Stress- and decompress

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Specializes in 12 years as a school nurse.

I'm sure I'm not the only one out here in School nurse world feeling the effects of the long-term stress of dealing with this pandemic in addition to the normal everyday school nurse duties. How do you deal???

My biggest struggle right now is navigating the conflicting viewpoints around me. Parents who think the school is over-reacting to "a little cough, or a mild flu" and parents who think we're not doing enough to protect their kid at school. Parents who are fearful; parents who are angry. One school building administrator leaning on the more cautious side, and a different building administrator taking the "life goes on" standpoint. Staff and community members on both "camps" as well.  It feels so divided.

In "normal" days I could go home and talk about my day and my struggles with my husband. Lately all we do is argue about the same things I deal with at school. We do not see eye- to- eye on the response/management of this pandemic. I'm tired of it, and have no way to decompress from my day whether it be normal school stuff or pandemic stuff. Talking about it AND not talking about it leaves me feeling more stressed. Trying to keep it together. What do you all do? 

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.

Mr. Ruby Jane is also a nurse so I guess I'm luckier than most.

We're here for you.  

One of the things I realized about a decade ago right before nursing school is that partners are not therapists. No matter how awesome they are - if you are having issues and the issues are getting worse by talking about them at home, then you need to remove that stressor. Perhaps see about your Employee assistance provider?

And I know you know this but the entire profession is struggling with this right now. You can't worry about the parents who say you're not doing enough - if they really believe that they need to virtual school (whatever that looks like - and there are a ton of options) until they feel it's safe.

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Specializes in pediatrics, school nursing.

I was just going to ask if your employer has an EAP. Ours has specific counseling for pandemic-related worries. If that is not an option, I have found talking to the other nurses in my district (and other school nurses in my area) to have been really helpful. I am lucky enough that the nurses in my district meet weekly and are in contact via email even more regularly. We also get to attend a bi-monthly zoom meeting with the local PH nurses and other school nurses in our county. It's a good place to voice frustrations, hear solutions from other schools, and the like (and since the PH nurses are on, its a great resource, too). It might be difficult to organize, but perhaps you could send some emails and make some phone calls to other schools to see if that kind of forum would be helpful/welcome... 

Our little sub is also a great place to vent. I think a lot of us are in your shoes and just feeling overwhelmed, and we would love to be a virtual shoulder to lean on...

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Specializes in School Nursing; Nursing Education.

Yes, absolutely feeling this same way. We have set-up weekly area nurses Microsoft Teams calls (I am in the 14th largest district, so we break up into areas) and that has been so helpful to talk things through, hear what the other nurses are seeing and experiencing and how they handle it. At first I was the one to set-up the calls but after our supervisors saw the demand and desire to have this community call then they took over and expanded it to each area. Point being, if you don't already have something like that going, you could take the initiative to make it happen! 

As for the conflicting sides - we definitely see that here. Teachers that are nervous and get upset/hold a grudge if the student they to the clinic/isolation room doesn't go home. On the other hand parents who think a runny nose doesn't warrant being sent home from school. I think the resolution I find is this is MY job. I am the only healthcare worker here, and if me making my best nursing judgment calls offends them then that's their perspective and I can't take that personally so long as I know I am doing what I know to be safest for our school, staff, students and families. I keep thinking about our County Judge that has had to make some tough calls as far as shut-downs and what not; he gets all sorts of pushback but he still hold firm to his stance on keeping our county safe. 

 

Hope this helps! Hang in there! It's a burning barrel of ? everywhere LOL 

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
1 hour ago, BooBooCrew said:

 

Hope this helps! Hang in there! It's a burning barrel of ? everywhere LOL 

That DOES help. It's the best description of the year so far....

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Specializes in school nurse.
On 11/5/2020 at 11:29 AM, BooBooCrew said:

 

Hope this helps! Hang in there! It's a burning barrel of ? everywhere LOL 

Interesting. I've never seen a burning barrel of chocolate mousse before...

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
19 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

Interesting. I've never seen a burning barrel of chocolate mousse before...

The whole year has been a burning barrel of chocolate mousse!!

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