Thankless job

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

OK, I am having a bad day, so bear with me here. I realize that I have been in school nursing most of my nursing career, so I have little to compare it to, but this just seems to be the most thankless job ever! I feel so unappreciated for all that I do and try to do for these kids. I am nowhere near perfect, but I KNOW I do a good job and that I do right by these kids. Is it asking too much to hear it every now and then??? I don't need a parade or anything, but a simple "thank you" would sure be nice to hear, at least once in a blue moon.

I guess I should say that I do get frequent pats on the back from my supervisors in the health dept., but as far as from teachers, campus administration, parents, etc....they just do not seem to appreciate anything that I try to do. Parents are the worst! The kids don't even say thanks most of the time, but they are kids so I can forgive that. Where is the gratitude from the ADULTS who should know better?

I think I am just having a bad week (month?) and sort of missing the more traditional fields of nursing. When I worked on an adult cardiac step down unit, my patients were generally grateful for my care. Some not so much, but some were so appreciative that I remember them to this day, and that was years ago. I am also a little bored, which does not help matters. It has been pretty slow around here since the last wave of H1N1 died down, and I know I should be thankful for that, but when you see 8 kids a day for a few days in a row it starts to get dull around here! Sure, there is paperwork to catch up on and other things I can do, but I want PATIENT CARE!!! I need to feel like I am doing something. I am just really frustrated right now and maybe a little burned out. Need a vacation, change of scenery, PRN job....something!!!

Just had to vent to people who understand. For those of you who have worked in many areas of nursing, do you feel that we as school nurses are especially unappreciated? Maybe part of it is that we are in the world of education and not the medical world, I dunno. Thoughts?

[BunnyBunnyBSNRN, ASN, BSN]

{{{{HUGS}}}

Purple,

I'm so sorry it's rough on you right now. All I can say is I know your pain and hang in there! Only 8 1/2 days till a week off for Thanksgiving and then 3 weeks till two weeks off for Christmas! :)

Hope it gets better for you.

s

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

aww purple, sending hugs your way. you deserve way better than that. i have been right where you are at and i totally agree. mostlly, it's a thankless job. i have to build myself up most days, because no one else will. we are "loners' here in the school system. no back-up and way too little support.

hang in there sweetie :redbeathe you are doing a great job !

praiser :heartbeat

[guest83140]

I think when you are a permanent fixture versus a non-permanent fixture, people tend to feel it it's part of your regular job to do what you do. I get about 50% Thankyou's but I guess I am used to it becasuse they (admin.) have so many deadlines and teacher problems. I also got used to it in the hospital from supervisors and administrators. I only heard from them when there were big issues or something negative. A few patients said thank you when I worked in a city hospital that had many non-insured patients that cursed you out and had no manners at all. I feel good when I help and I know I've helped someone. I am grateful for a good job even if no one says thank you but it does make you feel appreciated for sure. Be encouraged because your work is not in vain!:heartbeat

[SchoolNurseBSN]

I feel your pain. I had a week similar to yours last week. Yesterday, I put a band-aid on a 1st grader and he looked at me with these big brown eyes and said "thank you nurse, you are so nicest to me." Today, a parent thanked me for sending a vision referral home because he had no idea his son needed glasses! Those are few and far between but helps me make it through!

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Thanks everyone! I am just having a really bad week. I am devastated about the Fort Hood killings (I did not know anyone killed or injured, but I have the sons of a very good friend stationed there so it was a tense couple of days, and I have strong family ties to the military, so the senseless killings hit me pretty hard). Between that and having a slow week giving me too much time to think, I am just a little burnt.

I really do think I need a change of scenery for a while. I just have to make it through this school year first!

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

thanks everyone! i am just having a really bad week. i am devastated about the fort hood killings (i did not know anyone killed or injured, but i have the sons of a very good friend stationed there so it was a tense couple of days, and i have strong family ties to the military, so the senseless killings hit me pretty hard). between that and having a slow week giving me too much time to think, i am just a little burnt.

i really do think i need a change of scenery for a while. i just have to make it through this school year first!

love ya purple :loveya:

praiser :heartbeat

[schoolnurse09]

I am right there with ya this week. Everything you said & more. I do think that the difficulty for me is because we are in the world of education and not medicine. Many educators neither know nor respect what we do. Often I feel like I really do not belong because the rest of the staff acts that way, and because I have no peer support at work. That is the hard part of my job. I am still deciding if it is worth it, because I do REALLY like the kids and the schedule.

[noreenl]

Hang in there Girl!!!! Lots of hugs your way!!!!:redpinkhe:loveya::flowersfo

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

I too am trying to decide if it is worth it. The kids and the schedule are really the only things that make it worthwhile for me! I think taking a step away from the school setting for a while, maybe just a year, will make me a better school nurse in the long run. Never hurts to sharpen those clinical skills too. I know a job closer to home would benefit my stress level too. I just really hate to leave the kids I have grown to know over the last 2 1/2 years

[bergren]

Is it the thank yous, the acknowledgement or the hum of an acute setting that is really getting to you? Can you work some per diem weekends before taking the leap?

When was the last time you sent out a survey to the parents and the staff to ask about their satisfaction with your care? School Nurses who seek this feedback report extraordinary high satisfaction scores. You may be only hearing from those with a minor gripe and over looking that most really do appreciate the great job you do for the kids.

The June issue of the Journal of School Nursing ran an article measuring parent satisfaction:

Read, M. Small, P, Donaher, K, Gilsanz, P & Sheetz, A (2009). Evaluating parent satisfaction of school nursing services

Journal of School Nursing, 25, 205-213. http://jsn.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/25/3/205

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Part of it is the pace. I hate to sit still for too long, and I really don't like being chained to the desk (I left the corporate world for just that reason). I do not have a radio, so I have to stay pretty close to my office, and I have been asking for that radio for years. I try and get out and into the classrooms as much as possible, and I do make it a point to walk to go get kids for screening, meds, etc. Things are just really slow right now and I am downright bored! I know that is a blessing in school nursing, and I know that there are special projects and that sort of thing I could be working on, but it is hard to get motivated to do those "extra" things when the day to day stuff is not really appreciated. Besides all that mess, the long commute is still getting to me, like I posted about a while back.

I am currently looking at PRN jobs, and I am going to do some shadowing in the ER over Thanksgiving break, so maybe that little change of scenery will do me some good. I don't think I ever want to get my feet completely out of school nursing, but maybe subbing for a year and doing something else might do me some good.

As far as surveying the parents, I had not considered that. I think I am afraid of what they would say, LOL! As most of us know, the majority of parents and teachers have no clue what we actually do on a daily basis. It is something I will consider, though!