CAdreamerRN

That is super frustrating! Poor kids and poor you! I'd say my average for elementary is about 20 minutes. Most of my families have a parent or grandparent at home. Some show up and it seems like they must have already been in the parking lot and others say they will try to find someone to pick up their kid early, which means the student is with me until the end of the day because no one comes. That has only happened three times this year. No policy on how long they can take. What could happen if parents didn't comply?

Nice solutions! My office walls are windows that look out onto the secretary's space which is where EVERY one passes and people always poke their heads in to check on Johnny. I really want to change it, but my thought is that it's kind of good if people are covering the health office on my break or something they can keep an eye on the kids (elementary). What do you guys think, should I try to rearrange? I have a few privacy screens to work with...

We have a lot of lice talk on here recently and gearing up for next year I was wondering - has anyone tried something like Lice Awareness Week in their schools? I feel like this could totally backfire but really want to reduce stigma and also educate parents and teachers so they stop flipping out on me when I tell them we don't do class-wide checks... What do you think is a good approach? Flyers to parents at the start of school? Would telling the kids more about it be a mistake? A bulletin board? So taboo!

Just got my FIRST walkie call for the nurse... the issue? "We have a kinder coming up to the nurse's office, she bumped her finger and may need ice!!" Wow. Can't wait to talk the the principal about that one. Except she was the one that called....

One of my schools is Title I and we have the same problem - NO working phone numbers! Literally "out of service" or the voicemail isn't set up or it rings twice and then is just dead - what does that mean? It's absolutely frustrating to think that in an emergency these parents wouldn't know where their kid was being transported until the police show up at their door - if their address is correct - and then they still don't answer because they are afraid of police?! Ridiculous. And when you try to get these kids FREE glasses with the FREE medical care - and the parent is adamant that they "don't need glasses" despite having been referred 4 times this year - and you finally convince them to just drop in to the optometrist around the corner after school because you've literally set up a walk-in appointment for them after making multiple phone calls and asking for (and getting) their insurance information based on their name and birthdate (probably a violation of some sort there, but grateful it happened) - and lo and behold the parent doesn't take them?? Wow.

In CA you are required to get the preliminary credential even as a sub. Basically HR helps you sort it out once you are hired, it's not a prerequisite. It's just a fee and they check to make sure your education and license are up to snuff. It takes a couple weeks. Then you agree to get the permanent credential through a university within 5 years of hire. Usually those programs are linked to a Master's option. So since programs take about two years, you need to decide within your first 2 years of school nursing if you want to make that financial investment to be a school nurse for life in California.

Our district frequently hires new grads. If you can work on an audiometry certification that would probably show them that you are serious about School Nursing and set you apart. It sounds like your experience is already well-suited. Maybe try to arrange a few shadow days or something like that at your partner's school to start networking with the nurse? I know "who you know" can go further than "what you know" in many areas of life - this year I've recommended three of my friends for hire as subs and they got called for interview right away and got it. Good luck!

NYCNURSE - my district payscales are available online to anyone - but nursing isn't mentioned anywhere. Maybe your district is the same, HR should know which scale you'd be on. I'd give a call :)

We are also on the teacher's payscale - experience and education credits and even "continuing ed" hours are all factored in (if HR agrees it relates to our job!). It's still a big paycut when you first look at it, but honestly after taxes changed from being paid less, the difference isn't AS shocking as I thought it would be in California. It would be nice to be on a separate payscale to make it comparable to other nursing specialties, or even to the school phsychologists who start out around 70K fresh out with their Master's - a nurse with a Master's is still 20K behind that... It does seem like no one understands what we do or what we know, maybe that's part of it. For those of you lumped in with cafeteria workers, etc., yikes! If that's the level of training it takes to be a nurse, why did we put so much time and money into our education!? And why are we trusted with all that we're trusted with?! I hope you guys can see a change while you can still benefit from it!

I help out at other schools in my district some days and the culture from school to school can be night and day – some health offices see hardly any kids at all, some see only injuries at recess, and others have kids coming in all the time for math-aches, I mean stomachaches! One of my schools has a lot of… sensitive” kids?!! And the staff coddle them to the point that I would be weirded out if that was my kid – not sure if they are seriously that concerned or if they learned to CYA because of some of our parents – either way it makes for a looooot of unnecessary health office visits and time away from class. I know sometimes kids need a mental health break like the rest of us and I'm happy to have them take a breather in the health office. But what about the rest? Any tips on how you've worked with teachers and playground staff to curb the numbers and keep kids in class? I googled around and one nurse made a memo with reasons to send to the health office” (vomiting, head injury etc.) and things that can be taken care of in class” (this list included nosebleeds and nausea – which I feel like would never fly in my sensitive” school). Thoughts??

If the parent can't go and the teacher who is trained doesn't want to be/doesn't think they can be the Epi Pen person then the field trip has to be cancelled - once a teacher hears that they usually accommodate!

