Not enjoying going to school with child

Specialties Private Duty

Published

I go to school with my patient now. I don't like having to plug and unplug the suction machine and go to different classrooms. Some of the other kids seem to have so many behavior problems. Last week, one of the kids ran towards my patient in an aggressive manner as though he wanted to harm my patient. I jumped up and stood between that kid and my patient in the wheelchair. He went back to his seat when the classroom aide told him to do so. I have to use the bathroom to change his diaper,suctioning and g-tube care per the teacher. I always have to hurry hurry rush rush because the other children in the class also need to use the bathroom too. The whole purpose of why I wanted to do private duty was so I wouldn't have to hurry hurry rush rush like I did at LTC.:crying2:

Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

I'm surprised that care is done in the classroom in front of the other students. Is this in a special ed class or is the child mainstreamed? I would think doing care in front of others would be an invasion of privacy/HIPAA issue. When I worked in a nursing home, we were not permitted to do care in front of other residents, citing privacy concerns.

It's not the other kids' business what care the client needs. (Mommy, Johnny has a STRAW coming out of his tummy, and a HOLE in his neck!) Even though it's obvious that he has a trach, unless it's an emergency I would think the kid would like some privacy, I mean, that suction machine is loud and no kid, especially a middle schooler, wants attention like that drawn to him. Or want kids to know he's got a tube coming out of his stomach. And if the client is not oriented enough to realize he has medical secrets that should not be shared, as a parent I would still want our family's HIPAA rights to be honored.

Why are they making you perform care in the bathroom, anyway? Wouldn't the nurse's office be better? Surely the school nurse has an infirmary area with privacy dividers. I would be furious if my kid had to take meals in the bathroom! Ugh!

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I go to school with my client, who has a severe brain injury and a trach. It's a small town, with 1 building, 1 nurse's office, and 2 school nurses for about 1,000 students in Pre K-12. I started a month into the school year, with 1 day of orientation. It was a rough transition.

Dealing with other kids can be interesting. Most kids don't notice. Some even hold doors. A few will ask questions like "Can he talk?" When he had seizure while waiting for the bus, I had to administer medication in the hallway with a bunch of kids freaking out around me. Not fun.

I drop him off in the (very small) nurse's office for lunch, mostly so I get a break. If the nurse's office isn't available (like the day they did vision testing), I take him to the cafeteria with me. My break coincides with the kindergarden lunch, so we get a few stares. I handle it by telling the kids "I don't stare at you while you eat." I have to take him to the cafeteria with me if I want to buy breakfast or grab coffee. It's a small town, but I still need to protect his privacy.

We spend a lot of time in the special ed room, but we also attend band and chorus. I was a bit iffy about suctioning in class because of the noise. I made a point of suctioning when music was playing, to drown out the noise. After a while, I was asked not to suction in chorus. We still go, unless he has a lot of secretions, or the chorus isn't singing.

Aside from 1 sub, I haven't had any problems suctioning in band. I now make a point of arriving early if I know there's a sub, introducing myself and my client, and and explaining that my client may need suctioning during class.

Thanks all. This patient is attending a special needs school. Mom went to school with her child because the other nurse keeps calling off. Mom said that they also told her to go into the bathroom to suction. Mom said she did but is very upset about it. Mom said she does not want him going to the bathroom for suctioning. Mom said she is going to have a meeting with the school and stop this business of going to the bathroom for suctioning. Mom said she is going to file a lawsuit against the school if they give her any problems about it.:yeah:

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

Good for her!

Too be honest in the same situation I would have "pretended" to have listened to the teachers wishes but ignored them. I would have NEVER taken the pt into the bathroom for suctioning not even once. I would have kept up the broken record technique of communication. Keep saying how t was not appropriate/dirty/isolating and discriminatory ( do you go to the bathroom every time you have to blow your nose?)

I try not to let the door be opened on bad behaviour

From one mom to another - Great job, Mom!

Sometimes you just have to be the loudest, most persistent person to get your child's needs met!

How about a portable curtain for privacy in the back of the classroom? If the school is for special needs children then surely this could be done. Where I use to work when one of our clients had a seizure, needed suctioned, etc. we would attend to their needs as another person just put the the curtain up(sorry, I forgot the actual name, but it is on whels and has two curtains you just open)it was so very convenient and gave much needed privacy for our clients:-)

Thanks juzme. Mom had a talk with the school principal and said that she didn't want the child suctioned in the bathroom anymore. I was told that the principal had told the teacher about it. I arrived at the school and the principal had not talked to the teacher. I then told the teacher that I would not be suctioning in the bathroom. She was very upset and said "I have other children in this classroom that I need to think about. The teacher then said "There is probably more germs in the classroom than the bathroom". I said No, bathrooms are very dirty and have more germs. I said "Why don't I try suctioning in the back of the classroom. I told her that yes I knew the children would be curious at first but would probably lose interest once they got used to it." I then suctioned the child twice in the back of the class. The teacher than reported me to the principal. The principal then attacked me and said that since I had to change his diaper in the bathroom why not just suction in the bathroom at that time too.

I finally had to be super assertive and had to keep repeating myself over and over. I said "His mother said that he is not be suctioned in the bathroom at any time. Therefore I absolutely will not be suctioning him in the bathroom . :mad::mad::mad:. Anyway, Mom will be attending a special school meeting soon. She said she is bringing 2 VIP's with her to the meeting. I think the curtain sounds like a good idea. Right now, the teacher and principal are insisting that the nurse take the patient outside the classroom and out in the hallway to do the suctioning.

Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

Sounds like the teacher is the one with the problem with it. Some people just cannot handle biological "ick". I know even some nurses cannot handle sputum. I have no problem w it, but I do have a problem with emesis. If I had to watch a kid vomit everyday I would be very upset and probably react in the way this teacher has been. The latest approach to special ed, mainstreaming, is not popular amongst many teachers who were educated before mainstreaming came about, and some teachers truly resent having to tailor their teaching to accomodate special needs kids. Too bad, this child has rights and the teacher is just going to have to suck it up (pun very much intended!) :D

Thanks CloudySue. This school is meant only for children with "special needs." I would have thought that they would want to go out of their way to try to help this child. Instead the teacher and the principal seem to resent this child and his special medical needs. They are always trying to "bully the nurses" and are not open to listening to any suggestions that a nurse may suggest. :mad::mad::mad:

Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

I have a feeling that one strongly-worded letter from a lawyer should shut everybody up real fast.

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