Not my role... admin rant

[Dattebayo, RN]

So. This morning, almost immediately as school started, the administrator sent 2 students to my office without telling me why. The only thing I could get from the 2 boys, was that the one had spit in the other's face. So I took them by the hands, and walked them upstairs to the admin to ask why they were sent to me. "For the germ talk" she states. Ok... All well and good, sure I'll talk about why spitting on someone is gross and germy... but there's a bigger issue here right? I asked her if she would be contacting the children's parents. "No, but you should call Boy #1's parents to let them know what happened." Me? So I say "I'm not going to be able to tell them anything about the disciplinary action being taken against the child who SPIT on their son...I think they should hear from an administrator. Spitting is one of the worst, most disrespectful things you could do to another person." She replies "No, you call. To let them know about the germs."...

So, I called, spoke to dad, and he was rightfully pissed. "Can I transfer you right up to the administrator sir?" UUUUUUGHHHHHH.

I am also the first person to call whenever a student is assaulted by another student. First thing the good parents ask (after checking their child is ok), "What is being done?"

I don't know! ugh. #notmyrole

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

Well, isn't that convenient to pass the buck, yet make the buck? Do you have a district nurse or a supervisor that can advocate for you? I would start there.

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

My favorite activity first thing in the morning is trying to figure out why the student who tries to get out of going to school every day is dumped in my office. No health issues. Why is this my responsibility? We have TWO principals, a school psych and THREE social workers. Why is this the nurse's problem?

[cooties_are_real]

I do not like making the initial call after an altercation just for that reason. I don't know how things went down or what discipline is dealt out. After I give parent report of injury and treatment, I transfer them to the AP's office. Thank God, most of the time the parents are patient with me and let me transfer them.

[OldDude]

I think this habit is a universal admin issue. I seen it with every admin that's come through here. On a level I can understand discussing the student's condition first and, occasionally, some parents are mostly concerned that their child is OK. But the majority of the time I sense there is more interest in "punishing" the perpetrator than the flip side. So, smile and wave!!

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I'm very blessed. I have amazing admin that would never expect me to make first contact with this unless the student needed ASAP medical attention/pick-up. Even then, I check it, let them know I'm not saying a word about discipline and they are ready to field the call/see the parent after.

Usually, admin is the one to bring the student(s) to my office, wait outside/nearby while I check them out, then we step outside and I update them medically. If student is essentially physically okay or has very minor injuries, admin takes my statement and the student(s) up to their office to call the parent(s). I have my MS admins on a text chain and we update each other as needed. It is really an awesome communication line and part of why I'm on year 4 at my school.

[Eleven011]

I have great admins too. They will ask me to call a parent if an injury has occurred and I'm ok with that. But, almost always they have already called the parents about the behavior issue. If not, I usually say "our principal is working on getting all the details of the incident and will be in touch with you shortly with information."

[grammy1]

I'm also very lucky. Admins will call and send us the student, we assess and report back to them. They call the parent, if parent has any medical questions they then transfer the call to us. SO MUCH easier that way! 99% of the time the only question is, "Was the other student punished?"

[OyWithThePoodles, RN]

Our admins usually make the teacher call, or they will call AFTER I have assessed the child so they can give the parent a report on their medical condition. They will then transfer to speak to me if the parent requests.

Once you mention any type of altercation parents freak and want to know the who, what, when, where, why. Answers I don't have. And if I do, it's not my place to share.

[scuba nurse, BSN, MSN, RN]

I have great admins as well, however there is sometimes I end up calling parents before they do. I just say "I can only tell you about the health/medical part, you will be hearing from the admin on the disciplinary part".

[palli]

my previous vice principal was NOTORIOUS for this. I simply say to the parents, Your son/daughter was involved in some sort of altercation, while I understand you need details, I will leave the part to my vice principal I am calling only to discuss the medical aspect of the incident..and how I have treated your child. When they ask who the other kids was, I simply say, I cannot give you names.

I use those words exactly, every single time. The parent appreciates knowing medically they are covered. I then give the VP extension, and ask them to call her for the details.

Once she gets that call, I can count on one hand how many seconds it took her to come into my office demanding why I didn't explain what happened, I simply say, I am only here to handle medical, not discipline. Just like I wouldn't ask you to figure out how many units we should give our diabetics, I'm not trained in discipline as you have no nursing degree. It took her a few MONTHS, but she finally stopped telling me to make the "call"