Not enjoying going to school with child

caliotter3 · Feb 13, 2011

If you dislike this setting, then ask your agency to assign you to a case in the home. It is not like they are paying you extra to go to school anyway, unless they are. Hope you find a better case for you.

Blackcat99 · Feb 13, 2011

Thanks caliotter3. Most of the nurses at my agency won't go to school with the children. I think that is why I got my recent raise because I will go to school with the child. I am going to give it one more month and see if I can adjust to it or not. My back is starting to ache again with all of this lifting of the child. Mom keeps saying "We are going to get a lift soon." I am also thinking about applying for work at a psych hospital.

Hagabel · Feb 14, 2011

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.

I am sorry you are having a hard time. Did you look after the pt at home before they started going to school?

I have recently started doing full time private duty nursing but just school cases as that is what my agency specialises in and my preference.

The teacher should not be dictating where you suction etc. You are the medical professional.

In my case I accompany a pt to school and if I need to suction I suction wherever pt needs it (very infrequently). My pt is in a spec ed room though so I think it makes it easier. The school has a certain bathroom set up where I can change pt. It includes a lift but it is easier for me to lift pt myself (not heavy).

The teachers in my classroom go out of there way to work around whatever pt needs.

I would be complaining if I had to work under your conditions.

Blackcat99 · Feb 15, 2011

Thanks Hagabel. I have been taking care of this child for about a year. I have decided that I am not going to hurry hurry rush rush at school anymore. When I try to hurry, I just make more mistakes. I keep saying I am going to look elsewhere for work. However, I am too attached to this child to leave. I learned some good news today. They are changing the days the child is going to school so I will only have to go to school with the child once a week. :yeah: I can handle one day a week.

Hagabel · Feb 15, 2011

Good to hear that. This is a totally new field for me as I have been doing ICU and more recently ER for years but I am loving the slower pace (in my case!) and better hrs. I still work ER on the weekends so I still get my adrenaline 'fix'.

Blackcat99 · Feb 16, 2011

I am so glad that your school allows you to suction whenever you want. This teacher has been on my behind ever since I started going to this school. She won't confront be directly. She has sent the school principal and the school nurse to "talk to me" instead. I have only been going to school for the past month or so. The parents of the child have been dropping us off early for school so they could go to work. I would go to the classroom and allow the child to listen to music via headphones with the teacher's permission. The teacher then complained to the principal not me. The principal said I have to now go to the office to sit and wait for the teacher's aide to pick us up when class actually starts. So now I will get to listen to the child cry for 30 minutes before class. He wants music constantly and the front office doesn't have music. I have so many heavy things already to bring. I don't think Mom will buy a radio with headphones for him. Hagabel I am so glad that you have better hours now.

That's great that you still work ER on weekends so you can have your adrenalin rush.

ventmommy · Feb 16, 2011

My son doesn't go into a school building right now but I can guarantee you that if a teacher ever told a nurse that she had to leave the room to suction, especially in a special ed classroom, she would be getting quite the earful from me on it. AIRWAY and BREATHING trump anything that teacher is teaching or any comfort level she has.

Maybe you can help the mom find a little iPod shuffle for free on Freecycle in your area. That way you won't be adding one more thing to the list of 90 million things you already take with you. I know how that is, sometimes I don't even bring my purse because it is just one more thing to lug around.

As a mom, I am also bothered by the teacher's indirectness with you. Maybe there would be fewer issues if the communication were directly between the two of you instead of using the principal as a go-between.

Blackcat99 · Feb 16, 2011

Thanks ventmommy. Yes, I wish she would just ask me about things instead of running to the school principal. I'm starting to feel like I am back in school and the teacher is a "tattle-tale."

I wanted to ask this patient's other nurse how she is getting along with the teacher. However, the other nurse has been calling off lately. She never called in when he was not in school. Thank God, I only have to go to school once a week. :yeah:

ventmommy · Feb 16, 2011

Sounds to me like the other nurse is also having a rough time at school.

Is this teacher new to special ed? Maybe she just doesn't realize that she doesn't have any say over your patient's medical needs? Maybe no one explained to her what it feels like for him to need to be suctioned and how he can't breathe while you are forced to wait for the bathroom to become available so you can suction without bothering her? Find her the narrowest coffee stirrer that you can and tell her to breathe through that and let her know that when his trach is xx% occluded by secretions that is what it is like for him and it's horrible.

LTV950rn · Feb 20, 2011

I am appalled that the people at this school are treating you like you are their employee. While you need to follow certain school rules as a guest, it is not up to them to decide what is medically sound. Suctioning in the bathroom? Not only is that horribly disgusting (bathroom=germs), but airway is top priority and you can't wait to get in the bathroom. What if the child had a plug? I used to go to kindergarten with a little boy, and the school staff was so welcoming to us. I was able to do all my medical interventions while he participated in classroom functions. If he needed suction, I would be sure that I turned him away from the other children/staff, but I did it right in the room, along with tube feedings, meds, etc. I was discrete, but I did not have to remove him from the room each time I did something. (If that would have been required, he would have been spending more time with me than his schooling!) The family I worked with arranged for a child life specialist from Children's Hospital to come to the classroom at the beginning of the year and talk to the children about my patient- his trach, feedings, the nurse, etc. The first few weeks, the kids were curious and would look everytime I did something, but eventually, it became normal and things went as they generally should. In turn, I was respectful of the classroom and tried to be as least disruptive as possible if something needed to be done. Good luck to you. I'm sorry to hear you don't enjoy going to school- I honestly enjoyed it quite a bit.

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Feb 21, 2011

Blackcat.

If your pat can handle having one that is PINK pm me and I'll mail you one of my older smaller ipods.

TTP