School Nursing Questions

live4today, RN · Mar 24, 2002

Hi Perrie, :)

Most positions for school nurses require the nurse to have at least a BSN degree. In some rural areas, this may not always be the case, depending on the availability of nurses in a particular area. I recommend you obtain your BSN if school nursing is your goal. Best of everything to you! :)

Pat krupski · Mar 24, 2002

I know in Wisconsin you need a MSN to teach. Some school will accept you if you are at the end of your degree. Also it is a only Nursing master and not any other type that you must have to teach nursing here.

live4today, RN · Mar 24, 2002

Originally posted by Pat krupski
I know in Wisconsin you need a MSN to teach. Some school will accept you if you are at the end of your degree. Also it is a only Nursing master and not any other type that you must have to teach nursing here.

Pat, I think you misunderstood Perrie's question. :) She was asking what she needed to become a School Nurse not what she needed to Teach Nurses? :)

BjOnrs · Apr 11, 2002

In North- east Texas there are usually a number of L.V.N.'s that are nurses on campuses under the direction of one R.N. If the school district is small and poor there may be only one nurse shared by several schools. You need to know your stuff and be very aware of legal issues as a school nurse. Every little child's Momma or Dad want to have you for lunch because of something.

WashYaHands · Apr 11, 2002

try these sites. They may have state information for state educational requirements of the school nurse.

http://www.nasn.org

http://www.schoolnursechat.com

This is an exerpt taken from "Standards of Professional School Nursing Practice" written by Lordi & Bradley.

"Each state regulates nursing practice and certification of school personnel. What is required varies widely. Some states have no requirements for the school nursing position while others have exceedingly high educational requirements for school nurse certification. ....Some school districts adhere to recommended national or mandated state standards for school nurse preparation, while others are unaware of or ignore them."

cpgrn · May 20, 2002

It definitely depends on what state you are in. In Illinois (in my shool district) we work under the BSN/CSN. She is on the teachers salary scale and we're not. All nurses must be R.N.'s except for the one LPN who was grandfathered in. I really love this kind of work and the hours are terrific. It's also the only place that I've worked that expects you to take sick days for yourself and your family. No guilt here. It's nice to have Christmas break and Spring break also. Carol

lindagio · Jul 11, 2002

I live in georgia and interested in school nursing. I am not sure where to start. I do plan to work in a pediatric hospital for a year for the learning experience but would love to pursue school nurse. I realize the pay will decrease significantly. Does anyone work prn in a hospital while not in school or anything to supple ment income. I did read somewhere that I could buy a HUD home for half off which would be helpfull. Any suggestions or does anybody know about Georgia rules. I don't think they have RN's in their school system currently.

WashYaHands · Jul 11, 2002

lindagio,

Your plan sounds good, as pediatrics experience will be a benefit. I worked prn at a hospital in addition to my job as a private boarding school nurse. It's doable. I always thought that my school nurse job kept me young, and my bedside nurse job kept me humble. I'm working on my MSN now, so had to resign from the bedside job (I miss it terribly). You can do both, it just takes some organization.

Linda