Either your school has kids that hardly ever need a nurse or you are not a school nurse. School nurses is far more than ice packs and I never give out lollipops. Heck, I refuse to give out peppermints. I have been a RN for 14 years. This is my 4th year as a school nurse. I have worked adult med-surg, clinic, case management and for me school nursing has been one of the hardest jobs i ever had between having to do Heimlich on a choking kid, kids with Asthma attack, kids with anxiety, depression, cutting themselves, anorexics/bulmics, heart issues, sickle cell crisis at school, kids having anaphylactic reactions. Totally crazy parents who do not understand school nurses must have DR orders for many things. We can't do just anything. All the hotlines that have to be done because of child abuse/neglect. That is just the beginning.
There is typically only one school nurse in a school that have them and we can find ourselves having to make a quick decision without ANY support until an ambulance arrives.
Please do not under estimate the job of a school nurse. We are nurses too and we have to use our assessment skills and be on top of it too.
Yes we are under paid, but considering the trade off of the hours, no holidays, no summers unless I want it's a sacrifice well worth it while my child is still young.
I'm a divorced parent and do not get any financial help from my EX. I am making it on a school nurse salary by living within my means and not keeping up with the joneses. I'm a minimalist, and bargain shop. Everyone has a different standard of living with different needs though, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
