cynmrn

Tomorrow's the last day of school! It's a half day! Today is field trip madness, so only fourth graders in my 4-7 school...here's hoping it will mean less madness.

This is what I usually do. Then, I continue to closely assess the IV site to make sure nothing is going wrong. Chances are, though, if an IV is starting to really bother a patient, it is going to go bad (in my anecdotal experience) and I often regret not just popping a new one in. It is lame to have the IV go bad at change of shift! You'll get the stink eye for sure!

We're June 16th! Can't wait!

Ugh! Just yesterday, one of my secretaries fell and fractured both wrists! Last week, huge gash from eyebrows to hairline in the middle of a kiddo's forehead, teeth through a lip, etc. Kiddo with a bee allergy got stung in the neck (supposedly), didn't have an epi-pen on site, but we do have stock. Luckily, he didn't react, so it didn't get that far. I'm not sure if this is an inferred bee allergy or it wasn't a bee that stung him.

I definitely understand the feeling--this has happened to me a few times and each time, I've felt just as terrible and second-guessed my judgment. I'm glad the parent was understanding--I've had the opposite more often than not. Sometimes, the signs really don't show up until much later. You did everything right with assessing him and encouraging him to return if he was still in pain later. If we called home for every fall off the bars, we would never get anything else done. Don't be too hard on yourself! You don't have x-ray vision!

I am not a single parent, but I am a parent of two children. I went to school and got my ADN in June 2013 (part time up until I got into nursing school--all told, took six years after being waitlisted one year) and ended up getting a job right after graduation. I decided to start school right away to get it out of the way, considering that the job market is pretty tough for non-BSN applicants. I started an online program in Sept. 2013 full time and graduated in Dec. 2014. It was ROUGH. I was trying to be a parent, a wife, a new graduate nurse with all the crazy/overwhelming/terrifying things that entails, and a good student (with clinicals, papers, etc. to complete in my "free time"). Something had to give, and I started feeling like the hospital job wasn't for me--something that many new grads feel. I ended up leaving the acute care job (stayed on PRN) and took a school nursing job, because it was much less stressful for me. Now, I wish I would have stayed and gained experience in the hospital setting, although I like the school, too. I just feel like I still have so much to learn. I am leaving the school and beginning a new acute care job in July. Yes, everything worked out and the BSN probably helped me with getting that new job. Yes, it was a fantastic feeling to say "I'm done!" But was the stress worth it? Not sure. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably wait at least until the first year was behind me before I started. There was just such a learning curve and I didn't have the luxury of being able to research things on my own or read up, because I was so busy with schoolwork. My youngest had never known me not being a student; I was a new nurse, etc. during her last year at home prior to Kindergarten starting. I wish I may have had more time to be quiet and enjoy that time with her. Just some food for thought.

In interviewed for my first job (12 week New Grad Internship, then transition to chosen floor) the day after I took NCLEX. I was offered the following week (end of June) and started my first job on August 5. It was a whirlwind!

The bathroom accidents are one of my biggest pet peeves! We DO have a fluctuating supply of clothing in the health room and I'm constantly bombarded with kids peeing their pants that need me to grapple through the supply to find the appropriate size pants. I keep trying to figure out where I can put all these darn clothes so they're out of the health room! I try to call parents as much as possible to bring in clothes, but often I have to choose between a kid in wet pants sitting in my office for who knows how long or me providing clothes. I encourage/beg parents to bring their own clothes, but it very rarely happens. I generally do not help with clean-up. Usually, I hand kiddo clothes and send them into the bathroom in the hall; I will coach through the door if they need it. There are a handful of times when I've given hands on assistance--kiddo with scoliosis who has a body cast who has difficulty reaching when he has a bowel movement, and massive diarrhea blow-outs that are beyond a child's control and ability to self clean (I call a parent to come pick up in those cases but don't want to leave their kid a giant mess if that is the case). I will call parents to assist the child at times, too.

