[saraRN]

I have been an Emergency Room nurse for the past four years and now my husband has been transferred. The only jobs being offerred are school nurse jobs on an Air Force Base. I am scared about the transition how do I prepare myself?

[maggiedanurse]

sara

are there not hospitals around???? they generally are all over.

[nursinghumor]

Hi Sara,

I'm surprised too that you can't find work in an ER where you are. In any case, you can find out a bit more about school nursing at these sites:

Listserv Discussion Groups:

SCHLRN-L -- The School Nurse Discussion List:"The School Nurse Disucssion List was started in 1994 and is the third oldest nursing discussion list on the Internet. At present there are 1800 + subscribers from 16 countries on 6 continents. The list is public and unmoderated. Description: A discussion group organized for school nurses, school nurse practitioners, school nurse teachers, and school nurse managers.
http://www.usinternet.com/users/bergren/schlrn.htm

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School Nurse Associations:

National Association of School Nurses:"The National Association of School Nurses is a non-profit specialty nursing organization incorporated in 1979, which represents school nurses exclusively. NASN has over 10,000 members and 50 School Nurse Association Affiliates. Each of these affiliates elects a representative to the NASN Board of Directors.
P.O. Box 1300 (163. U.S. Route #1) Scarborough, ME 04070 U.S.A. 207-883-2117 (toll-free 877-627-6476) 207-883-2683
nasn@nasn.org
http://www.nasn.org/

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School Nursing, Beyond Sniffles and Bandages, by Linda Handschumacher, RN, E-TNS, MPA, MedAdm:"When someone says, "I'm a school nurse," what does that conjure up in your mind? A Band-Aid pusher a few steps from retirement, a doting caregiver that may or may not be a "real nurse"? As an emergency trauma nurse specialist (E-TNS) with 12 years experience, this was my spin on school nursing until I entered the field. Let me tell you, it is certainly none of the above. My first major trauma, after but 4 weeks on the job, was to be called down to the boys PE field. A student fell off the bars; he was slightly disoriented and could not recall the events pre or post incident. A closed head injury always accompanies C-spine precautions. This includes immobilization with a cervical collar and backboard, and a need for paramedics to transport to a hospital to rule out any spinal or skull fractures and the probability of an MRI to rule out any internal head injuries."
Working Nurse, Working World Magazine
3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1526 Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel213)385-4781, Fax213)385-3782, WorkingNurse@WorkingWorld.com
http://www.workingworld.com/magazine...cleno=264&wn=1
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Some places require you to be certified, others do not. I'd check around.

School Nursing can be great, especially if you have kids (work school hours, off same holidays as your kids, etc.).

Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursing Scrubs, Medical Uniforms, Accessories
http://www.4nursinguniforms.com