Wanted: Clinical Experience For New School Nurse

[geocachingRN]

Hello Fabulous School Nurses:

I am a new school nurse/new grad who is working mostly with a 1:1. I would really like to improve my skill set as my fellow nurses believe I have the critical thinking skills, just not the clinical experience required to be an effective school nurse. Short of quitting my job, does anyone have any ideas of how I can improve my skill set?

Thank you so much!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

how about getting a per diem job to give your experiences depth and variety? You could also consider taking another route like becoming an EMT to give you more pre-hospital emergency knowledge.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

My hat's off to you for trying. No way could I have done it as a new grad. I agree with the previous poster--get on per diem in the ER, if you can. Probably 95% of school nursing is minor stuff, but that 5% of the time that it's not you really have to be on top of your game. Spending some time in the ER will help you fill in some of the gaps.

[bergren]

I worked with a new grad who was doing 1:1 in a school. She was great as long as there were no aberrations. When the child went off script, she lsot it. I think you need some weekend per diem to get more familiar with assessment, troubleshooting and crisis response. it will give you confidence.

[hobiehobie]

I knew from the beginning of nursing school I wanted to be a school nurse. I took school nursing as my community clinical rotation. My mentor advised I get 5 years of hospital experience then look for a school nurse position. I thought this was excessive but did it anyway. Along the way I got my certification and took a part-time health room assistant job while looking for a FT CSN position. I was promoted within the hospital to a nurse coordinator.

What I am trying to say is the best advise I got was to get experience before stepping into a school. My past experience allows me to advocate for the student and school because I understand the big picture. School nursing isn't about the band-aids and ice packs, its about how to create a healthier environment so each student can be educated. It is about understanding patterns, trends and what to do with this information. Assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and outcomes don't apply only to the individual but also to situations and the institution. Become proficent as a practioner so you can better serve the students.

[geocachingRN]

Thanks All for the thoughtful responses!

I did get an EMT Cert before I went to nursing school, so I do have that.

Like so many school nurses, I live in an area where the hospitals are absolutely not hiring New Grads, so that's not really an option.

I volunteered weekly in a free clinic for nearly three years through nursing school which helped my experience some what. School Districts are getting desperate, even in this area where quality nursing jobs are hard to find, no one is applying for these positions, they just don't pay enough in an area that is expensive to live in and for specialty that requires as much education as ones that pay 2 to 3 times as much.

I'm thinking of doing the the California Rural Preceptorship rotation next winter or summer next year in Peds or public health. Any thoughts on that?