School nursing

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Jun 14, 2016

Immunizations need to be presented prior to enrolling (usually K) and then as they move into the district. They must (in my area) be on letterhead from an MD with a signature.

The second often depends on where you practice. I will be pursuing the National Exam certification, mostly for my own interest and purpose. There will be no monetary gain, but I will be meeting a personal goal.

Good Luck and hang out with us if you do land a job in SN, or not, we are still lots of fun!!

SnowyJ, RN · Jun 14, 2016

Regarding Immunizations, know your state requirements per grade ahead of time. I keep them printed out and on the wall for quick reference, mostly because NY likes to change them. Parents must submit immunization records. I enter them in our system and make sure none are missing.

NY also has a database that imms should be logged into. I print out this for all NYS students as well. Often it is more up to date than what parents provide.

Right now I am busy logging in all my new students for next year. Very time consuming.

if a student is not fully immunized upon entry to school despite multiple reminders, the parent is sent an exclusion letter at the start of school that lists an exclusion date no later than 2 weeks from the start of school. No compliance? No attending school after that date.

The only exception is students who are VERY far behind, and they must follow the ACIP guidelines for "catch up" with imms or else again, exclusion from school.

Honestly, this is the bane of my existence. No lie.

Flare, ASN, BSN · Jun 15, 2016

i pretty much do what Snowy does. No one gets through the gates without full immunization records. For those who for some reason come to me and need to play some serious catch up (for me the biggest reason is undocumented immigrant) i can grant provisional status as long as they have at least one dose of everything they are missing. But there is a reasonable timeline to get all this done. This goes for the little ones too. There is no admission to school with the knowledge that they owe both MMRs or have no varicella.

I also keep the state vaccination code pinned to my wall for easy reference.

In my state we are required to have certification as school nurses through the state.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2016

Each state makes their own rules about certification. We get school nurse licenses in Massachusetts, (on top of regular nursing licensure), initial and professional. The initial is good for five years after which (with one exception) you have to advance to professional school nurse licensure. To obtain this, you either have to earn your Master's degree or become nationally certified.

And pay the money, of course...

peaceful nurse, RN · Jun 16, 2016

I really sorta do want to be certified just for personal but not if my state is backwards and requires classes for school nursing.. I am not opposed to learning but I am working an my Msn Ed and really want to stop after this..not take five more classes and another hours upon hours of practicum.. I am doing that now.. but it sounds like you can't substitute anything. I ashed one place for information and sent them my transcripts and she responded well you have the prerequisites.. What my master degree did not cover anything and I would have to take five classes..

peacockblue · Jun 20, 2016

The classes I had to take for my school nurse certification included things like educational psychology, intro to special Ed and a 6 credit school nurse class. None of these would probably be included in your masters degree. Actually my school nurse classes were some of the ones I enjoyed the most.

peaceful nurse, RN · Aug 9, 2016

Ohio does have a statewide system online for immunization, however I don't want to always rely on that? My managers keep sending request for me to get the record from the doctor.. which I do with a release from. But if I get tired of consistently asking the doctor for the information ( that also goes for well child checks and physicals( the oh we can get from the dr... you just have to sign this release)... what is the best way to get the shot record? I would want to make a rule saying no more requesting from the doctor.. parents need to bring it i.. bu that is asking a lot at times of people. I am just wondering the best way...

iggywench, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2016

In Texas, students who are enrolling have to have complete shot records if enrolling from out of state, or there is a 30-day grace period to obtain records from the previous district if they are coming from a school within Texas. We have quite a few students who enroll from other countries, and they are required to have at least one dose of each vaccine to enroll. I then follow the CDC recommended catch-up schedule and come up with a plan for them to get the remaining vaccines. Once they are overdue, they have 10 days to get the overdue shots before they are withdrawn. There is a state immunization registry, but not all doctor's offices participate in it. Also, a lot of my students go to clinics and not a pediatrician for their shots, so they don't get entered into the registry. Parents have to provide the vaccine records if they are not available from the previous school; I don't call doctor's offices for those.

There is no requirement for certification as a school nurse in Texas, and there would be no additional compensation for it.

peaceful nurse, RN · Aug 9, 2016

I love that the parents bring them in because i hate sending faxes to the MD over and over again for things that the parent shouls be responsible for.

peacockblue · Aug 9, 2016

Pennsylvania also has an online statewide system, but not all the docs use it. I make the parents get it if I can't find it online. Most of the doctors don't want to release it and we have to have the parents drop off a release of records anyways, so if they are going there, they can just pick it up. We re supposed to exclude if they aren't adequately immunized, but our administration won't back us up on that. Especially hard to get that age 12 Tdap and meningitis because they are already in the school. If they haven't started yet, I have a bit more leverage.