griffabilly

The issue that occurs at my school, is they decide to do a food celebration and then ask me to identify which children can't have said snack and decide what snack they should have. This happens repeatedly through the year, with cookies for holiday parties, ice cream socials, and pizza parties. It is so difficult to be responsible for what is fed to 700+ children, especially with the vast variety of food allergies! This is one of the biggest frustrations I deal with. I do supply each teacher with food allergy lists, plus each child has a marker near name on computer to identify medical needs.

I became a school nurse right after graduation, and struggled the first 6 months and almost quit. It is doable if you have a great support system. I kept close contact with peers from school and they are fabulous about answering questions I am unsure of. I also went to school for a Certificate in School Nursing and have contacts through that program that help with our unique type of nursing. I find that this specialty involves a lot of hands on learning, although clinical experience would be beneficial, you will do fine if you are self-motivated and do well under pressure.

I find that I am so busy with the amount of students that frequent my office that I barely have time to do daily tasks. I also have such a high mobility rate that I am constantly following up on student records to ensure everyone is in compliance. Since every school is different it is hard to say what you daily tasks should be. If all students records are current, ensure all of your state requirements are met. Check to ensure care plans are being followed and see if any changes need to be made. Now is a great time to prepare for next school year. Medication forms need to be reissued each school year, any students needing new physicals or health requirements, etc... Good Luck to you!

I am having so many requests from teachers to call parents about children with different odors. I am in a k-5 school, and calling or talking to the 5th grade students is usually easy. I have trouble calling for kindergarten or first grade students that the teachers think they need deodorant or if they think they are not bathed enough. We are a lower income area, and I am not sure that this is medically related. I was just wondering if other school nurses have had to make these calls and how you handle them. I could use some words of wisdom!