school nursing

[amiss5572]

I may be starting a new job as a school nurse. I am a new grad and the school offers a lot of support. I will never be by myself. One thing I am worried about is it is contracted. So I am not always guaranteed a job. But I am desperate right now. A lot of the hospitals only have new grad programs once a year (which is ridiculous).

My question is what have people done about insurance. I will not be benefited..unless I choose to be. I can make 26 an hour as benefited or 32.50 without benefits but not insurance. Just don't know if its worth it. I am going to spend time later tonight looking up insurance.

Any tips you can give me about school nursing would be greatly appreciated. I was REALLY hoping to get into a hospital. I feel a little sad because I will be loosing out on so much experience and what if its hard to get into a hospital after only have school nursing? There is a hospital with a new grad program in December near me so I will apply to that.

[newgradrn2016]

Hi amiss,

I also applied for a contract position with school nursing through an agency, but a lot of the positions they offer are 1:1. Is yours like that as well? I was thinking about taking a part-time position with school nursing and a part-time position with an acute skilled facility just so I dont loose my skills.

[amiss5572]

They didn't say one to one but that I will never be alone. I havnt recieved the contract yet so don't know the details...

I was offered a job at a nursing home. I just found out today about the school nurse position. I am going to ask the nursing home if I could work their some nights and weekends. But I don't know if thats possible with a new grad, I may be required to work days for a few weeks for training and it will be hard with school nursing.

All of the new grad programs have just filled over the summer but a few hospitals have some during Christmas. So I was thinking I could do that school nursing until then. I always imagined myself starting at a hospital and it's unfortunate that they only hire new grads twice a year. What is a new grad supposed to do? Wait 4 months for a job? Hopefully the school nurse job will look good on my resume as a new grad.

[amiss5572]

And I didn't really understand your question at first.. Thought it was about being alone or having help. There were two positions I applied for. One was a float school nurse and the other was a 1:1. I have no idea which one I was offered, I was just excited about getting a job.

[Eleven011]

If your interested, there is a forum on here for just school nurses. You could find lots of help there. Its under the specialties section.

[Farawyn]

If your interested, there is a forum on here for just school nurses. You could find lots of help there. Its under the specialties section.

Yes, Hi ladies, I requested that the mods move your post to the School Nurse Forum.

You will get more answers.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Thread moved to School Nurses forum.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

You should definitely find out asap whether you'll be acting in the capacity of 1:1 or float school nursing so that you can adequately prepare. But if they said you'll never be alone i tend to think it will be more of a float as a back up to the school nurse in whichever office they send you to.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

I am going to sound a little on the negative side, but I hope that you take what I say in the tone I intend. You have no skill sets at this point, your clinical experience does not hold up in the clinical environment, no matter what environment that is. School nursing is an autonomous position, whether you have another nurse next to you (which I doubt) or have one on the phone, your assessment skills have to be well developed. The one thing that can't be faked is critical thinking and experience, both need time, something you can not rush. There are exceptions, but my experience in hospital settings is the poor quality nurses that went agency after 6 months experience, which is basically an autonomous position. Don't shortchange your career by rushing into a job that requires experience, get your experience in an acute setting to develop your skills and critical thinking. Don't take this personally, I tell every new grad that nursing is a career, that requires 2-3 years experience. You wouldn't trust a resident who was chief of a department or a 22 year old principal in a law firm. It really is the same thing.

[amiss5572]

Thanks for the reply.. I completely agree and understand where you are coming from. I don't take offense to this at all. The only problem is, is that it is so hard to get a job. I even live in the Chicagoland area, about 50 minutes from the city. I have probably put in over 200 applications. I do have an interview for a hospital on Monday but the hospital is an hour away and I think they only do 8 hour shifts. I even have 5 years of experience as a pct but left the job last year for a homecare position. Definely not the best decision I've ever made because they were put on hospice 3 months ago and I have not had a job sense. I would never put myself in a situation I am unsure of and if I find myself uncomfortable then I will leave immediately.

The hospitals all have new grad programs and some are in December or next summer. So all I can do is find a job and work their until something opens up.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

Nursing is the best barometer of economy, as wives/ mothers go back in the workforce when things get tight at home. Living around medical hotspots doesn't help much. New grads here in Baltimore are in the same predicament. My wife w/ 28 years experience took 2 years to find another position to show you how tight things are. That said, those two years were tough, but they are but a moment in time. Will be praying that you be given the right position for you.

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

As long as you will not be by yourself and have a good support system, you will be fine. As for insurance, I would say definitely get it through the school. Most school systems have very good insurance. Good luck :)