No, I'm Not a Beauty Shop!

[mysixlittleones]

I should probably preface this post with some facts.......It was 3pm, I had just about EVERY frequent flyer in my office, I hadn't eaten my lunch yet and I just sat down to eat when in walks one of my frequent flyers with an earring in her hand. She is in 1st grade and says ,"yeah I can't get my earring back in". So I reach in my drawer and pul out an envelope for her to put her earring in and she says ,"no! I want it back in my ear". No please, no manners....so I say no, hunny,i'm a nurse not a beauty shop. Put it in the envelope, your mom can put it in when you get home. I had a kindergarten child in my office with the para for that room and the para looked at me like OMG. So I said to her, "I'm sorry but I will take them out for gym because it is a safety issue and the gym teacher doesn't have time to deal with it but putting them back in? That is NOT a nursing reponsibility and shame on the teacher who sent her to me!" Why do I have to put her earrings back in? Isn't the teacher capable? We have a no earrings in PE policy so my feeling is that if the student cant put in their own earrings then they shouldn't wear them on gym days. Now of course I feel bad......

[wooh, BSN, RN]

You should try home health.

Today I took out a pts dog for her and another I screwed in a new light bulb.

I don't mind, especially if they may hurt themselves doing these things!!

Slippery slope. Today it's walking the dog. Tomorrow it's cleaning a litter box. And taking out the trash. Doing the dishes. Clean the whole house. And why not? You did non-nursing stuff today. Why shouldn't you do it tomorrow?

[TopazLover, BSN, RN]

I agree that school nurses should not be put in the position to have to do the earring thing. What kind of earrings are these kids wearing? I see professional football players with diamond earrings in place during games. If this is the role model the parents see of course they don't think about removal of earrings for PE. What type of PE are they doing that is so dangerous for studs?

Was the earring removed for PE and then the nurse was asked to reinsert it? Then NO. If it was an accidental slip out I might be more sympathetic to the issue.

I agree about the slippery slope theory. Each time you do a kindness it is a good idea to let the person know why you are extending your boundaries. "I understand the light burned out and you need it to see to walk safely." " I do not have time to do the handiman chores but I was glad to change the one lightbulb so it is safer for you." "Do you know of a handyman or help that could take care of this kind of thing? Most churches have a group that loves to go out and assist elders with such light work."

[Tina, RN]

I did a year of school nursing. If you don't set boundaries with the students, teachers and parents you will be doing all sorts of crazy stuff EVERYDAY. I don't understand why the teacher didn't do it in the first place. Next time maybe have the student wash their hands and talk them through inserting it themselves, that way they are learning.

Very well said! :)

[Tina, RN]

...I do not consider this any different from my duties as a very busy med surg nurse. I put dentures in, remove them, give oral care, etc. Just this week, I provided a pt. with normal saline and specimen cups so she could remove her contacts before surgery. These are personal hygiene issues, and very much , I feel, my responsibility. ...

But, the things you mentioned are "nursing duties" in my opinion. I have assisted students with orthodontic issues and with contact lens issues (to the best of my abilities). Undecorated earlobes will not prevent the child from accomplishing any ADLs. It won't prevent the child from learning, and it won't adversely impact her health or the health of other students. In my case, I get the requests for earring help so much, I needed to draw the line.

If a child has newly pierced, unhealed earring holes, I'm sure the PE teacher would make an exception if the parent asked. If the teacher refused to make an exception, maybe wait until summer to get them pierced (when there is no school/PE)? Then, if my child threw a fit about waiting to have their ears pierced, I'd explain that there are rules in the world. Sometimes we don't agree, but we still have to follow them.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

all things considered, i encounter this type of request maybe once or twice a month and it's almost always with a kindergartener that accidentally slipped it out. total time commitment is really negligible. I spend more time coaching these kids in how to properly use the tub of vaseline on their chapped lips (i.e. - use an applicator, no double dipping, don't you think about sticking your fingers in there). For me, the earring thing is really small potatoes, but i suppose if I had lines of girls needing earrings replaced after taking them out for PE, then yes... i'd be really ticked off about it.

