JulzNDuane

I asked this same question just a few short months ago. I feared that I would have nothing to do during my time off.:chuckle This was my first summer off as a school nurse and I took the advice of some members on this board and enjoyed my break. I worked on improving some health programs for my school, I spent one week as a camp nurse with junior high students, I enjoyed some travel with my husband and children, and enjoyed being at home doing nothing. I had job offers to work full time over the summer, but had to ask myself if I would really be ready to go back to school this fall if I worked another job. If you can't take the summers or holiday vacations completely off, maybe you can find a PRN position to supplement your income during those times. Good luck with whatever you decide. When the time comes, you will know what is right for you.:balloons:

If you really like taking care of children, why not offer respite care for children who have medical conditions that require nursing care? This would give the parents the needed break of a trip to the grocery store, a dinner out for much needed couple time, an exercise class, or whatever. Relationships do become strained. As a school nurse, I know several couples who could really benefit from a service such as this. Just a thought.

They are very similar. The Kaplan is well worth going through, the content review and the question trainers were a big help to me. I passed with 75 questions as well as the majority of my classmates who took the Kaplan. Good luck!

I'm Julie, a school nurse, from the small town of Oakwood.:)

I guess you could say I am already day dreaming about summer because our weather was so nice today, but I am wondering what other school nurses do with their summer? This will be my first summer as a school nurse and I am trying to plan whether or not I should pick up a summer job or just relax and enjoy my time off. What has worked best for you? :)

At my school, the classroom teacher has sex ed as part of her curriculum. The school feels that my time is best spent taking care of the children who need medical attention. I am sure it is different everywhere.

You will never regret doing an externship/internship. You will gain so much from the experience. Have fun and learn as much as you can.

Although it has been almost a year since I took the NCLEX-RN and this may not help you since the format is changing, I did not have any pharm questions on my exam and I had 75 questions. A few of my friends who recently took their exams in January had several about pharmacology and had about 11 of the new multi-choice style questions. If you can take a Kaplan or other form of review course, they do a comprehensive review which includes drug classes.

I resigned during my orientation and I have no regrets. Perhaps the timing isn't right for you at this facility or maybe it is not your cup of tea. I left my orientation because I felt the standards of care practiced were unsafe and contradicted all of the information given to me that made me choose to work at that facility. I now work as a school nurse and love it. Had I stayed in the other position, I would probably still be miserable and stressed out. So don't feel bad, you are not alone.

Thanks for the tips, I have never thought about getting something for my frequent flyers.

The school district I work for hired me as somewhat of a new grad. I had previously interned as an RN on a peds unit and then worked in OB for 6 months after I graduated with my BSN. I think it really depends on what the school district is looking for. :)