyways).

I work in Minnesota and LPNs do not have assessment in their scope of practice here, which is the biggest reason school districts prefer RNs. As for summer, I am actually on the 12 month administrator contract, so I work all year round. From talking to other school nurses, I know some do take a summer job or work their school's summer school program.

Thank you very much for your help! We do not have a form, but I was able to find a sample online and work from that. Thanks again!

Hello School Nurses! I'm a new school nurse (and new grad) and I have a question for the more experienced nurses out there. I was asked by a special ed teacher (also new) to write a health summary for a student for their IEP. I asked her what she wanted me to include in it and she said "Screenings and stuff. Just make it a quick one". Just wondering - what do you include in the health summary for students with IEPs? I plan on including health history (nothing significant), vision screening results, and immunization summary (up to date). What else should I include? Thank you!