seabreezern

Unfortunately I am in a school system in Alabama.. Things have progressively gotten worse over time....I am doing my best at this job, but I feel it is time to move one. It has been a good lesson, but the situation of the county and the job is not going to change anytime soon. I am not the only one who is feeling the brunt of not having resources. I guess that is just life. I have to fix what I can in this situation and not worry about what I can't. My budget was 350.00 last year and this year as I stated is 275.00. You can only work with what you have. I appreciate you taking the time to listen. I guess maybe I needed that more right now than a solution to this ongoing problem. I will usually let myself mope a while and do the self pity thing, but then after a day or two I bounce back and look at the positive.. I am surrounded by children (excluding most teenagers) :chuckle who enjoy me for what I do and that in the end sometimes over rides any of the negative...Thanks again and have a great day.

I don't believe my salary comes out of special ed services, and I recently learned that all of that money has been spent anyway. I am not sure what you mean about the cdc or the national association but I read a while back and as of now there can be a nurse for every 8,000 students I believe. The associations may not require head checks but my principals ask that I do this as needed. The principal at the school I check each week asked me to do this. I am thinking of training people to help me with this. It has become to big of a job at times with everything else going on. I will see about asking the PTA and see what I can get. I have asked for donations from people before but that in itself is time consuming. As far as a phone is concerned I am at one school every morning and then I have the other 5 schools by schedule. If I am needed then one school has to call me at whichever school I am at. Sometimes I have to drive to check on a student in a school 15 to 20 miles away and then return back to the school I was at. I dont so much mind this as I am the school nurse and the students need me. I just wish I had more resources than I do. I am kind of the lone duck in the fact that I am the only nurse and usually am in a whole other category. I learn more and more each year of what works and what doesn't.`I am hoping state will let me know what I need working on and what I am doing that is working. Care plans for every chronically ill child including ones on medicine has been time consuming but I hope eventually I will master it....Like my mom says they can't put me in jail.... :)

I am the only one who does my job. There are people who help out with the medications. They each had to go to a class for this and all of the other nurses I talked with who held their classes did so with no problem. I had to do a self study because these people had other classes to attend to. There are no aids that assist me. Ocassionally I will have someone who can put a band-aid on but that is it. I am now having to check one school with over 300 kids every week for headlice. Last week I also had to check another school with 2oo + by myself in one day. I had to buy my own laptop, there is no phone this year because I dont use my own, and I have lost my office for the last 3 years. I was sharing a classroom with a teacher earlier this year. I fought to get an office and then my boss who was put over my position gives me excessive amounts of grief. That is a story in itself. I already spent money on a care plan book for myself and so I only have 150.00 or left for medical supplies. This also includes any paper or other supplies I might need. I am so worn out and tired of feeling like a failure. I have no support. My boss isnt a nurse and has made it clear that special ed is her main priority. She has been nasty more than once and has called me Pussycat in a ***** meaning way as well. With state coming in I am nervous enough and knowing that I have all of these care plans and other things left to do is not helping. I think it is time for me to move one...One person cant do an efficient job dealing with that many kids or schools. Last year I had 7 schools, but because of finances the 7th school closed down.....Anyway don't mean to be negative but I am at my wits end. Thanks again I will try your idea with the Journal of School Nursing. I am in Conecuh County which is a rural area in lower Alabama. Have a good day. Look forward to hearing back from you. :)

Hello and hope all are well. I am a school nurse for 6 schools and 2000 kids. Worn out right now. State coming in 3 weeks and desperately trying to finish everything. I have care plans to do on the chronically ill students but also emergency care plans as well. Having trouble finding a website that would help with the emergency ones...I also have a boss who is mainly over special education and got handed my job title. She has no idea what I do..Is nt a nurse and doesn't care anything about what I do....Have been doing this for 31/2 years now.....Basically am having to face the fact that one person can't do it all and it is okay....I don't know what do you do with no support and no resources. i have 275.00 in a budget to help with 6 schools, had to buy my own computer, dont have a phone and my office is in the back of a classroom. Anyone has any ideas, please let me know.