Want to be a school nurse

luvschoolnursing, LPN · Dec 3, 2009

-how much training did you receive when you were first starting out?

i needed my bsn + my school nurse certification (about another year, part time)

-how much support is available during training and now?

i was given the keys to my office and the phone # of my mentor who works in another school. pretty much learn as you go, although the nurses in the other schools were great.

-any noteworthy pros/cons of the job?

pros- i really think i can make a difference because i have the time to spend with the kids-i didn't feel like i had that in the hospital. the schedule is great too.

cons-you are a bit isolated from other nurses. limited resources.

-what have you found most challenging? most rewarding?

it is challenging being the only medical person in the education environment. your primary boss is the school principal who doesn't really know what you do. since education is the primary focus of schools, sometimes i feel left out of decisions and my priorities are often different than that of the teachers.

most rewarding is that you can build long term relationships with the students and their families and can be there to see that you have made a difference.

-do you feel like you are still learning/is the work environment stimulating?

i am learning everyday about the education system. i have learned so very much from the counselors and social workers. as far as nursing skills, i am still learning, but have to make an effort to seek out my own educational opportunities and conferences, professional organizations, publications, networking. education is not provided for me.

-are you happy that you left acute care (if you did)?

seven years since i left and i am still doing the happy dance!

-how is the stress level?

the most stressful days are better than the days in the hospital! there is the stress of being busy, trying to please both parents and administration. the occasional medical emergency. much, much paperwork, etc. nothing unmanageable.

-can you describe a typical day?

there is no typical day. i have a high school with about 1,000 kids. it will take me all year to get my screenings done (ht/wt/bmi/vision/hearing) there is the constantly changing immunization requirements and trying to make sure all 1,000 of them are in compliance is time consuming. health plans need written. meetings need attended. parents need called. documentation needs done and state reports need filed. with all of this there is the constant flow of students with needs of their own so you are constantly intrerrupted. keeps it from getting boring.

hope this helps!

naalje · Dec 4, 2009

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, all your responses are very helpful. In looking at requirements for school nurse certification, it looks like one needs a certain number of years of experience as a school nurse, right? What kind of experience prepared you to be a school nurse? Were you a peds nurse? Did you get your experience subbing? What conditions/situations do you encounter most frequently? What is involved with a health plan? Do you recommend any reading material/work experience to prepare for the job? Thanks again!

Supernrse01, BSN · Dec 4, 2009

How much training did you receive when you were first starting out?

I started this year as a school nurse, after working as an RN in both the hospital and office setting for 8 years. I have a BSN and am now working toward my School nurse certificate.

There was no real orientation for me, just the keys to the medication closet and some files from previous years to review. All training comes from experience as a nurse and knowledge of past situations.

-How much support is available during training and now?

The people I work with are great to help out but they are not nurses so a lot of times, their ideas or abilities to lend a hand are limited.

-Any noteworthy pros/cons of the job?

Please do not choose to be a school nurse becasue you think there are no stressors. In this job, you are dealing with children all day long. I have kids with brittle diabetes, insulin pumps, inhalers, beathing treatments, wheelchair bound, kids with prostheses, heart conditions, epilepsy, spina bifida, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc... There are careplans to develop and update, medications to be given, screenings to be done, etc... Not saying any of this to discourage you, just think a lot of people have false ideas about what a school nurse normally does. Don't get me worng, there are a lot of advantages to the great schedule, autonomy, and just delaing with the little characters all day too :0)

-What have you found most challenging? Most rewarding?

I am the District nurse for our schools, so I am responsible for 4 schools, which can be very challenging sometimes. There isn't enough of me to go around.

-Do you feel like you are still learning/is the work environment stimulating?

I think no matter what type of nursing you choose, you are always still learning. Healthcare changes everyday. It's one of the great things about being a nurse, there's always something new going on.

-Are you happy that you left acute care (if you did)?

Absolutely glad I no longer work in the hospital, however, school nursing is acute care too. You never know what the student walking through the door has going on.

-How is the stress level?

There are good and bad days, just like any other job.

naalje · Dec 8, 2009

It sounds like there is no nurse job that is immune to stress. I'm not looking for a stress free job, because I know that doesn't exist, and would probably become boring, but I am looking for something different than the insanity that is med-surg....getting simultaneously called by a doctor, paged to a patient's room, questioned by family member, new orders, etc, not knowing which direction to turn first. I'm hopeful that the stress of school nursing is different. Is it typical to be responsible for several schools? Is there any sort of limit on the number of children a school nurse is responsible for?

I always thought I would work with kids and I think it would be rewarding. I think that one of my biggest concerns is that because I am a new nurse, will I have the background to handle emergencies, will my assessment skills render me equipped to identify emergent vs nonemergent situations. In the hospital, if I am concerned about a patient's change of condition or how to handle a situation, I feel very supported by staff and charge nurse. What kind of support is there in the school setting? I'm hoping to get in contact with a school nurse in my area to shadow. Thanks again for the feedback.

luvschoolnursing, LPN · Dec 8, 2009

I had 17 years experience, but it was primarily med-surg, not peds. When I got hired as a school nurse, I was considered an assistant nurse. I worked in the elementary schools. The CSN had 4 elementary schools and there were 3 of us who were considered assistants so all the schools were covered. I learned more from her than from my CSN classes. I rarely worked with her in the same building but she was only a phone call away.

Many nurses have to travel between buildings and only have nurses in the buildings a couple days per week. Fortunately my district is not one of them. I have about 1,000 students, but Pennsylvania's ratio is 1:1500 so I could legally have more. Each state's ratio is different.

The NASN's web site has good info if you want to do some reading. They have position statements that state how things SHOULD be ideally but rarely are.

The health plans, or 504 plans, that I write are basically plans that provide for student to receive the medical care they need while in school and if necessary, to make classroom accommodations to remove barriers to learning.

I found that as much as I needed my clinical skills, moving to school nursing was a huge learning curve. It was almost like switching careers. It was well worth it.