In my opinion, it is fine to be honest, but it's important to be tactfully honest. I think it goes without saying that "being honest" doesn't mean beginning to rant or attacking people personally. Complaining about a specific person will really not get you anywhere. I would generalize that complaint (e.g. if a person was a terrible charge nurse, state that you were sometimes disappointed in the lack of leadership, guidance, etc. and state what you realistically would have liked to see). The purpose of an exit interview is generally to track why people are leaving and what a facility may need to improve upon. If there are some glaring holes that need to be filled, I think it's appropriate to mention them, as long as it's done respectfully. I am leaving my first nursing job and I had an online exit interview survey to fill out. I mentioned poor staffing as my biggest issue, as well as sometimes having difficulty finding appropriate equipment and supplies. I don't think saying those honest issues will have made me not rehireable if I should ever return...

I worked Saturday night 7pm-7am on Sunday morning and today (Monday) came to my M-F job and was here at 7:30am...I don't think working until 3:30am on Saturday is really an impediment to working at 0700 on a Monday...

The lice drama is what's gonna put me over the edge! We have a parent requesting that their kids be allowed to sit in their chairs rather than sit on the carpet during carpet time because they're afraid they'll catch lice....they're not sitting THAT close...and the carpet is NOT where they are getting it....Luckily the teacher is amazing and is not being fazed by all this lice drama and is totally willing to give them the appropriate facts.

I get the ice pack drama all the time. I explain to them why I won't give them the ice pack and make them go on their way. I wish the teachers would stop "trying to appease them," even when they know they're fine, because it just means one more person has to hear them whine... I also get the teachers who send their kids up with their coat and backpack and tell me they "need to go home." Their comments will range from things like, "He's just not himself" to "He just looks sick." Ummmmm....why am I here if you can just eyeball them and know they're sick? There are guidelines for sending kids home, people...

I don't think it's terrible to ask a patient politely to stop swearing if it makes you uncomfortable. Yes, making a big deal of it and causing drama or being rude to the patient because they aren't complying would be inappropriate, but I'm not sure why everyone thinks it's insane to just request they watch their language. Just because you're a nurse, doesn't mean you don't deserve respect, and sometimes the use of foul language is seen as disrespect if you're not the swearing kind. Personally, I don't really care if they're not swearing AT me and there aren't other patients nearby that might hear and be offended.

The first thing you have to consider is how childcare would work if you began working a less predictable schedule or worked every other weekend. If you can work something out and this isn't an issue, consider how you'll feel about not being home every weekend and possibly missing some events (e.g. sports if you child is involved, family dinners, holidays, etc). If you still want to move on to something else, then by all means, you should! Sometimes a M-F schedule is worth it, and sometimes it's not. If you're not happy doing what you're doing and you have the flexibility to find something else, there's no reason to keep slogging along. Get out there and find something that you will like! I'm a school nurse that left the hospital and am now returning to acute care. I have a little sadness over the loss of the cushy schedule, but want to get back out there so I'm taking the leap.

We're having a breakfast and some prizes at the hospital where I work--I got a hoodie last year. At my school nurse job, I got a nice card and some little treats last week which was really thoughtful; I was also included in teacher's/licensed professionals' week and we got food all week. It's nice to get little things like that--I don't really expect much more.

According to NASN, it's May 11th. I got on the calendar at my middle school, but doubt that my elementary will give me the time of day. Next week is Nurse Week according to my research... my hospital is putting on some different little celebrations.

Hospital: 1) Staffing. We're so often short-staffed on night shift/weekends and ratios seem like they keep pushing higher and higher. Especially short on support staff, like CNA's, so they're run ragged. 2) Lack of supplies/equipment. There is so much time wasted hunting for a vitals machine or an IV pump, it's mind boggling. 3) Patients who are placement issues and are on the acute care floor for months, particularly ones that need constant supervision and contribute to the lack of staffing. School Nursing: 1) School staff. I'm the only medically trained staff member in the building and often times, an "emergency" to them and me are not the same thing. They want me to jump through hoops to get things done, but don't want to communicate with me before the "emergency" occurs. Also, being the only nurse makes me feel kind of isolated. 2) Parents that don't answer calls or don't provide the care that I think is probably necessary for their child (e.g. dental/medical/eye appointments, basic hygiene, just picking them up when they're feeling ill). Also, parents who are the complete opposite and will get angry if you don't call them for every single thing. 3) Still ratios. Would love to only take care of one school and be in one building all day than float back and forth. But, it could be worse--I only have two schools!

