School nurse as first job

[RNbubu]

I graduated in December with a BSN. I have applied to many, many acute care positions, and got only 1 interview and no offers. I applied to a school nurse position just to check how hard it would be to get into that field - I was thinking of it as a plan B. It turns out that they loved me, and after the interview I was offered the job. I'm undecided about accepting it. It seems silly to say no to a job when I don't have any other concrete opportunities. But I'm still hoping to be considered for new grad programs that demand no previous RN experience in any role. And I have heard it might be hard to transition into acute care from a school nurse position, due to the very different nature of both fields. Has anyone here worked as a school nurse?

[HotChihuahua]

Would I take it? No, little people scare me! LOL

If this is a field you want to do, personally, I would absolutely accept it. If your heart is in the hospital, then keep looking.

[Nonetheless]

Would I take it: A BIG FAT YES! I WOULD LOVE TO BE A SCHOOL NURSE!!!

But see, look above at hotchihuahua: he/she doesn't like school nursing. So he/she shouldn't take it! The answer is individually based on YOUR passions.

Whether or not this will hamper your acute care search depends on the nature of the job. If it is part-time/ substitute/ per-diem/ temporary and they have plenty of replacements, you will be free to apply to acute-care jobs. A girl I know worked as a substitute school nurse until she got into the hospital. It was a temporary, part-time position and both the school and her understood that. This type of thing looks good on your resume IMHO.

But if they want you full-time, it would be a bad idea to accept it and then leave in the middle of the school year. You could technically do it, but it would be bad form and possibly hurt the students who would be nurse-less until a replacement is found. If it is full time and stuff, and your heart is in acute care, and you don't see yourself working as a school nurse and seeing where that takes you in the future, then do not take it. This type of thing looks bad on your resume IMHO.

So: a) go where your passion is and b) don't take the job if it is full time and you plan to leave in the middle of the school year.

[MoshRN]

Make sure there is some type of orientation. Sadly, school nurses notoriously get very little if any orientation. Will you be at one school all day or be responsible for several? If you have several, are there health assistants at each school during the entire school day? Does each school follow similar formats and use same documents? (Nothing like each school using their own forms). How do health assistants document? Will you have your own space at each school? What will you be responsible for? Who will teach you about IEP's and 504's? Will they teach you how to perform vision screens? Will they pay for you to become audiologist, to do hearing screens? Until you become certified, who will be responsible for your schools? Why did the last nurse leave?

[PersnickityChick]

As a school employee in a district where 1 nurse had to serve 4 schools every day, with NO assistant, and no one to help with documentation, I would give this advice: Make certain that you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. Being a school nurse does have its perks (vacation time and usually some benefits), but sometimes, as in the case of nurses here the risk to your license is high. We have been through 4 nurses in as many years because of this. Make sure that the school is willing to cover you.