NewAdvice2

School Nurse Perspectives

Thoughts, Tools, Resources and Inspiration for School Nurses

Gerri Harvey, RN, MEd, School Nurse

Advice for New School Nurse

Gerri,

What a fabulous web site. I was looking blindly on the web for more info on

school nursing and there you were! I am an RN with a BSN working in the

acute setting in Nevada. A small (350 student), private school without a

program has asked me to set up a program. They know I don't have any

experience as a school RN. Where might I go from here? Can you help get me pointed in the right direction?

I would appreciate anything you could say to help. Thank you.

*****************************************************************************************

Dear DB,

Congratulations, what a wonderful opportunity to begin a school nurse program from the ground up!

There are some wonderful resources available to you. They include school nurse colleagues already working in your state; a regional or state school nurse association if your state has one; the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), and the American School Health Association.

First call you state's department of education and ask if there is a School Nurse Consultant. Many states have one, and she is a resource person who will let you know about things like immunization requirements in your state, and interpreting your state nurse practice act for your school setting. Since school nursing tends to have a lot of autonomy, and new school nurses often start with no protocols or policies to follow, you will want to be sure that you are practicing within the legal boundaries set forth in your state. Here is a link to State School Nurse Consultants online.

NASN The National Association of School Nurses has excellent, reasonably-priced publications you can order for setting up your school nurse practice. If you join, you automatically get the Journal of School Nursing, an excellent resource.They have a national conference each year at the end of June, this year's is in Phoenix, AZ,....worth traveling for.

Consider joining the national School Nurse List Serv.,, Schl-RN, an online discussion list for school nurses.

http://www.listtool.com/subscribe/listtoolmed.html

There are 1800+ school nurses on this list who share information here. If you want to receive the postings via email and be able to post to the list, you must join, though you can also simply read the postings by going to
eScribe. On this list, you will be able to find other school nurses in your own state , who can can serve as resources and mentors. There are also many private school nurses on the list and if you post an email asking for help, I know you will get responses. The list serv is owned and managed by Martha Dewey Bergren, a school nurse plus from Minnesota. Her own web page contains the most comprehensive list of school nurse links you will ever find, so do visit her page and browse from there. Here's the link to her page:

http://www.usinternet.com/users/bergren/schrnres.htm

On a personal note, I will tell you that the first year will be hard, you will feel professionally lonely and isolated at times, and perhaps overwhelmed. But things will fall into place, and you will be challenged and appreciated more than ever before, so do hang in. Reach out to other school nurses, be gentle with yourself, no one can do it all the first year. Take the time to enjoy the kids : ) The teachers will have to learn from you how to utilize your services appropriately , this too takes time. Smile a lot and fine tune your role as you go along. First, you want them to be glad to have a nurse! Also, although I am sometimes a bit slow in answering, I am happy to offer any help I can, so feel free to write again. Let me know how it goes.

Best of luck !

Gerri



	School Nurse Perspectives Thoughts, Tools, Resources and Inspiration for School Nurses Gerri Harvey, RN, MEd, School Nurse

		Advice for New School Nurse Gerri, What a fabulous web site. I was looking blindly on the web for more info on school nursing and there you were! I am an RN with a BSN working in the acute setting in Nevada. A small (350 student), private school without a program has asked me to set up a program. They know I don't have any experience as a school RN. Where might I go from here? Can you help get me pointed in the right direction? I would appreciate anything you could say to help. Thank you. DB ***************************************************************************************** Dear DB, Congratulations, what a wonderful opportunity to begin a school nurse program from the ground up! There are some wonderful resources available to you. They include school nurse colleagues already working in your state; a regional or state school nurse association if your state has one; the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), and the American School Health Association. First call you state's department of education and ask if there is a School Nurse Consultant. Many states have one, and she is a resource person who will let you know about things like immunization requirements in your state, and interpreting your state nurse practice act for your school setting. Since school nursing tends to have a lot of autonomy, and new school nurses often start with no protocols or policies to follow, you will want to be sure that you are practicing within the legal boundaries set forth in your state. Here is a link to State School Nurse Consultants online. NASN The National Association of School Nurses has excellent, reasonably-priced publications you can order for setting up your school nurse practice. If you join, you automatically get the Journal of School Nursing, an excellent resource.They have a national conference each year at the end of June, this year's is in Phoenix, AZ,....worth traveling for. Consider joining the national School Nurse List Serv.,, Schl-RN, an online discussion list for school nurses. http://www.listtool.com/subscribe/listtoolmed.html There are 1800+ school nurses on this list who share information here. If you want to receive the postings via email and be able to post to the list, you must join, though you can also simply read the postings by going to eScribe. On this list, you will be able to find other school nurses in your own state , who can can serve as resources and mentors. There are also many private school nurses on the list and if you post an email asking for help, I know you will get responses. The list serv is owned and managed by Martha Dewey Bergren, a school nurse plus from Minnesota. Her own web page contains the most comprehensive list of school nurse links you will ever find, so do visit her page and browse from there. Here's the link to her page: http://www.usinternet.com/users/bergren/schrnres.htm On a personal note, I will tell you that the first year will be hard, you will feel professionally lonely and isolated at times, and perhaps overwhelmed. But things will fall into place, and you will be challenged and appreciated more than ever before, so do hang in. Reach out to other school nurses, be gentle with yourself, no one can do it all the first year. Take the time to enjoy the kids : ) The teachers will have to learn from you how to utilize your services appropriately , this too takes time. Smile a lot and fine tune your role as you go along. First, you want them to be glad to have a nurse! Also, although I am sometimes a bit slow in answering, I am happy to offer any help I can, so feel free to write again. Let me know how it goes. Best of luck ! Gerri