"Thats the nurses job!"

Specialties School

Published

Friday was a mess more so than usual. We had a lot of teachers out due to many reasons but there was a certified teacher subbing in one of our self contained sped rooms. The assistant in there really cant deal with anything so I am always willing to help with whatever. I was at a different school doing mass vision and hearing screenings. She calls and says a student has a nose bleed. Well this student doesnt have nose bleeds he sticks his finger up his nose repeatly and makes it bleed. So essentially he just needed cleaning up. The teacher sub says "Oh no dont you touch that! That is the nurses job!" Umi no its actually your job dude. You are the teacher in the room. And any kind of bleeding that has stopped can be handled by soap and water and a bandage if needed in class! If it is actively bleeding and not controlled yes then I need to address it.

So next year when I cover blood borne pathogens for the 100th time I am going to add "I am not standing up here for my health. If you have a student bleeding you need to put on gloves and apply pressure, then help student clean up. This is why we cover this. I know how to deal with blood and body fluids. I am 1 person for 2000+ kids spread out between 4 schools and you only have 20 in your care at one time."

I should make it my vow today to start telling all the teachers "what their job is"! Believe me that wouldnt go over well but for the ole nurse well we can just treat her however ya know.

27 more school days this year!!!!!

ruby_jane, BSN, RN

3,142 Posts

Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.

It's a tetchy, tetchy thing, those SPED classrooms. We get a lot of "I just wanted you to document..." (....that the kid picked his nose and smeared the blood on his face).

Hang in there!

ABRN2012

135 Posts

It's a tetchy, tetchy thing, those SPED classrooms. We get a lot of "I just wanted you to document..." (....that the kid picked his nose and smeared the blood on his face).

Hang in there!

No this was "its blood and we arent touching it so get the nurse kind of thing." I mean really yall change diapers all the time but you cant put on gloves and wipe a kids face? Thanks I am trying to hang in there!

tining, BSN, RN

1,071 Posts

Specializes in School Nurse.

Don't get me started on my SPED class & especially the teacher. The behavior is off the chains and they want EVERY little scratch documented. They lose good para's every year because of this "teacher."

kidzcare

3,393 Posts

"I am not standing up here for my health. If you have a student bleeding you need to put on gloves and apply pressure, then help student clean up. This is why we cover this. I know how to deal with blood and body fluids. I am 1 person for 2000+ kids spread out between 4 schools and you only have 20 in your care at one time."

Great idea to address this! I would recommend changing the part I bolded because it could be taken as patronizing.

I would say something more like "I am the only nurse for 2000+ kids in four schools so these non-emergent situations need to be handled in the classroom"

WineRN

1,109 Posts

Specializes in NCSN.
I am 1 person for 2000+ kids spread out between 4 schools and you only have 20 in your care at one time."

This blows my mind. I have around 450 in my school currently and there are days where I feel like I spend the entire day putting out fires and go home exhausted. I could never handle so many students over 4 campuses.

Maybe the sub didn't realize there wasn't a nurse in the building? My staff doesn't handle nosebleeds.

ABRN2012

135 Posts

Maybe the sub didn't realize there wasn't a nurse in the building? My staff doesn't handle nosebleeds.

No sadly they all know I am here. Its more of a power trip issue. "I am a teacher not a nurse" I hear that a lot. Its funny to me I am a nurse not a teacher but they sure will call me to teach a hygiene class or teach anything health related. Double standard.

WineRN

1,109 Posts

Specializes in NCSN.
No sadly they all know I am here. Its more of a power trip issue. "I am a teacher not a nurse" I hear that a lot. Its funny to me I am a nurse not a teacher but they sure will call me to teach a hygiene class or teach anything health related. Double standard.

Or when they feel a kid is sick after you've checked them and they contact the parents to get them. lol

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN

2,776 Posts

Specializes in school nurse.
Don't get me started on my SPED class & especially the teacher. The behavior is off the chains and they want EVERY little scratch documented. They lose good para's every year because of this "teacher."

What IS it about SPED classroom staff, anyway?? Of course it's not across the board, but they seem to be more unreasonable on the whole than other teachers. I constantly bumped up against an ECC group that always wanted to send kiddos home for ANY reason that could possibly be construed as health-related, esp. "they're tired." Honestly, I think that lowering their caseload for the day plays a significant role in motivating this trend.

tining, BSN, RN

1,071 Posts

Specializes in School Nurse.

SPED would send home for a non-productive cough if they could. Runny nose? You can't handle a runny nose.

Flare, ASN, BSN

4,431 Posts

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

i get that attitude. I can't tell you how many times I have been called away from my lunch or from another detail because there is a student with a nosebleed in the office. I'll begrudgingly stop what i'm doing to go and check it out to find that it's literally a drop of blood on a tissue. And they wonder why i'm salty. I've begun taking my lunch off site from time to time just to prove a point.

ABRN2012

135 Posts

i get that attitude. I can't tell you how many times I have been called away from my lunch or from another detail because there is a student with a nosebleed in the office. I'll begrudgingly stop what i'm doing to go and check it out to find that it's literally a drop of blood on a tissue. And they wonder why i'm salty. I've begun taking my lunch off site from time to time just to prove a point.

Man I wish i could do that but unfortunately they call my cell phone :(

And yes the same SPED class is the one giving me the grief over the colostomy bag situation that I have posted about before. That situation has gotten even worse.

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