beachynurse

I have been a school nurse for 22 years. I just can't recommend this job to a new grad. I think it is imperative that anyone that applies has a strong background in Med Surg. That area allows you to hone your critical thinking skills and your assessment skills, both of which you will need as a school nurse. You are working alone as the only health care professional in the school. You will have to make split second decisions that you can only make with experience. If there are other school nurses available in other schools, you can call for advice, but in an emergency, there just isn't time for that. Any and all medical decisions are made by you, and you need to have the rationale behind those decisions. If I were you, I would work elsewhere for a year or two and then explore school nursing.

I grew up on Long Island and I am very familiar with the schools that you have mentioned. Stony Brook is a massive school. I went there my first year of college and hated it. I don't know if it's improved but my freshman Bio and Psych were held in a 2 story lecture hall that was jam packed with students. I found I needed a smaller school with smaller classes. I had been accepted to Molloy right out of high school and wish I had gone there. It's Nursing School is wonderful, and the school is beautiful. I should have gone there. I was not interested in Adelphi, or Hofstra. My cousin went to Hofstra and loved it. By the time I had finished my year at Stony Brook, I decided I wanted to go away to school, and ended up at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. I loved that school.. Anyway, I hope this helps you with your decision...

This is a tough one. I am concerned as well about his skin integrity without being changed. However, he does have the right to refuse. I would talk to the parents and express your concerns. If they still feel as though it is OK for him not to be changed during the school day, I would get something in writing from the parents, and get a release of information so you can communicate with his MD. I am a high school nurse as well, these are challenging years for these teens.

Good luck!!

I would consult an attorney that specializes in Nursing Boards and see if you can at least get a free consult.

Agreed. I went and looked at the posts, and they were all posted on Saturday. I don't mind helping people, but they should be up front and say that it's for an assignment.

They are probably trying to verify if you are legally able to work in the US. That kind of information is needed to prove your identity. It could be that they are verifying now to see if they want to invest the time and effort to move forward and spend countless amount of time preparing to hire you only to find out that you can't work in the US. I would just comply rather than risk the possibility of you being labeled as being difficult through the hiring process.

Totally agree. I am a nurse in a high school. and I can't even begin to tell you the sorry state our kids are in. They don't know left from right, can barely read or write, math and history, lets just not talk about those classes. It breaks my heart to say this, but the mental health issues plaguing these kids is unbelievable. The parents coddle them in a ridiculous manner. Lets wrap them in bubble wrap. All their kids are genius's, it's the teachers fault the kid is failing, not that the kid doesn't do the work required for the class. I also taught at a community college, this was just as sad. Writing skills are poor, their expectations are unreasonable. I had a student call me 4 weeks after the class ended to tell me she was ready to take her final exam, did she freak out when I told her that the class ended 4 weeks ago, so no I could not give her the final exam now. Education is exhausting....

No, I don't think that the NCLEX today is enough. How can they possibly demonstrate knowledge when a student can pass at 75 questions. I also understand that the maximum number of questions has been lowered to 150 questions rather than 265. Personally I find this to be the cause of the quality of Nurses being sent out into the real world. I hear nurses that have taken the exam complain how hard it was. Let them take the boards the way I took them. A full 16 hours of testing, we tested from 8-12, then we had lunch until 1. We resumed testing from 1-5, and did the exact same thing the following day. We also did not know if we passed for 6-8 weeks. It was torture waiting for the mailman to come to get your results. It's so disappointing to me to see the changes in our profession, and not for the better..

Definitely take the tele position. I was a hiring manager in Home care and would never hire a new grad. The reason being, in HOme care, you are making visits to patients homes, performing a skill, teaching the patient and their families, as well as doing assessments on each patient. I just think when you are working in a position where there is no help or backup, you get a good baseline of experience.

This subject is a very sore one for me.. I understand the concerns about opioid use, however, that pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction and patient care is suffering. How do I know? I'm one of those people with horrible pain and no treatment other than OTC meds which do nothing. I had 2 back surgeries 2 years ago and I am in worse shape than before the surgeries. The pain is constant and excruciating most of the time. I can't walk more than 15-20 ft without crutches, and can't stand long enough to even prepare a meal. I can't sleep in my bed, but can only sleep in a chair in my room. I have been to 3 pain management offices, and all they do is inject my back which is helpless. I have never experienced what I consider to be medical neglect by every physician I have seen. I've had md's tell me I am a good candidate for low dosage pain meds.. yet no one wants to prescribe anything. Our health care system is failing us. Someone needs to speak out, and do something. Chronic pain is real, and often untreated, or not treated properly. I just want to have some quality of life. Is that too much to ask.

I have to disagree with you. I don't know why nurses have to be so prim and proper in their private lives. We are held to a standard that I feel is archaic, sexist, and is unfair. We should be held to the same standards as any other person. Why are we not allowed to have privacy in our lives. So what if she had a sexual on line video sharing, and so what if she got paid for it. It's really none of our business, and why she must be so vilified is. How does having this PRIVATE activity effect her judgement? It doesn't have anything to do with it. There is nothing wrong with her exploring her sexuality. Besides, this activity pays more than nursing, so she is making a windfall, I say good for her!

Thank you for the response, it seems much safer with another person in the room.... You are very welcome, and I agree that it is much safer with 2 people in the room..

