How to become a school nurse

If you have all of these qualities, you might want to consider becoming a school nurse. If you decide to make this career move, your next step would be to contact a local school system’s administrative offices. School nursing is challenging and rewarding, but it’s never dull or sedate.

Many school nurses have reported that they feel less stress working in a school compared to other nursing environments. They enjoy their own office, as well as having the weekends, holidays and summers off. Nurses who work in hospitals cannot always take the day off when the weather is bad.

While a school nurse is a Registered Nurse and can be employed in a variety of settings – School Nurses work primarily in the educational setting, they generally are found in public or private elementary school, middle school, or high school.

Reasonable Salary

School nurses make a decent and reliable salary. According to salary.com, the median salary for a school nurse is $48,435. In the top 75%, however, the salary range up $72,000.

Personal Qualities:

School nurses are caring and sympathetic, and are concerned with the physical, mental, and emotional needs of their students. They have excellent listening skills and can instruct both children and adults about a variety of health issues and treatments.

Under normal circumstances, school nurses and other school personnel aren’t allowed to give your child any medicine (prescription or over-the-counter) without your explicit permission.

Generally, no. Most nurses are not allowed to suture. Some states do allow registered nurses to suture, but they are subject to restrictions, such as not being able to suture areas involving muscles, tendons, or blood vessels.

Middle school and high school students can keep these on their persons, but only after they’ve been brought in and registered with the school. Parents can also complete a form enabling older students to administer their own over-the-counter meds, such as ibuprofen for cramps or antihistamines for allergies.

Although school nurses see many students regularly, they don’t always have the most up-to-date information about the students’ health. School nurses must get permission from parents to communicate with a child’s doctor.

Because of the risk of choking, cough drops and throat lozenges are not permitted at school. PLEASE CHECK EXPIRATION DATES ON ALL MEDICATIONS. Parents are responsible for knowing when meds expire and replenishing expired medications.

5 They Can Also Help With Pregnancy Tests

Nurses aren’t only needed in elementary schools to give shots to little kids. They’re just as important in middle and high schools. Whether a female student needs a morning-after pill or a pregnancy test, a nurse is the one who can help her get it.

School nurses maintain confidentiality within the legal, regulatory and ethical parameters of health and education. School nurses understand, follow and inform others about student health record protection according to HIPAA, FERPA, other applicable federal laws, and state laws and regulations.

“HIPAA applies to schools.”

Nope. HIPAA, the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,” restricts the access, use and disclosure of “protected health information” maintained by “covered entities.” These entities are typically health plans, health-care clearinghouses, and health-care providers.

While many schools that provide health care services may technically qualify as “covered entities” under HIPAA definitions, school nurses are generally subject to FERPA (and not HIPAA) because the HIPAA Privacy Rule expressly excludes information considered “education records” under FERPA from HIPAA’s requirements.