Principals

School Nurse Perspectives

Thoughts, Tools, Resources and Inspiration for School Nurses

Gerri Harvey, RN, MEd

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

Principals as Bosses

Whether you are new to school nursing and still trying to figure out how

to work for a non-nursing boss; whether you are happily or unhappily

settled into a long-term working relationship with one; or whether you

are breaking in your umpteenth principal, the fact remains: a good

working relationship is crucial to your job success and happiness.

It's not enough to simply be a good school nurse. You have to be willing

to be on the principal's team. Schools are a bit like an orchestra, I

think. Every player has to be darn good, but if they can't play

together, the disharmony is awful anyway. And if the conductor has

chosen a song but some want to play it radically different, or want a

solo, or a completely different song, the discordant members can ensure

there will be no music at all.

While every principal is different, I have learned a few things over the

years about being a member of the principal's team. Below are 9 things

every school nurse can do to foster a good working relationship with a

1. Take the initiative to make appointments to meet with your principal

now and then to give health-related updates. Arrive with a short agenda,

about 20 minutes worth, so he will know that you are mindful of his

time. Don't come armed with a general list of tasks or your job

description. Instead, come with specific projects or issues in the form

of an update and let your role and skills unfold as a result of what you

do, what outcomes you strive to achieve. Make sure that your principal

does not see you only when there is a problem.

2. Ask for feedback and ideas, but never come just to vent, complain, to

ask him to tell you what to do, or to leave the monkey on his back.

Always come with your own, professionally formulated thoughts on

whatever issue is at hand, and offer them up for his input, approval or

3. Never allow your principal to be blind-sided by a nursing issue. Give

him a heads up if there is a touchy issue cooking, a dangerous new trend

among the kids, an angry parent likely to call after school, or a

reporter speeding to your school over some health-related incident that

occurred in the parking lot.

4. If you need to vent about your principal, but try never to complain about him to teachers or parents, Husbands are good for this, as are impartial school nurse colleagues, who can hear you out with understanding and empathy and sometimes offer you a different perspective while keeping what you said private.

5. Send the principal occasional memos, articles or commentaries on

health-related issues relevant to your school population. These help

maintain your expert status while also highlighting the plusses of

having a nurse on the school team, not to mention keeping him one step

ahead of the kids, a place every school principal strives to be : )

6. Attend staff meetings, even though they are mostly focused on

teachers. It doesn't hurt you one bit to know their issues, dilemmas and

roles, especially since your services directly impact the success of so

many of their students. Remember, think of yourself as a member of the

orchestra, not a soloist.

7. Attend PTA meetings now and then. As the only health professional on campus, you hold a powerful public relations position in the school, and PTA attendees tend to be active, involved and articulate parents who want the best for their kids, including a great school nurse. This is an

excellent place to be visible. Your principal comes to these meetings

(if he's smart) and prays that a respectable number of staff will attend

to show these supportive parents that they are indeed seen as partners

in educating children. My AP often writes a personal note of thanks after each PTA meetings to those staff who came.

8. Give your principal thoughtful, genuine feedback at appropriate

times, but especially whenever the health and well-being of kids has

been directly or indirectly supported or prioritized by one of his

actions, decisions, comments or programs.It seems few staff ever think

to seek out principals when there isn't a problem, but I imagine they

like positive feedback now and then too.

9. Don't wait to be asked, offer! classroom presentations, parent

presentations, newsletter articles, bulletin boards, health fairs, a

daily health trivia in the morning bulletin. Principals love initiative, just like any other boss.

10. Help your principal learn how to evaluate a school nurse, if he is the one who evaluates you. Provide criteria he can use. If the form he is using now is not even remotely appropriate because it is specific to teachers, offer to develop a new one for consideration and approval. NASN offers a document for sale that can be used as is or adapted. Think of the evaluation process as a chance to show and discuss with your principal all you do and all the ways having a nurse contributes to school success.

All material on this web site is copyrighted. You may link to this page and you may print articles for your own use, but you may not reprint any portions for distribution to others on a web page or in printed form without my permission.



