Baloo

I subbed in a couple of different districts the previous couple of years. I would say the calls were split as far as advance notice goes. Some calls/texts were days or weeks in advance for planned days off and others were early in the morning or the night before for illnesses. You will be a lot busier towards the end of the year when everyone has vacation time to take. For the majority of the time, when I subbed I was only expected to 'just take care of the kids', no admin work unless I wanted to. After subbing for awhile, I realized school nursing is where I wanted to be, earlier in this calendar year (last school year) I actually left my job to sub full time. After I had given my notice though, an opportunity came up to fill in as a full-time long term sub for half of a year, which then, fortunately for me, turned into a full-time position for this year. So I made the leap to leave my job to sub full time, but was just in the right place at the right time for it to morph right into a full time position. If you're okay with sporadic income (I was a stay at home parent before becoming a nurse, so my family was used to only one income), and the districts are busy enough, I'd say go for it...although my only hesitation would be to consider how awkward would it be if you had to work in your current school?

When I was subbing in another district it was business casual. Where I am now, it's scrubs. The philosophy behind the scrubs is that it makes us easily identifiable in crowds (outside for fire drill/emergency, in the gymnasium/auditorium, etc). Not only for students and regular staff but for substitutes as well. But it brings up the question, do we WANT to be easily identified!!! "Oh your toe has been hurting for 3 days now? Hmmmmmm. Oh look, I see the nurse!"

Hey all! I posted here awhile ago, but haven't posted much lately. I was a long term sub last year that got hired full time for this upcoming year. I cover 2 schools: pre-k to 8th, and elementary (2nd-5th). I'm REALLY looking forward to it!

Oh, don't even get me started. I can't figure it out for the life of me.

Me too! But shhhhhhhhh, don't tell the kids I coach! Girls LAX is such a different game than boys LAX. I guess that's why I'm the 'fun' coach and work on fundamentals only. It's like everything else though, fake it till you make it!

Glad to see there are other LAX parents here. My son has been playing for several years now, is in the juniors league and plays D....He loves it. I help coach my daughter's bantam team (the 2nd year for both of us). It's comical as I never played and only know what I've seen while watching my son practice/play. But all they need is someone willing to help teach fundamentals and keep it fun and entertaining, which fits my goofy personality, so it works. We all have a blast! I never knew about the sport growing up, it really is interesting to watch.

Thanks all! And as far as wearing red/pink goes, Fetch is as Fetch does!!

Hey All, I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring as far as introductions go. I've been lurking for over a year, since I started subbing. I now work in an elementary school (and float when needed) and LOVE being a school nurse. I only have a couple of years of nursing under my belt, but many years of experience as an EMT and at-home dad. You are a great bunch here (but you already know that!!!) and I look forward to reading your posts. I'm too busy during the day, but usually catch up in the evenings or wee hours while drinking coffee before the rest of the house wakes up. Cheers to you all, and thanks for being an awesome resource for a newer school nurse!!

A para asked me to take a child's temp the other day because he "looks like he has a fever". 98.2*F. The best part is that she was ready to take him back after just a temp check. It didn't occur to her that, you know, I may assess further for any other symptoms.

I have a student that takes her pill sandwiched between two mini marshmallows. Mom brought in a little tub of them so she picks out her two marshmallows while I get the pill. She puts it between, smushes them together, pops in her mouth and off she goes. It's the only way she's ever taken it, so probably the only way she ever will!

Agreed. It isn't right. It all starts with the person initiating the 9-1-1 call. If they aren't willing to assume care/responsibility for the patient, the cops don't want the liability, EMS doesn't want the liability, so the end of the line is the ER. it's all because 'what if', and no one wants that on their hands.

Generally, yes (about assuming), and I agree. But it's a standard of care for prehospital providers (EMS) to not take refusals from certain demographics. I'm not disagreeing that it's not ideal, but once again it comes down to liability. It sounds like the family wasn't willing to take responsibility for the patient's condition. Maybe the patient is a RAGING drunk and the family wanted to cut it off before it got to a more dangerous point. I also work in EMS, and am put in this sticky situation more than I'd like. But it is what it is. I've also responded to plenty of 'possible DOA' calls because friends/family wanted to let the person 'sleep it off' at home. Are THOSE families being twits and dealing? The ones who are crying because they found their loved one blue with rigor mortis and a mouth full of vomit? ETOH and refusals (or just refusals in general) are probably the most frustrating part of EMS....but if someone is concerned enough to actually dial 9-1-1 for it, then the patient in question should probably be evaluated, as a precaution.

Liability. Family was concerned about the amount of alcohol consumed, drunk patient didn't want to go to the hospital. Whose side do they stand on?? Well, there are a few instances where ambulance crews cannot accept a refusal from a patient: if they are minors, if there are psychiatric issues, and if there is impairment (alcohol or drugs). Pretty much if they are unfit to make decisions for themselves, you treat and transport under 'implied consent'. You assume that any reasonable person under similar situations would want medical care and treatment.

Yesterday a boy was sent from recess to the health office because of dog poop on his shoe. Not fresh just-stepped-in stuff, but dried on, only on the bottom, stuck in the grooves, can't remove by wiping stuff. Since the child was there, I did attempt to remove it but wasn't able to easily and I had 4 others in the office with me so I didn't make it a priority. I'm just a sub, so I don't know the teachers well...but I haven't seen a lot of frivolous reasons like that there...yet.

Congrats on the new title you've earned and the new job! I'm also in my first year of licensure and also work in-patient rehab. Learn your orthopedic precautions, so you know how your patients can and cannot move, turn, position, etc. Co-morbidities is a big deal in rehab, so while we're treating people for a knee replacement, they may also have uncontrolled HTN or DM. Also, you won't just have "hips and knees", people are in rehab for new ostomies, post CVAs, Resp Failure, UTI, general Weakness, pacemaker placement, etc. So refreshing yourself on CHF, COPD and other respiratory issues that would cause a decline in health status would help. A lso, refresh on S/Sx of PEs & blood clots would help as well. Patients are less-mobile then normal and are more prone to those. For the orthopedic patients, pain control is a big deal, as if they are in pain they won't be able to participate in PT/OT and may delay their healing process. So keep pain control in mind when doing your med pass. I've found it best (for me) to do my med pass based on PT schedule...After diabetics, priority goes to those that go to PT first. And as the previous poster said, don't hesitate to ask questions...it's a really great area to gain experience as you see a good variety of types of patients. Good luck!