Vent- Sending students to Health room minutes before dismissed to home

Specialties School

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Yesterday I stayed one hour extra at work because I had 10 kids come to the health room at the end of the school day.

This bugs me to no end. I don't blame my sweet elementary school students I blame their teachers.

-One student had a suspected case of ringworm...

-4 students came in feeling ill. No one had a temp so I sent them back to class to get ready to go home. I told them all to tell their parents when they get home.

-Since PE is at the end of the school day I have a ton of students come in for unwarranted ice packs

and the list goes on....

That is my vent for today. Enjoying my day off today and back to work tomorrow.

Almost makes you want to start getting snotty with the teachers.

Specializes in Med-Surg; Telemetry; School Nurse pk-8.

I get this problem occasionally, but it sounds like maybe I don't see it as often as all of you. My day starts an hour after students arrive in the morning, and ends 20 minutes before the buses arrive in the afternoon. My truncated day is a result of the school wanting to cut corners ($$). I kills me when I hear the principal tell new parents on the school tour that we have a "full-time nurse". But that's fodder for another vent...

Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

I once had a teacher send a child to me 'not feeling well' at 1430. I told the child, after a negative exam, that it was so close to going home time that Mom was probably already in the parking lot to get him, and to tell her he didn't feel well but did not have a temp.

Teacher came storming down 5 minutes later wanting to know if she had 'offended' me by sending him. Seems he mentioned the timeframe to her as well. I told her that, while I was not offended, a little common sense would go a long way.

She sent 5 to me in a row the next day, no note, for chapped lips, and told them to tell me that she 'wasn't filling out a slip for that'. We had a set-to after that, as I sent them back for a note, so that I knew they had not just come in on their own. This rule was from the principal, not me.

Never did make friends with that one. And really didn't care.

i am asubstitute school nurse and i love my job. i have been to many health rooms and have seen how they are run. there are some health rooms that close during the first and last periods unless it is an emergency. they had to get consent from the administration to do this. their theory is that you should not come to school sick and it will be too late to call your parents in the lastperiod.

toangelfire. i have been to health rooms where i felt the teacher(s) purposely sent their students to the health room to drive me crazy. if i sent one back then they will just send another soon after. there would be 10 minutes left of school and i would be getting kids with a note to check their cough. there are some school nurses who will never let the staff get away with these shenanigans. they don't care if they are not popular but then their health room visits are low.

My day starts 20 minutes before school starts and with our new after school tutoring, my day has been extended. I come in at 7:30, 30 minutes before the start of the day for filing, cleaning, etc. I have signs on both office doors that say I don't 'open' until 8 but always have a line of kiddos when the bus arrives at 7:40 saying they "woke up sick"...those are my favorite phone calls home.."So and so is saying they were sick when they woke up?" "Well I thought they were just faking..." UGH!!

Then it's the teachers sending them last minute. I had a teacher ask for a complete classroom lice check 10 minutes before school was out then told a coworker I was lazy because I asked to do it in the morning! I'm not lazy, I just don't have the time! My office is already full of last minute tummyaches and headaches and bumps from recess...the "lice" (there were no called-in cases so to me they are just imaginary) can wait until tomorrow.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of bathroom accidents in the last 10 minutes of the day. I'm beginning to think some teachers know the student is wet/dirty, but wants them to finish their classwork and won't send them until dismissal time. Then, I get to scramble to find clothes and have them change before they miss their bus, or even worse, they have a #2 accident and I can't get ahold of parents. At that point, I have to help them cleanup so they don't miss their bus. There cannot possibly be that many kids wetting their pants in the last 10 minutes of the day!

Specializes in kids.
Okay, this could be my naivete talking, as I am not a school nurse, but is it possible these kids are coming in on their own accord after they've been dismissed from class? Maybe they didn't want to miss any class, and think you would take better care of it than their mothers would. :D

Not in my experience either.....as my staff knows I wont see them without a note unless they are vomiting, seizing or bleeding profusely ......:no:

I am the person that often fills out the forms and walks with the student to the office when they need to see the nurse. Unless it is very serious, I don't let kids go to the nurse within the last 30 minutes of the school day. I have had teacher(s) to send students to me at the end of the day to be seen by the nurse for things that were not necessary for the nurse to see at any time of the day. I send them back, telling them that they have however many minutes left, and tell them to prepare to go home.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of bathroom accidents in the last 10 minutes of the day. I'm beginning to think some teachers know the student is wet/dirty, but wants them to finish their classwork and won't send them until dismissal time. Then, I get to scramble to find clothes and have them change before they miss their bus, or even worse, they have a #2 accident and I can't get ahold of parents. At that point, I have to help them cleanup so they don't miss their bus. There cannot possibly be that many kids wetting their pants in the last 10 minutes of the day!

Sounds like some teachers need to rework their bathroom schedules...

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