Has this happened to anyone else?

Specialties School

Published

So you peruse the AN School Nurse board throughout your day and read a post about an experience that one of your fellow AN school nurses had with a student. Then a few weeks later, the same exact (or eerily similar) experience happens to you and one of your students.

Case in point:

I had a student come in last week telling me he thinks his appendix is sore. Lay him down, exam shows tenderness over McBurney's point, but no rebound tenderness. States it hurts in his RLQ when he takes a deep breath though. No fever.

I call and talk to mom, recommend she get this checked out (gut feeling), even though he is not showing "classic" appendicitis signs. Mom is right on board with this and takes him in. Student had his appendix out that afternoon.

I distinctly remember reading about a similar situation (not classic symptoms etc) with another nurse here, and actually thought of it when I was assessing this student. My apologies that I can't remember who it was though...

And I am pretty sure I have seen other coincidences here as well. Weird.

Specializes in School nursing.

It was me! And yes, basically same exact thing :).

ohiobobcat

887 Posts

Specializes in ED, School Nurse.

Ha! Well, I thought of you Jen (indirectly) while I was assessing this student. :)

Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

Yes!!

Also, I found one of my actual co-workers on here. Another reason why I changed my name.:ninja:

Specializes in School nursing.
Ha! Well, I thought of you Jen (indirectly) while I was assessing this student. :)

And go you and your assessment skills! It is so nice to get an important thing like that right ;).

Farawyn

12,646 Posts

I love this. Glad the kid was okay.

Sometimes the gut feeling is really important.

Specializes in School nursing.
I love this. Glad the kid was okay.

Sometimes the gut feeling is really important.

It really is. And it something you just build upon with experience, I think, especially when it comes to trusting it in our lonely school nurse world.

Flare, ASN, BSN

4,431 Posts

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

this right here is why i love our virtual nurse's station. We don't get the luxury of bouncing thoughts off of another colleague in arm's reach all day. So we bounce off of one another. We have a resource to look back when we think "didn't someone have something like this" (when we have the time). We have each other to vent to to remind each other that we are doing our very best.

NutmeggeRN, BSN

2 Articles; 4,620 Posts

Specializes in kids.
It really is. And it something you just build upon with experience, I think, especially when it comes to trusting it in our lonely school nurse world.

Agreed. I have "diagnosed" mono twice this year!

Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

YES! I secretly LOVE when I "diagnose" something and then it turns out I was totally right, and they come back and tell me how right I was! (as opposed to always being "just the school nurse who gives out ice and bandaids")!

gpsrn, MSN, RN

49 Posts

It is great that someone shared here and you were able to benefit from it. We are a team, in so many ways. Thanks for sharing.

peacockblue

293 Posts

Where is Old Dude? He needs to congratulate you on snatching that child from the Jaws of Death!

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