Job Outlook for School Nurses 2018
When many people think about nursing they tend to think about nurses working in a hospital or a clinical setting. There are too few people that think about what it would be like to work in a school setting. School nursing jobs are abundant in New York, but not too many know about them or know what it’s like to work in that type of position. The job outlook for RNs in school nursing is excellent and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it will continue to grow over the next decade. The jobs in the schools are growing and nurses need to know what it is like to work in the schools.
Life Working as a School Nurse
Many of our nurses love working in the schools rather than any other setting. The feedback we get from the nurses is always positive when they work with the students. There are many different types of school nurses. You can be a school nurse that performs job duties specifically in the health office. The school nurse is in charge of medications and seeing students that aren’t feeling well. You could be a one to one school nurse. This means that you are assigned to a student for the entire day. The student’s IEP will determine what type of care that they need. You can be a transportation nurse. A transportation nurse will ride the bus with their student to school and back home from school. A field trip nurse accompanies students and teachers on a field trip to ensure that if anything goes wrong medically they will be able to take care of it. It is a completely different pace of work compared to working in other types of settings. When you are in this setting, it is important to understand the type of care provided by the school nurse and other nurses in the schools.
Working in the Schools
Working in the schools gives you the opportunity to provide care for students who are ill or injured while at school. The school nurse communicates with staff, families, the community, and health care providers about types of care and best practices. The type of care provided by the school nurse is caring for students with chronic medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes, administer and monitor the use of intravenous lines used for medication, feeding and respiration. Other duties of a school nurse include helping students maintain their health by teaching effective health behaviors. Nurses working directly with students have similar responsibilities, such as administering medications and assisting the child using transportation. Having this knowledge comes easy for nurses with the proper education requirements. Horizon Healthcare Staffing provides our nurses with education material to succeed on the job. If the nurse is looking for a refresher course, or if they are looking for a transition from a different specialty to school nurse, our team of nurses make sure they have all the necessary education to succeed.
Education Requirements
To become a school nurse in New York, you need to obtain a NY registered nurse license, which requires that you complete nursing school and pass the NCLEX-RN licensure exam. New York State requires that nurses have a bachelor’s degree in nursing within ten years of obtaining your RN license. If you obtained your RN License before December 19th, 2017, this law does not apply to you.
Job Outlook
The outlook for these positions is amazing and it will only get better with time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurse positions are expected to grow by 15% between 2016 and 2026. This figure includes public schools. The construction of new schools with a growing population contributes to the growth of these opportunities in the five boroughs of New York City (NYC) and Long Island.
Finding School Nursing Jobs in New York
Horizon Healthcare Staffing works with many different types of schools in many different locations throughout New York. with many open positions. We have available positions in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Upstate New York.
Are you looking for a school nurse job in New York? Apply for one of our open positions today!