I almost feel like it's the opposite. There are a lot of staff kids (including my own) that attend the schools I work in and I probably give them slightly more TLC just because I know them, but they're all nice kids and none are frequent flyers. All are reasonable and know (as my kids know) that their parents will be informed if they misbehave. I like to tell my kids that I have spies everywhere--which I basically do!

It's kind of a slippery slope over here with 504 Plans. I am the case manager for strictly medical 504 plans, such as diabetics, seizure, Crohn's, CF, etc., but generally stay out of the ones that are dealing only with behavioral or academic. However, this is where it gets kind of sticky--I have quite a few ADHD 504 plans that I feel aren't truly medical and I'm trying to get out of them because the only thing I'm really involved with is the medication piece...I don't like to manage them because I'm not in the classroom and don't have a teaching background. I don't know what's going on in there and what has been tried; teachers usually have much more contact with parents than me. I mean, I can generate general accommodations, but it's just not my area of expertise. But, I still get suckered in somehow!

I don't know; I'm leaving school nursing at the end of this year. It's been a fun two years and there are a lot of great perks that I'm going to miss (e.g. not working on weekends or holidays--this was my first job that I got this, being with my children during the school day, summer/spring/winter breaks, cheap benefits, etc.). I'm going to miss the kids like crazy! I've grown a lot as a nurse and I wouldn't trade that for anything. But, as a pretty new nurse (three years in June), I feel like I didn't give the bedside enough of a chance. I worked full time noc shifts at the hospital during my first year, as well as went to school full time for my BSN (along with a pretty extensive community health practicum that led me to this school nurse gig in the first place!)...and kids...and life. In addition to the "new grad blues," I think the amount of stress I was putting on myself with outside things really didn't allow me time to learn as much as I could have and enjoy the experience. I think I have so much to learn that I can't learn in the school and it would make me a stronger nurse all around. I do work at the hospital twice a month to make more money, but considering that I make half my school nurse wage in two days, it just doesn't make logical sense to continue--those weeks I work at the hospital are lonnnnng. I just don't want to continue to have to basically lose two weekends a month to supplement my income. It's definitely not all about money, but it is a factor. So there are probably a lot of reasons your friend is considering changing career paths, and I think that's okay. She might find out she hates it and might want to run back to school nursing. I might find out the same. But the beauty of our career is there are so many paths we can follow.

Haha! I got the whole "I lost my job because I had to call in because of lice so many times...and it's all your fault!" speech, too. Our policy does not say that you need to keep your kid home because of lice and you yourself don't need to stay home because of lice. Treat your hair and go to work.

This year, my kiddo is a fifth grader and will be in on the puberty talk. She wants to watch the video beforehand, but hasn't made any requests other than that. I feel like it could be more awkward for me than for her!

Haha! I've totally been the zipper hero, too! Kid had his jacket zipped all the way up to his neck and was getting claustrophobic because he couldn't get it down or slip the coat off. Got some pliers and used graphite and the zipper came down nicely. Hero status! This weekend when I was working my shift at the hospital, the tele tech got his foot stuck in the bottom of his chair. He and the house supervisor were cracking up struggling to get his foot out and I look over and dead pan say, "Take your shoe off" and I was the hero there, too. Who says our skills don't transfer to acute care?

My fave is what I refer to as the "hand thermometer." So many kids saying, "My teacher felt me with her hand and said I have a fever and I should come see you." I guess it's a special gift that transcends different job sectors, because when I was a barista, we'd have people asking for a 141 degree latte and feel the cup to ensure our accuracy...perhaps those customers too, were teachers.

I would call that in. Just telling the principal and the counselor and letting them deal with it just doesn't cut it for me. We're mandatory reporters, and if something is truly happening to this kiddo and and it's brought forth later that you suspected and didn't act, it wouldn't be good. Aside from that, I'd want the kid to get help, whether it's in the form of formal counseling if this is really fantastical thinking or history of past trauma coming forth or if he's truly being abused. Just my two cents.