I have been a school nurse for 40 years with the last 21 in a high school. There have been times when a nurse was absent with no substitute available, and I had been asked to run over to that school in order to cath a student, or start and end a tube feeding. Our job function is to ensure the well being, safety, and health of the students. What would happen to that student if no one agreed to go to that other school to cath them? Even though the nurse was absent, the treatments still have to be done, so I don't mind running over to a nearby school to help out. I may need the same help at my school one day, and would hate for another nurse to refuse to help my students.

I worked in a GI unit years ago, and there were 2 nurses in the room. One was assisting the MD, the other was administering the meds that the MD orders and documenting it so the MD could sign the orders after the procedure.

I have had several students with psychogenic seizures over the years I've worked in a high school. The first student that had these types of seizures would fall on the floor, always on her back, and would be shaking and scratching at her neck. However, while I was sitting on the floor next to her, we would have conversations about her horse, dogs, what she did for the weekend. It was very obvious that this was attention seeking behavior. Another student that had them would just drop to the floor, and have the tonic clonic movements of a grand mal. There were times he would seize for hours. Nothing could stop the seizure, no ativan, or valium. He would just have to seize until he would stop. We called 911 so often that the paramedics would walk in and look at him and say hi ****. They got to know him very well. Mom told me that the longest he seized was 8 hours. He has had numerous EEG's which were all normal. He graduated 6 years ago, and still comes to visit me, and yes, he still has those seizures.

Welcome Moe! Join in on discussions, there's always room to gain another's perspective..

Sigh, yes it is. The beginning of the end of common sense in health care. I saw an article on line where he took his grandchildren to swim in Rock Creek in Arlington, VA. It was in the article that swimming is forbidden there because of the high levels of bacteria in that water. He is an adult, able to make his own decisions stupid or not, but to put his grandchildren at risk? To me that doesn't give me warm fuzzies that this man knows what he is doing..

My concern is not with the President, but with Bobby Kennedy. He is a notorious anti-vaxer, who is partially changing his stance to gain his position. This will become a disaster for us.

I have been a school nurse for 20 years now, all but my first year in a high school. I have had private duty nurses with some students, and I have never heard of such a thing happening. Legally, you are obligated to document on your patient. I also have never heard from my colleagues, of such things happening. I would talk to my manager, and maybe the manager can call or set up a meeting with the school, parents and teacher to review what your responsibilities are and how important your documentation is to the safety and well being of the student. As a school nurse, I would be your advocate when it comes to documentation.

thank you all for your answers, I appreciate it I'm going to be applying to nursing school and I can't wait I love medicine and everything about it, from the information to the hands-on I just love to learn about it im not sure if this belongs here but its another question I had so I guess ill put it here do you guys hate when the people staying by the patient ask questions? I go to volunteer for patients in my community and stay with them in the hospital all the time, mostly peds. I'm wondering if nurses find the questions I ask annoying. Congratulations on choosing to go to Nursing School! I didn't think that your questions were annoying at all. You were trying to obtain information in order to make a major decision in your life. As far as patients visitors asking questions, I don't mind too much if they are family members and the patient has given consent for me to talk to them. It gets annoying when they begin to become difficult when they receive information they don't like, or are demanding. It can make for a very long shift.

I believe the Jewish Sabbath is from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. I believe that puts you unable to work during those hours. That is about 4 shifts that you won't be available for. It may be difficult for a hospital position to honor that kind of request on a weekly basis. You may be allowed to try and get someone to switch shifts with you, but if you can't obtain your own coverage for your shift, unfortunately you will be expected to work the shift. I commend your dedication to your faith, I have many Jewish friends and have been with them at Temple services and Passover dinners. I love the traditions and prayer. I think they are beautiful. I wish you the best in your decision making.

I have been an RN for 40 years, and in that time I have had 2 bosses that were bullies. The first one was when I worked in home care. She had a hard time keeping managers directly under her. She would call a group meeting in her office and just berate the 6 of us until someone started crying. A colleague and I refused to let her see us cry or become upset. We kept trying to tell the 4 that always cried that they were giving her way too much power over them, and she actually enjoyed watching them cry. If she was upset about something, you prayed she didn't see you or she would just walk up to you and start yelling at you and poking her finger in your chest. Most of the time, you had no idea what she was talking about. She just happened to see you first. I left there with hypertension. The 2nd boss that has been a bully is my current boss. I am managed by an individual that is not medical, and that often causes issues due to our practice. If a parent complains that I won't take an order, she will insist that I take it anyway even though it is an invalid order. We have had some very loud interactions due to her not understanding the profession, and our nurse practice act guidelines. It took time, but we are finally able to talk about things rather than have a shouting match. It's no good for anyone.

You know, this subject kind of troubles me. Why? Because Nurses are held to a higher standard that most other professions, even Medicine. If an MD loses his license, he or she can just go to another state and get a license there. Try that as a nurse, not going to happen, we couldn't get a license to save our lives. Mental health, we can't even be depressed, or have any other type of mental illness. We get put on some kind of program, or our license can get suspended. We should not be held to a higher standard than anyone else. I have 2 years till I retire... and after 39 years, I wish I could retire now..

I have been a school nurse for 21 years, and I do not recommend anyone with less than a year of med surg, or ICU experience. In those areas you will learn how to improve and hone your critical thinking skills, develop organizational and assessment skills. As a school nurse, you are on your own. If there is an emergency you have to be able to make decisions in seconds if the situations warrant it. There is no one to ask for reassurance, support, or run ideas by. You must be able to work independently, and be able to navigate between the world of Education and the world of Nursing.. It's not always easy to do that as we have different mind sets. You have to learn when to stand your ground, give in, or meet in the middle. Wishing you luck!