cdgoldilocks

FOR SHAME. You keep them in a Petrie dish as your "emotional support animals"!!!

I'm here! This is my 3rd year as a school nurse, 20th year of being an RN. Time flies. So, I started back August 14th. I work for a county office of education, so we have medically fragile kids, ED kids, alternative HS kids. We have pervasive staffing issues of classroom RN's and LVNs. Last year I had to sub as the classroom RN, so my "credentialed school nurse" work did not get done on those days. Administration laid off a school nurse, and THEN contracted out to give the remaining 2 of us MORE work and didn't tell us. The sites they contracted with are a MESS AND they are so freaking rural. It takes me 45 minutes to get to one of the sites from my office, and a lot of the sites are 20 minutes from one another. Missing care plans, no AEDs, expired Epi pens and diastat. But hey, all the administrators kept their jobs so....... I am already on countdown to the end of the year and I am not sure I will come back for another year. I am just finishing up my credential. Blah.

Agreed! With Diastat you must assess, and a healthcare assessment is a NURSING function. Where I work, only the nurse administers Diastat.

I am kind of snarky, but when the teachers try to tell me how to do my job, my rebuttal is that they can do MY job and I can go teach their class common core, as I have an app for that and it can't really be all that hard.

Medically fragile ages 3-22, also community/alt ed school kids, kids in juvenile detention, Emotionally disturbed kiddos, DHOH. A variety of ages.

I worked for the Nurse Family Partnership program for 14 years. I helped introduce the program to our County, and it was "my baby". I liked the client centered "heart's desire" approach to Public Health, I loved that they had a curriculum and lots of handouts, parenting tool kits "PIPE", among other useful handouts. I often supplemented NFP's stuff when I had to, but it was GREAT. I LOVED the program. I HATED the paperwork, data forms, then NFP added DANCE assessments which was ok, but our area already did NCAST assessments that are court recognized. You get to follow mothers give birth for the first time from pregnancy until their babies turn 2. The relationships built are fabulous!! After 14 years, I really enjoy watching the families grow up. One of my moms is currently going to GRAD School!!!! Try not to get hung up on all the NFP paperwork and just focus on the families and you will LOVE the job.

I Had to watch the WHOLE video and read ALLLL the ed code to realize that hand sanitizer and all my wonderful germy wipes are governed by some other governmental agency. Yay! lol.... I spent 2 hours getting my mandatory certificate in learning to clean out the fridge, close doors, wash my dishes, and don't spray raid on wasps nests and children. I am so glad they done gone and told me that.....

Required Training I so wish I was making this up. Honestly. Thankfully I have my emotional support Louse at my desk to comfort me.

I got an e mail after attending the CSNO conference about Pesticides. I just started school nursing in October. In July of this year, the State of CA is doing a bunch of shenanigans because they think lots of rules are awesome. Hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, etc are now considered a pesticide. As such, now there are levels of "training" required so we all know I guess not to eat these items or something. I know school nursing is it's own beast, but just when I think we cannot be regulated even more, BOOM, here we go. Am I just behind the knowledge curve here, or is "everyone" doing this?

Been there. I feel for you. I think we are nurses are so traumatized we are now numb. I am in my 3rd nursing career change. I did 4 years in CV/Tele/Stepdown. Saw it all. I saw a lady's butt had grown in to her rocker chair from neglect, watched the surgeon gag one day as he came in to repack the black hole tunneling wound, and will never forget the odor that came out. I remember when her "caregiver" was arrested at the bedside. I remember when this woman died of overwhelming sepsis. And that is just ONE story. I did 14 years in Public Health doing home visits with my supergirl cape, wanting to change the world with prevention. Totally opposite end of the spectrum from death and CABG's, right? Managerial ******** is what made me run screaming from that job. I mean, who needs a raise EVER right? Public Health nurses don't have safety fears in drug homes right? But probation officers do, and they were often in the same room with me. I am now in school nursing. I am hoping this will be my last adventure in nursing. Hang in there.

Wow an Epistick. LOL. Oh, I love the keepsake picture. I took some too. LOLOL. http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac217/cdgoldilocks/IMG_0027_zpsj4ieut2c.jpg Sorry it is huge.

Our policy is that any head injury that you would call home or send a note, etc would have an incident report filled out. Ours is called Confidental School something-or-other report. We inform our administrator, fill out the form, then notify parent as appropriate. We have a head injury letter that we send home with the student.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I am happy to see such an active group. I must say, there are some days I think I have finally found what I have wanted to do. Then there are other days when I feel like I'm not sure I can juggle it all. There is a lot of autonomy, and with it a lot of responsibility. Some things are so restrictive, and some things are as "clear as mud". LOL. My latest example: Epi pens and the California Senate Bill 1266. Some funny things. I found a staff first aid kit in the break room with Latex gloves in it, eye wash with an expiration date of 1999, and a pack of aspirin expired in 1996. Some annoying things: Our county can give out nothing except sunblock. No lotion, no Chapstick, just sunblock. And peppermints. They are candy. Also, going back to school to get a credential in school nursing. Not cheap. So far I have spent $$ on an audiometry class, and now am enrolled in a Special Ed class that will cost about $1100 after books and materials. For 3 units. Ugh. I keep saying it will all be worth it to do something I enjoy, and education is never a waste..... Anyway, thanks for the vent and I am so happy to have found you!

Just wanted to introduce myself. I have been a nurse for 18 years. I have worked hospital nursing for 4 years, then public health for 14 years before deciding to take a job for my county office of education as one of their 3 school nurses. We have several medically fragile classrooms, a few behavioral/mental health classes, and 3 large community schools. We also help with a few of the "smalls" with screenings, etc. We also have one deaf and hard of hearing school. For a new school nurse that has to go back to school for a credential, learn care plans for special education, learn Ed codes and stuff, it is a lot. Some days I feel overwhelmed, some days it is wonderful. Any way, just wanted to say hi.

I just left Public Health after 14 years. I was tired of 8 years of no raises, administration thinking law enforcement, who goes to the SAME homes, thinking safety was an issue for THEM but not us, and not feeling valued. We were told if we didn't like it we could leave. Several long time nurses have left. Other long time nurses are just waiting a few years to retire. They are being replaced with new grads. No one else will work for the salary they are paying. I was making less than a new grad in a hospital, and I have been a nurse since 1997. Yeah. In CA.