To all School Nurses...

I have been an R.N. since 1975 and a school nurse since 1990. Had I started as a school nurse right away I would be eligible for full retirement next year from the school district. However, my 14 years of dialysis and 1 year of surgery have given me the foundation to be a good school nurse. I don't think there is anything cut and dried as far as years of experience.

Thanks for the reply. I guess it's like any other field of Nursing. There are always colleagues available to answer questions and give advice.. Just wanted to get a general census of experience. Thanks again.

I graduated in May 2005 with my ADN. I worked in the rehab unit at the hospital for 89 days, worked at a LTC for 18 days, interviewed all over the area. Was hired by another LTC on March 1st and was hired by Head Start on March 21. Gave my 2 week notice at the LTC and started working for Head Start on April 10th!! :biggringi . I will work PRN at the LTC job during the summer. My l;ast day at Head Start is may 16. I start back at Head Start on August 14th. I alos get several paid days OFF, PTO days, and may get to go to Indianapolis for an immunization conference paid for by my employer!!

Bottom line is: I worked as a licensed nurse for a grand total of 55 days, before I was hired at HS.

BTW, I found the HS job by registering with the unemployment office. They sent me a letter telling me about the opening. I applied and was hired!! NO experience with kiddo's other than my own!

_______________________________

In His grace,

Karen

Failure is NOT an option!!

I worked for 4 years before becoming a school nurse. My experience was varied- M/S, oncology, ortho, and rehab. I did not have any peds nursing experience. But my general nursing experience along with my excitement and willingness to try new fields helped me get the job.

I've been a school nurse for a year now and am loving it.

Good luck!

I have been an R.N. since 1984 and a school nurse since September 2002.

Before I did 5J Surgery/Orthopedic, 6J Emergency room, 1J Heart-clinic, 5J Private Nursing Service.

I never worked with Ped. But I can say the experience at the Emergency room helped me a lot.

Now I really don`t want to miss beeing a School Nurse.

Greetings from Germany

I graduated from nursing school in May 1995 and never worked in a hospital after my nursing school/nurse tech time. I pretty much went straight into school nursing, and had no problems adjusting. During nursing school I had enjoyed my community health rotations so much more than acute care, and I was looking for some sort of public health nursing position. Dallas Public Schools placed an ad in the newspaper in October, and a week later I was working as a school nurse. I loved it.

The only drawback for me is that now I do not want to work full time. While I know they exist in some places, I have been unable to find an available job-sharing school nursing position. 3 years ago I resigned from my full-time school nurse position, and I began substituting. Unfortunately subbing only pays $80 a day (!!), which is only about 40% of what I was making full-time.

So I have now begun working PRN for my allergy/asthma doctor for much better pay. I just can't be part of a situation any longer where nurses (and teacher substitutes) are so underpaid. It's even worse in some places.

So back to your question - You are plenty prepared to be a school nurse. You are going to have the reverse problem from what I am experiencing. I'm accustomed to being pretty much an independent practitioner, but I have very limited skills as far as injections, IV's, etc., go. You, on the other hand, may have tons of experience with the hands-on part of nursing, but may be used to working as part of a team instead of independently.

I'm pretty sure we can both adjust, though :). Go for it. School nursing really is an absolutely wonderful and rewarding career.

Behavior Modification Therapist 3 years

Developmental Disabilities Nursing 5 years

Emergency/Trauma Nursing 15 years

School Nursing 7 years

Each of the jobs have overlapped, where I worked in both fields for a year or two. Nursing is my 2nd profession after getting a BA in Psych.

All have helped me in my school nursing duties. I plan on retiring as a school nurse. It's hard to beat the job, hours, rewards, or benefits.

what does school nursing pay?

In our district, we RECOMMEND at least one year of clinical experience. We have 5 nurses (1RN, 4 LPNs, 3 aides), all with varied backgrounds and we all have our own 'special skills' that we bring to the table. Altho the pay SUCKS (sorry...) the benefits far outweigh that. I mean, where else can you get suck a VARIETY of experiences in one day, and still walk down the hall and recieve at least TWENTY hugs??? I had BLS instructor class 2 days ago and yesterday, first thing in the morning, one of my Pre-k kiddos stopped dead in the hallway on his way to RECESS yet, looked at me with awe and said "You're BACK!!" Huge hug followed by race to the swingset! Where else in the WORLD can YOU outrank a SWING??? hehe

Check with your school district administration office for their requirements. It is very different with each district.

Good Luck on your search!! :)

deb

i mean, where else can you get suck a variety of experiences in one day, and still walk down the hall and recieve at least twenty hugs??? i had bls instructor class 2 days ago and yesterday, first thing in the morning, one of my pre-k kiddos stopped dead in the hallway on his way to recess yet, looked at me with awe and said "you're back!!" huge hug followed by race to the swingset! where else in the world can you outrank a swing??? hehe

good luck on your search!! :)

deb

all i could say with that was awww!!! that must feel wonderful!:monkeydance:

I have an interview on Monday for a school nurse position. I have had mostly Maternal Child experience, but have worked in home health the last three years. Have been an RN (BSN) for 17 years, LPN for 9 years before that and a medic in the Air Force for 4 years before that. Have worked L&D, ICN, Float Pool, CCU, OB Clinic, Perinatal Clinic, and most recently Home Health. Any tips on the interview itself? Thanks in advance.