I'm finishing up my third year, and now moving on to something else for a while. I've been thinking about my school nursing experience. I've loved the independence in this role, plus I really enjoy seeing humans in their normal life, outside of a medical setting. Working with adolescents is a delight. I love having time to do meaningful health education. The schedule has helped me start enjoying the rest of my life again. I've learned a lot. I even enjoy the administrative/organizational stuff, at least some of it.
The part of school nursing that seems weird to me is my relationship with the adults. I've been at two schools now, and it was the same in both places.
I don't mind not being included in social stuff, and I figure that some of the small annoyances (being forgotten for lunch coverage, meeting invites, etc) come with the territory of being in a small minority of non-educator professionals. I'm independent and industrious, I'm able to advocate for myself when needed, and I already have good friendships outside of work. Mostly I'm happy flying under the radar.
The weird thing is, I feel like I'm only an archetype to my coworkers, not a real person. If two teachers who don't know each other meet in the copy room, they ask each other about hobbies, family, pets, travel. The art teacher doesn't suddenly start telling the math teacher about her childhood struggles with geometry. Yet no one asks me about my family or hobbies or pets, ever - literally they see me in the copy room and try to show me their blood pressure meds. Even if I don't know their name. Sometimes they barely even say hello, but just launch into a miscarriage story or their kid with diarrhea. This morning someone showed me a rash while I was getting out of my car.
Of course people request free medical advice from nurses generally...but this seems different. At my last (small) school, I worked for two years with some people who never even learned my name. I feel like no one knows one thing about me personally, that another person could show up wearing scrubs and no one would even notice. And I do make an effort to ask faculty and staff about their interests and families, and I know all their names despite the 150:1 ratio of them:me.
Do you have to be in a school for 10 years for this to change? In no other setting have I felt so strangely visible as a job (especially during COVID), but invisible as a person. If I were less confident, or new to the city or something, I think the combination would make me very melancholy. Or maybe if I were staying I'd revel in the separation between work and personal life, and work on developing some eccentric alter ego outside of work ?
Those are my ponderings as I round this final bend. Wishing us all a happy and safe end to this school year.
Yes!! The drop everything culture makes me crazy. I thought about that a lot when I was in the ER last month with a kidney stone and waited an hour and a half for pain meds.
This is so on point. I've been at my school 5 years, I think finally last year is when I finally felt like I knew peoples names and some, SOME, knew mine. I finally feel comfortable correcting people when they mispronounce my name. Much like you, I don't really mind flying under the radar but it is an odd thing. I think the only reason I know people personally is because I've been here for so long. I mean my first 3 year I didn't even get a happy nurses day or even a baby shower or anything.
I have thought about the fact that this pandemic came at a good time (if that is a thing) for me in my school nurse career because I'm confident enough standing my ground and in my knowledge. But come 3 years ago I wouldn't say that.
I'm at a K-12 school, and this is the relationship I have with most of our secondary staff. The elementary staff know me more personally (maybe it's because I work more closely with them and communicate more often?),
I'm at a k-5 and maybe it's because like the above mentions, I talk with my staff so often since the littles are always getting hurt, we know each other better.
How involved in you with school things? I feel like the more they see you outside of the health office the more human you become. I volunteer for a lot of our school time and some afterschool events, I help at arrival and dismissal and I send my staff not-so-serious things from time to time.
It could also be a building culture thing. Some principals just don't bring a "family/friendly" feel and others do. Pre Pandemic my building would have monthly happy hours and quarterly events (wine and painting, BBQ etc)
I'm at a k-5 and maybe it's because like the above mentions, I talk with my staff so often since the littles are always getting hurt, we know each other better.
How involved in you with school things? I feel like the more they see you outside of the health office the more human you become. I volunteer for a lot of our school time and some afterschool events, I help at arrival and dismissal and I send my staff not-so-serious things from time to time.
It could also be a building culture thing. Some principals just don't bring a "family/friendly" feel and others do. Pre Pandemic my building would have monthly happy hours and quarterly events (wine and painting, BBQ etc)
Maybe that's part of it? I don't pick up volunteer assignments outside of contract hours - I'm willing to work for a low salary, but really not willing to give more time away. It's almost impossible to leave my office to chat with teachers; in a school this big, I always have patients. Unfortunately I don't have an assigned lunch or any lunch coverage, so I'm not able to chat with folks in the staff lounge either. I'm kinda trapped in my exam rooms.
I don't know, y'all. I had my performance evaluation. I've done the same COVID backflips we've all been doing. The admin joked about having just written it five minutes ago. All the criteria were checked "yes", and then....no comments. Just blank in all the comments. Everything's great, please write your goals and sign at the bottom.
It's a job. I don't really believe that work defines us as people. My reward is a check and health insurance plus whatever personal satisfaction I find, based on my own values; if we relied on external validation, none of us would last two hours as nurses. But if I'm going to operate in "nameless cog in a machine" mode, and if I'm going to have absolutely no input on health-related policy, there are better-paid options for that. You know?
I'm going to chalk it up partly to COVID, and partly to unknown factors in my own personality or the personalities around me. I'm moving on from school nursing, so just have a short time left. I'm planning to use these weeks to enjoy the students, who remain absolutely delightful.
Flare, ASN, BSN
4,431 Posts
Yes!! The drop everything culture makes me crazy. I thought about that a lot when I was in the ER last month with a kidney stone and waited an hour and a half for pain meds.