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

		Principals as Bosses Whether you are new to school nursing and still trying to figure out how to work for a non-nursing boss; whether you are happily or unhappily settled into a long-term working relationship with one; or whether you are breaking in your umpteenth principal, the fact remains: a good working relationship is crucial to your job success and happiness. It's not enough to simply be a good school nurse. You have to be willing to be on the principal's team. Schools are a bit like an orchestra, I think. Every player has to be darn good, but if they can't play together, the disharmony is awful anyway. And if the conductor has chosen a song but some want to play it radically different, or want a solo, or a completely different song, the discordant members can ensure there will be no music at all. While every principal is different, I have learned a few things over the years about being a member of the principal's team. Below are 9 things every school nurse can do to foster a good working relationship with a principal as boss: 1. Take the initiative to make appointments to meet with your principal now and then to give health-related updates. Arrive with a short agenda, about 20 minutes worth, so he will know that you are mindful of his time. Don't come armed with a general list of tasks or your job description. Instead, come with specific projects or issues in the form of an update and let your role and skills unfold as a result of what you do, what outcomes you strive to achieve. Make sure that your principal does not see you only when there is a problem. 2. Ask for feedback and ideas, but never come just to vent, complain, to ask him to tell you what to do, or to leave the monkey on his back. Always come with your own, professionally formulated thoughts on whatever issue is at hand, and offer them up for his input, approval or feedback. 3. Never allow your principal to be blind-sided by a nursing issue. Give him a heads up if there is a touchy issue cooking, a dangerous new trend among the kids, an angry parent likely to call after school, or a reporter speeding to your school over some health-related incident that occurred in the parking lot. 4. If you need to vent about your principal, but try never to complain about him to teachers or parents, Husbands are good for this, as are impartial school nurse colleagues, who can hear you out with understanding and empathy and sometimes offer you a different perspective while keeping what you said private. 5. Send the principal occasional memos, articles or commentaries on health-related issues relevant to your school population. These help maintain your expert status while also highlighting the plusses of having a nurse on the school team, not to mention keeping him one step ahead of the kids, a place every school principal strives to be : ) 6. Attend staff meetings, even though they are mostly focused on teachers. It doesn't hurt you one bit to know their issues, dilemmas and roles, especially since your services directly impact the success of so many of their students. Remember, think of yourself as a member of the orchestra, not a soloist. 7. Attend PTA meetings now and then. As the only health professional on campus, you hold a powerful public relations position in the school, and PTA attendees tend to be active, involved and articulate parents who want the best for their kids, including a great school nurse. This is an excellent place to be visible. Your principal comes to these meetings (if he's smart) and prays that a respectable number of staff will attend to show these supportive parents that they are indeed seen as partners in educating children. My AP often writes a personal note of thanks after each PTA meetings to those staff who came. 8. Give your principal thoughtful, genuine feedback at appropriate times, but especially whenever the health and well-being of kids has been directly or indirectly supported or prioritized by one of his actions, decisions, comments or programs.It seems few staff ever think to seek out principals when there isn't a problem, but I imagine they like positive feedback now and then too. 9. Don't wait to be asked, offer! classroom presentations, parent presentations, newsletter articles, bulletin boards, health fairs, a daily health trivia in the morning bulletin. Principals love initiative, just like any other boss. 10. Help your principal learn how to evaluate a school nurse, if he is the one who evaluates you. Provide criteria he can use. If the form he is using now is not even remotely appropriate because it is specific to teachers, offer to develop a new one for consideration and approval. NASN offers a document for sale that can be used as is or adapted. Think of the evaluation process as a chance to show and discuss with your principal all you do and all the ways having a nurse contributes to school success. _____________________________________________________________ Back to Main Page Email Gerri at snp@metrocast.net _____________________________________________________________ All material on this web site is copyrighted. You may link to this page and you may print articles for your own use, but you may not reprint any portions for distribution to others on a web page or in printed form without my permission.