[strangest_tribe80]

Hello, everyone. I am a nursing student and just recently was hired to become a "health assistant" at a local middle school. I thought I would be starting after Christmas break, but today they asked if I could start tomorrow, so I'm going in tomorrow and Friday, before the break starts. I am a little nervous as I have little experience with kids this age, and don't really even know exactly what I'll be doing. No one has told me much except that they really need someone pronto. Does anyone else here hold this position, or do any of you school nurses have an assistant? If so, what do you or your assistants do, and do you/they enjoy it? Thanks for any advice or feedback. I am excited to start, and would love to hear from others.

[School-n-RN]

Good Luck in your new position. You will enjoy the time off as you most likely follow the student population. This is a good thing if you are not looking for a lot of money. The kids will try to visit your office, thus get time out of class if you allow it. But realise that you have to not only monitor the health of your student population but also try to find out why a student may visit the office so much.
Just listen to the student, take a temp when needed and follow up on any injuries when needed. A little TLC goes a long way.

[strangest_tribe80]

So it's summer vacation now and I made it through my first semester as a health assistant. I have to say it is probably the most frustrating job I have ever had, and I was a waitress for a few years prior to this position. It drove me crazy how often kids would take advantage of the health office and how much they would lie. I enjoyed working with kids who were legitimately sick or hurt and needed help. I enjoyed working with "frequent flyers" who just needed a little TLC. But I had a huge problem with kids coming in constantly from in-school suspension, just to get out of there. Then they would come to me and cause all kinds of disruption and make themselves throw up in the bathroom if I tried to send them out. There's no way, really, to do anything about them, because I'm not allowed to accuse them of acting even if it is is obvious that they are. And parents just fall for it every time, or either they just don't care if the kid spends half the school year "out sick" or in in-school suspension! Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going back in August for the new school year. I was told that the budget may not allow for me to be there this coming school year. If I do go back, I could use some advice on how to make things run more smoothly this year with discipline issues. Parents are just the worst. I feel like if they don't care what the kid does, how am I supposed to make a difference?

[bergren]

It sound like they are bored. And sounds like detention person needed a break from them.

Sounds like even as exasperated as you are with them, you are nicer to them than the detention person.

This is a team problem that requires a team approach. Did you keep statitistics on how often they came, the reason and what they did? Did you share the information with your supervisor?

Who is monitoring the detention room?

Not sure how the parents can help with this? Sounds like a school issue.

Write it up. 1 page, just the facts. Who, how often, describe impact on the health office and the children who are sick. Don't guess about the cause. Have several trusted friend read it and make sure no emotion, no blaming. Don't just send it, ask for a meeting to discuss with supervisor. If the supervisor does not suggest it, ask for a meeting with the team to plan a behavior plan for the kids. Ask for some training, perhaps with the counselors, or readings on strategies for responding to children with problem behaviors. You need a game plan on how to respond.


One link which might help: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_f...fiant_disorder