What did you find was the hardest to adjust being a school nurse?

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One of the hardest things for me was going from an hourly salary where you're paid for every second worked to salary where you make even less but then don't get paid any extra for the after-school staff meetings, Parent-teacher conferences, late field trips, etc. Also, I thought certain doctors were bad about looking down on nurses but was very surprised to find teachers that do esp when most of them went to school the same amount of time! They could care less if I get a lunch break, just as long as little Bobby gets his pants changed! Anyone else find certain aspects hard to get used to? (Although I found snow days very easy to get used to! ;)

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Ditto to the above! Also, I really had a tough time adjusting to that fact that I had all of these "patients" every day that I couldn't do anything for. Very different from the hospital where treatment is the reason they are there. I spend a lot of my day saying, "sorry, there really isn't anything I can do about that" and send them back to class. Parents have also been much more of a challenge than I thought they would be. They clearly don't see their child's manipulative behavior as clearly as everyone else does!

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Specializes in Telemetry, Gastroenterology, School Nrs.

It was very hard for me to leave the nursing abbreviations behind :( I still use them for my own charting but had to get used to leaving them out of things like IEP screenings and such, where teachers and most parents had no clue what they meant!

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I think my biggest adjustments had to do with the lower pay and being on salary too, but then I think I have holiday breaks and summer off so am I really making that much less considering I will be getting paid when not physically at work? The parents are sometimes also hard to deal with, but then again I had some difficult families in the hospital too.

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Having to write individual health care plans for almost every single kid nowadays. :facepalm:

The main thing though is trying to NOT go over my 24 hours per week. I'm salaried - and supposed to not work more than my contract states. I have to keep track of those hours, where I am, what I do. I don't like that.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Pediatrics,Maternity, Family.

In MA, we had very old schools >100 years old!!! That says enough, right? We had all our charts on paper no computer charting...just as old as the school, Ha!!

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Specializes in School Nurse/Supervisor.

Same for me as well....:nurse:

I think my biggest adjustments had to do with the lower pay and being on salary too, but then I think I have holiday breaks and summer off so am I really making that much less considering I will be getting paid when not physically at work? The parents are sometimes also hard to deal with, but then again I had some difficult families in the hospital too.
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Totally agree. Some days I don't eat lunch until 2pm, and I go home at 3:25. My lunch gets interrupted the teacher who sends three kiddos in who have gone #2 in their pants. And I'd rather not sit at desk and eat my lunch with the aroma in the room....just gross.

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I had a hard time adjusting to the neglect shown by some parents. Believe it or not, I was shocked at the behavior some parents demonstrate. Gigantic adult temper tantrums! :no: I've gotten used to it, but it doesn't make it right...

mc3:nurse:

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I so totally agree about the parents as well. It really saddens me how many kids do not have a stable home life!! Many more than I ever realized beforehand. Also, the sheer amount of lice I have to deal with was a shock esp that for some families it's just a way of life!

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Specializes in Nursing Education.

I can identify with many of the above comments, also the lack of understanding of what the role of the school nurse is by teachers/staff. I am in a poor, rural area and many kids are underserved in many ways. It is a sad situation many days and I feel like it is hard to make a difference. Also, I worked in a hospital for many years and ran like a crazy person all shift, all over the place. Now I find I run like a crazy person in a 12x12 office space...a little lonely and isolating!!

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I still struggle with the idea that bathroom accidents require the services of a medical professional. Hello, parents, do you take your children to the ER when they wet their pants at home?

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