By William Tauro
Is the city understaffed with nurses and does it pose a potential safety problem for the students of this city in the near future?
This administration cant keep nurses employed by the city because nurses make $80k to $90k a year. It’s a sore spot because they dont want to pay the nurses the money so all the nurses are leaving for better nursing jobs.
Can this be considered a crisis being so understaffed like they are?
Look 10+ years to make $55k? It eats away at current administration because they can’t find nurses to fill these positions…..Then they quit when they realize how badly they are treated.
So back to my question, is the city understaffed? The current administration is wondering why they cant get nurses and the ones that they have are quitting
What is the direction that the city should take to find the solution?
Check Out The City of Somerville Job Posting Below and See For Yourself:
Department:
School Department
Duties:
Statement of Duties
The School Nurse will perform nursing services, which include but is not limited to responding to episodic or emergency health concerns of students, care as indicated to chronic disease management, communicable disease prevention and control and immunization of school children as necessary.
Essential Functions:
The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.
• Plan, organize, and coordinate health education programs.
• Prepare and distribute health information.
• Consult with teachers and other school department personnel on health issues and facilitates in-service education as needed.
• Collect and maintain public health/school health data using electronic health record and prepares reports concerning public health/school health data using electronic health records and prepares reports concerning public health/school health activities as required by Somerville Health Department.
• Facilitates and contributes in communication related to student health.
• Performs related duties as required.
Salary Chart
General Experience
School Nursing Experience
Educational Preparation
Proposed (Annual)
Proposed (Hourly)
Requirements:
Minimum Qualifications
Education and Experience:
Active / Current registration as registered nurse with Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Masters in Nursing, or Master of Education.
Currently certified or eligible for Department of Education’s School Nurse Certification (if not certified must take and successfully obtain certification within 2 years). *Failure to obtain certification may result in termination*
Current Mass CPR with AED
Knowledge, Abilities and Skill
Knowledge: Experience caring for children with special health care needs preferred.
Abilities: Ability to work with people and communicate effectively with diverse populations.
Skill: Bilingual or Multilingual skills a plus.
Work Environment
The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.
Application Procedure:
This position will remain open until filled. Send your resume and cover letter to:
City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov
City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.
The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.
Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.
Physical Demands:
Physical and Mental Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.
Physical Skills
Few physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.) Ability to respond to emergency situations.
Motor Skills
Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.
Visual Skills
Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.
Hours:
Full Time, following the school calendar
Salary:
Please refer to chart