Interesting! And I kinda agree sometimes - some people I see in stores in scrubs look pretty grungy, and not just the "I had a long day grunge". I started out the year in scrubs and staff complimented me on it here and there - and I liked that people could tell I was the nurse. Now I prefer to just wear dark jeans and a nice top from target with flats or low profile sneakers with my lanyard badge. I also go off what the teachers wear, but will not be wearing shorts and flip flops when it warms up!

Yes NanaPoo! "It started an hour ago and I already tried going to the bathroom."

We have that culture at my schools too. I once had a staff member walk a student into the health office from recess and said her lip was bleeding. There was no bleeding by the time they got to me and absolutely no sign of injury outside or inside, and no report of injury. Who knows what happened there, but it was important that the student be escorted! Another time a student told me he was punched in the face. We iced the area and there was no swelling or discoloration or pain. When the principal came to see him to investigate the incident, which ended up being an accident, she told me, holding his head straight, "When you look at his face head on, doesn't it look like that side is a little swollen?!" And I just looked at her and said, "No. I think it looks normal." Seriously, did I not look at him head on when I made my assessment? And whenever a staff member brings a kid in, they always involve themselves in my assessment with things like "Keep the thermometer under your tongue!" or "Can you smile?" - really, a teacher is now doing neuro checks... and everyone that passes by to get to the staff fridge stops to chat with my resting kids about what's going on. I feel like I need to lay some ground rules at next years back to school staff meeting. This was my first year, and now I know better!

Cute stuff! I had a first grader say "I'm having abdominal pain in my foot!!". SO close, kid, so close.

thanks, realredhead :) It was actually really helpful reading through everyone's responses - and I'm still not sure about what I'm going to do in the future... Planning on doing at least one more school year, though. We may be moving out of state at that time anyway, and then I get to reevaluate all over again! In the meantime I'm trying to choose to have a positive attitude about it every morning and remember that summer break is 8 weeks away – what other job offers that? My admin and colleagues tell me I'm doing a great job, so it's nice to have feedback to prove that my work isn't suffering because of my feelings. Trying to keep an open mind and be patient. I think you guys are right: it's hard being the only medical person around. Today a staff member said to me super defensive, I'm not lying.” when I asked her for more info about a student's health because it's just not adding up… and it makes me wonder – do I sound like a know-it-all or something? Or what is my role here if no one takes my assessments into account? Would they talk to the nurse at their kid's clinic like that? Just so different. It's an adjustment, I'm used to being on a tight team in the OR and now I'm telling a speech pathologist that no, I'm not going to go through every student's lunch box and write notes home to parents when a meal isn't healthy”. Yep…

I sense that I can only chat about work gripes with other school nurses, and in my district we have monthly meetings. Can't put my finger on why, but something tells me not to open up too much with other staff when I have the opportunity to share something with them. Definitely don't feel that medical camaraderie with non-nurses in school! Glad you guys are here, too :)

Then it probably ends there.

It's not the school or the district alone, it's in the state ed code. It's for school-based settings, there are other options for parents to choose for their kid. It's probably to cover for some employee that doesn't understand what DNR is and would think they were helping. Our policy is to perform CPR until EMS gets there and send a copy of the DNR with the kid to the hospital. Court-ordered DNRs are taken into account on a case by case basis, so if parents are really pushing for no assistance while their child is at school, then I suppose there is a way around it. I'm not advocating either way, just answering the original question.

We have a kid with a DNR in the district - medically fragile and severely disabled - we do not honor DNRs in school and have to make parents aware.

That's where I am, too! except I'm not loving it... yet maybe! Thanks glolilly :)

Good for you! My mom says that "work" is a four-letter word no matter where you go - every job is a give and take - but it is possible to find something that enriches your life while you to enrich others... if switching it up makes you happy then switch it up! Thanks for your feedback!

Fetch, what finally swayed you to decide it wasn't right for you?

Wow thanks everyone for your advice and words of wisdom. You all make great points, and it's good to know that at least I'm not alone over here! I like reading everyone's perspective and experiences. I know I should give it at least another year…this time next year I'll have to really decide because that's when I'll need to start applying to credential programs – state requirement to complete it within the first five years of employment, too… Maybe I'm missing the pace of the OR, there's a lot of down time” here where I have to get creative finding things to do, so I wonder if I'm forgetting something! P.S. just saw a 3rd grader who has an invisible bruise on her forehead from a dog whistle that swung into her face yesterday… I dunno, we'll see – thanks for your support!

Hi everyone, I'm new to school nursing this year – have been a nurse for five: in a clinic and then in the OR which I left after having my baby. I really thought this would be the perfect fit, but I just hear myself thinking OVER it!” in response to so many things throughout the day! There are a lot of positives, like the kids are fun and there's always a holiday or break around the corner so I am able to enjoy time with my own family - and there are moments when I feel like I'm really helping a kid or a family out. But mostly it's a struggle to keep my mouth shut or my eyebrows in place when I talk with teachers or parents or even the kids sometimes (missing my OR mask!) I'm starting to think I chose the wrong profession, like maybe I don't care” as much as a nurse should - and that's hard to admit. How can I already be so jaded or burnt out or whatever it is after only five years? Feeling kind of lost… has anyone been here?