A bit of context: I'm a new grad nurse in a European country in which it is extremely difficult to find jobs unless it's summertime. This summer I was able to get a temporary contract in a med-surg ward in one of the public hospitals, and I loved it. Yes, it was hard work, but I felt confident with my abilities as a nurse, I felt safe, and I felt supported. I could ask questions to other nurses, and I could ring up doctors if I was worried at all. However, that contract was coming to an end and I needed to find a permanent contract for a job to sustain myself financially throughout the year. Since I'm also a native English speaker, I thought maybe I could send my CV to some international British schools in the area. Surprisingly, one of them contacted me for an interview, and they basically hired me on the spot. The other school nurse had been on sick leave on and off for months, and basically everything was in disarray. I didn't get any training or support. Nothing was explained because the principal and other senior staff members don't know anything about the job. Information about student allergies and prescriptions, med stocks, supplies were all disorganised or out-of-date, but I had to spend about 25 hours compiling lists for teachers about their students medical information, and I had to figure out how to order new gloves, OTC meds, gauze, etc. The budget for the nurse's office is small and I often have to buy things out of my own wallet just to have enough to get through the school day. The hours are shit. 8am until 5:30pm, and I have to work throughout the summer for their summer camps. The parents are demanding and uncooperative, and I've had one parent already imply that she thinks it's not safe for her kid to be left alone with me (I was a teacher for 7 years before being a nurse, and I never had issues like this before), but I have no support from the school about potential allegations. During emergencies, the staff act like absolute idiots. The school is enormous, and last week a teacher ran into my room to tell me a student was having a seizure. The first thing I asked was the name of the student because I have medication for seizures for a handful of students. They didn't know the name. The next thing I asked was how long it's been going on. They had no idea. The student was on the other end of the school and I couldn't run back and forth for medication. One of the most annoying things is that the school has private accident insurance for students, and I'm forced to call parents to tell them which hospital to go to if their child has an injury. The problem is for things like jammed fingers or broken fingers I often see no signs throughout the day that could indicate that a finger is broken. If I activate the school insurance and the child goes to the ER for a broken finger, half the time the finger is fine and I'm reprimanded for activating insurance unnecessarily. If I think the finger is fine and then 6 hours later there are signs it's broken and their parents take them to the ER, then they bill the school and it's an absolute mess because I didn't activate the insurance in advance. Lastly, many teachers' kids go to the school and if I do something that their parents don't agree with it ruins our professional relationship. On Thursday a 3 year old was brought to me 10 minutes before school ended because in class she apparently had a fever. I checked her temperature twice with two different thermometers and it was fine. The next day a few teachers tell me "Mr. And Mrs. So and so are really upset with you because their child was sleepy in the car home so they took her to the ER and she had a fever!" Like, okay? She didn't have a fever with me, and also why are we taking 3 year olds to the ER for fevers without any other concerning signs? The money is good for my country, and I need at least 1 year of work experience to be more competitive to find work in a different country. Should I stick it out? Is this even normal?   submitted by   /u/Impossible_Talk_8189 [link]   [comments]