I am a brand spanking new school nurse (and I've only been an RN for 2 years to boot!). I feel blessed and so lucky that I am now one of the few, the underappreciated, the school nurses.
Here's the problem: I was hired 3 weeks before school started. The old school nurse retired in June and moved out west somewhere. She had worked at the school since before I was born. Apparently, she was quite the mystery woman and no one knows exactly what she did or how she did it. Well I'm finding out the hard way. I am over whelmed with paper work that is unfamiliar and if that weren't bad enough, I'm the truant officer as well!! The elementary school nurse (I am the nurse for 7th - 12th grades) helps when she can but she is overwhelmed too.
I'm trying my best and so far the students have been the least of my worries. The parents are another story...
I'd appreciate any advice or good luck wishes that anyone can offer.
Nurse/truency officer? Something is wrong with this picture. Perhaps you should have a talk with the school board and principal reminding them what 'nurse' really does mean.
I clearly remember my first days as a school nurse and the isolation I felt being the only health care provider on campus. I have found that belonging to the state and / or regional school nurses' organizations greatly relieves this isolation. I developed mentors and friendships with those who could provide support, information, and resources. To find the school nurses' group in your area, see the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) website http://www.nasn.org and click state affiliates http://www.nasn.org/affiliates/governancemap.htm
I would love to do school nursing but have found that there are no openings for school nurses any where around me (southern KY). I have an assoc. degree in nursing and I think most require a bachelors...so i'm going back this summer to work on getting that BSN.
renerian, BSN, RN
5,693 Posts
Paperwork that is unfamiliar can be daunting. Can P&P help you any?
The truency officer was always very busy in my opinion. Probably hard to do both isn't it?
renerian