[uthscsa2011]

AMEN SISTER!

[uthscsa2011]

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with you. Teachers can sometimes take advantage of us and what we do. How is it fair that all the teachers and staff get to have lunch, but you can't until 30 min before you leave for the day? Not okay. I know sometimes that happens to us when we have crazy days, but sending a child to you because her earring fell out is not an emergency that you need to stop eating your lunch for. When I eat lunch, I only allow kids to come in if they need a med or it is an emergency (throwing up, fever, serious injury, allergy, ect), not for a scratch, hang nail, or an earring. Teachers can take two minutes from their teaching to pop an earring back in. We are the NURSES, which means we are paid to do nursing things. Come on now.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I am sure that six year old child learned a lesson about nurses and boundaries.

Boundaries, yes.

Hopefully the parent learned not to send the child to school with an accessory that is beyond her capability to manage independently.

[SchoolNurseTXstyle]

I have to agree with the OP. I know for me, I just don't have time to do stuff that does not take a nursing degree. I have 1300 kids, have close to 1,000 screenings to complete a year, 4 diabetics ( 1 non-compliant on a pump,1 with down syndrome and q2hour BG checks),16 daily meds, 94 PRN meds, 21 epi-pens, 27 rescue inhalers. These all require action plans, IHP's. My phone rings off the hook, i am always behind on e-mails, i still haven't input all off my clinic visits from December into the computer. I see about 50 kids a day (not counting meds, diabetics). 20 are for silly stuff ( i bit my lip 2 days ago). But, it takes a nursing assessment to sort out that silly stuff. Now, nobody else in the building can do most of this stuff but me. So, at 2:30 in the afternoon - if I choose not to do something a teacher who gets a daily lunch and a planning period could do with no problem - so that I can take a 15 minute break to shove a banana and a diet coke down my throat while I am answering e-mails just as my headache from hypoglycemia is setting in - well TOUGH! Like many others have said, we have to draw the line somewhere. Not because we like to be mean to children but because we are humans who can only do so much. As nurses, we are critical thinkers, problem solvers. As professionals, we have to triage, prioritize, and delegate as needed. If the OP feels that earring insertion needs to be delegated to teachers, i see no problem with it!

[SaoirseRN]

Wow. I guess I pick my battles more carefully. I guess I am spineless as I would take the path of least resistance especially when it comes to a child. Look at all of the energy you have expended on this topic, rather than putting the earring back in. I am sure that six year old child learned a lesson about nurses and boundaries.[/quote']

Six year olds are very capable of learning lessons about boundaries, and one earring or similar request might be nothing, but the sense I'm getting is the repeated, multiple requests for non-nursing tasks are what is bothering the OP. A six year old without manners (not only did she not say please, she demanded the earring go back in NOW) can and should learn that it is inappropriate to speak to anyone that way.

I agree with the OP.

[CherylRNBSN]

I did a year of school nursing. If you don't set boundaries with the students, teachers and parents you will be doing all sorts of crazy stuff EVERYDAY. I don't understand why the teacher didn't do it in the first place. Next time maybe have the student wash their hands and talk them through inserting it themselves, that way they are learning.

OK, well, I have to speak up for teachers here. They are EDUCATORS. They are busy EDUCATING. Personal hygiene...SCHOOL NURSE.

They are just as busy as we are...

[Tina, RN]

OK, well, I have to speak up for teachers here. They are EDUCATORS. They are busy EDUCATING. Personal hygiene...SCHOOL NURSE.

They are just as busy as we are...

I wouldn't consider earrings an important part of "personal hygiene". That's kind of like saying that school nurses should also apply make-up to students as needed... Earrings and make-up are nice, but ultimately, not essential to learning or to good health.

Sure, teachers are busy. However, as I mentioned in another post, they have responsibility for one classroom of students, while the nurse is responsible for the whole school. Plus, teachers always, and I mean *always*, get their full, uninterrupted breaks while at work (unlike the school nurse).