Difficult teachers

Farawyn · Nov 19, 2014

Yes!

I finally talked to the "ointment" teacher and explained about soap and water being the best treatment for abrasions.

I realized she is just older, kind of nervous, and kind of set in her ways.

So, I'll just suck it up and send the kids back.

abc123RN · Nov 19, 2014

Everyday!! I finally asked on of the teacher that does that all the time if they would like to run the health office while I taught the class. Their reply was "I am not a nurse and you are not qualified to teach my class" Me: "My point exactly, I wouldn't tell you how to teach and you don't run my office" This one is no longer a problem!

Jolie, BSN · Nov 19, 2014

I was extremely fortunate not to have this problem when I worked in school.

Being the smart orifice that I am, I would suggest sitting in her class and second-guessing her instructions for an hour or so. That should do it :)

Wave Watcher · Nov 20, 2014

We keep our clinic logs electronically so I can pull up teachers/students and print off how many times a student has come to my class or how many students came from one class. I had this problem within 2 months of school starting. I had a teacher who had already sent her kids down to my class 60 times and most of them were only for chapped lips. I printed off my report for this teacher and went and spoke to my Principal. I calculated that each child spent at least 5 min. in my clinic or more also each child is sent down with a "buddy" to the clinic, so I added all those minutes up and translated them into "missed instructional time" from her classroom. Now....numbers and missed instructional time the Principal understood! She was not happy. She immediately sent a mass email to all the teachers (so she didn't single out only one) and told them that I would no longer see students for chapped lips or mosquito bites and they will need to keep band aids in there rooms for minor cuts/scrapes. She explained to them also that I have children with chronic illnesses that I see on a daily basis so I'm not always available for minor issues such as listed. Guess what? My clinic visits not only from this one teacher was cut way down but from all the other teachers. Do what you have to do to make your administration understand and relate it to education or instructional time missed. :-)

Oh, I also have a teacher that will keep sending kids back to my clinic because she wants them to go home but they are not "sick". I send back a note to these types teachers telling them that if they feel the child can not continue the rest of the day in class to give them a phone pass to the office and let them call home. A phone call does not require them to come see me....they can skip the nurse and go straight to the office and call. I always tell the teachers that if I send their student back to class they can always feel free to contact the parent themselves. :-)

fetch, BSN, RN · Nov 20, 2014

Oh, I also have a teacher that will keep sending kids back to my clinic because she wants them to go home but they are not "sick". I send back a note to these types teachers telling them that if they feel the child can not continue the rest of the day in class to give them a phone pass to the office and let them call home. A phone call does not require them to come see me....they can skip the nurse and go straight to the office and call. I always tell the teachers that if I send their student back to class they can always feel free to contact the parent themselves. :-)

I said that last year . . . and one of the teachers promptly decided that meant she could call home and tell parents "your child is very sick and needs to go home right away." Excuse me?!?! AND the secretary was allowing the "sick" kids to sit in the office until their parents showed.

So now I always call home once the kid goes back to class if I think the teacher's going to undermine me -- I make sure to tell the parents the reasons why I sent their kid back to class and promise to call again if they get worse.

Farawyn · Nov 20, 2014

I said that last year . . . and one of the teachers promptly decided that meant she could call home and tell parents "your child is very sick and needs to go home right away." Excuse me?!?! AND the secretary was allowing the "sick" kids to sit in the office until their parents showed.
So now I always call home once the kid goes back to class if I think the teacher's going to undermine me -- I make sure to tell the parents the reasons why I sent their kid back to class and promise to call again if they get worse.

Ooof, that's rough stuff. That would annoy the crap out of me.

Wave Watcher · Nov 20, 2014

I said that last year . . . and one of the teachers promptly decided that meant she could call home and tell parents "your child is very sick and needs to go home right away." Excuse me?!?! AND the secretary was allowing the "sick" kids to sit in the office until their parents showed.
So now I always call home once the kid goes back to class if I think the teacher's going to undermine me -- I make sure to tell the parents the reasons why I sent their kid back to class and promise to call again if they get worse.

Well that's not good! The way I see it is if the teachers call then it's on them. They can explain why they chose to call parents. I have documented my assessment and that I sent them back to class. If I was to try and keep up with teachers who would go behind my back and call my day would be trying to play detective. I guess you need the support of your administration to back you up if a parent gets upset because a teacher sent a kid home for no reason. Sounds like you have your hands full! So sorry! :-(

fetch, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2014

Yes, it's very annoying and time-consuming, but luckily it's really only one or two teachers. And since I brought it to the principal's attention, the secretary isn't helping them out any more.

SchoolNurseTXstyle · Nov 21, 2014

I have been a school nurse for 9 years, elemantary and middle school. I have written a few notes and e-mails similar to this:

"____________ does not meet any district or state health department conditions for me to exclude him from class. However, I did notice that he has a 40 in your class. Therefore, I do recommend some extra tutoring by yourself."

They usually get the hint.

SnowyJ, RN · Nov 21, 2014

YES. It is especially hard this time of year with common colds. The teachers just don't want those kids in class, but we can't exclude them if they are not running a fever or coughing too much. Kids get sent down, I fully assess them, let them rest a bit, have water, and send them back. 10 minutes later they are back to see me again. (9 times out of 10 the child didn't cough once while with me, but the teacher will report "uncontrollable coughing" )

There is also always panic about stomach aches because of the fear the child might vomit in class. Way too many students are sent down. One rule I follow..If you are well enough to eat lunch and run at recess, you are well enough to be in class. Some just have gas, etc. Again, they rest a few minutes, then back to class they go which doesn't always make the teachers happy. But I can't send them home without cause! :bag: