Who is responsibile for field trip info?

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Questions regarding field trips

Are you notified of field trips?

Who notifies you of said field trip?

Are you expected to check the school calendar and figure it out yourself?

ruby_jane, BSN, RN

3,142 Posts

Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.

In our district the staff are reminded every year that a field trip roster needs to be sent to the nurse 48 hours prior so I can tell them if there are any allergies and get them any supplies. Many fail at this, but some (like our AVID, drill team, and choir) who know they travel get me class rosters at the beginning of the year.

I do not have to go along.

ohiobobcat

887 Posts

Specializes in ED, School Nurse.

Ahhh, field trips!! Loved them as a kid, hate them as a school nurse.

So most teachers are really good about letting me know when there are field trips. Guidance sponsors a lot of field trips too, and I get info from them. I am included in the "All staff email" that goes out, and notices of field trips are sent out a week or so in advance as a courtesy to the other teachers (I work in a high school). I don't even know if there is a master schedule that lists the field trips.

The part that irritates me is they still accept permission slips the day of the field trip. The bus is leaving in 10 minutes, and I just got a list of 10 more kids that I need to get epi-pens and dialy meds ready for- I have actually held up the bus because I wouldn't let them leave until I had everything situated. They stopped taking permission slips on the day of after that. :D

I would request teachers inform you of field trips. It should not be your job to track this down. Teachers have a checklist of things they need to take care of before they leave school with a gaggle of kids and notifying the school nurse ahead of time should be on that checklist.

WineRN

1,109 Posts

Specializes in NCSN.

I have to figure it out myself.

Our Assistant principal sends out a weekly calendar that lists events for the next two weeks, and that's where I find out about field trips. Then I usually email the teacher/whoever is doing the field trip reminding them they need to pick up the medical bags from me the morning of the trip

Eleven011

1,250 Posts

Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.

What Wine said. It's on me. We get emailed a "weekly activities calendar" that will list all field trips and what time they are leaving. I can also look ahead on the school websites main calendar if I know there are some coming up (last month of school almost every grade takes some kind of trip). I then write it in my planner so I remember to package up needed meds and get them to the correct staff the morning of the trip. I do occasionally miss one - usually its when an organization or specific class go on a trip and I don' t know my med kid belongs to that group. Those are high school kids who should have thought to tell me (some do). I just chart it - student off grounds at med time without prior notice, med not given. I will mention it to the advisor/teacher but they usually forget by the time it rolls around again.

BeckyESRN

1,263 Posts

In my district, we have to provide RN coverage for all field trips if their is anything more than an Epi-Pen required. Our teachers cannot give any medication and can only give Epi if they are certified by nursing and complete an on-line training. That being said, you'd think they'd realize that they should tell the nurse! No one ever does. We even added a line that requires my initials before being passed on for approval and of my 15 field trips this year, not a form has been submitted to me. The front office will make a copy of the form and put it in my mailbox because they know that the teachers never tell me anything. I send out email reminders saying "inform the nurse or your trip will be canceled" a few times a year

Windchaser22

408 Posts

Specializes in School nurse.

I couldn't deal with the nonsense anymore so I got tough on this issue this year. All trips have to be board approved 2 months in advance so the office lets me know. I have to have a sub for anything more than an epi and subs are like hens teeth. I booked one today for May. Now I'm making the teachers tell me which parents are going so I'm not packing meds that aren't needed too.

Specializes in school/military/OR/home health.

I have had my share of field trip issues. Our district requires the nurse to sign off before a field trip happens, but I sure as heck see field trips posted that I didn't sign off on. Our policy is that inhalers and oral meds plus epi-pens can be given by a trained teacher, as these fall under assisting with self-administration. Glucagon and diastat require a parent/guardian or a nurse to attend. So I have a handful of students who need a parent or nurse to attend, and every year the teachers are told at the beginning of the year that this is the case and who EXACTLY needs this in their class.

But every year at least once I will have a teacher tell me the day before that so-and-so's parent can't go on the field trip, so...yeah, Nurse Beans, work it out. So I spend an entire day calling subs and sweating because a teacher made their own irresponsibility into my problem. This year I started to refuse to sign the form until I had confirmation a parent of whichever student could go, but I was accused of being "difficult" and informed that I needed to just sign and deal with it.

grammy1

420 Posts

As most others said, the teachers are supposed to let me know ahead of time so I can check their rosters against my list.

At the beginning of the school year, I heard one of the teachers tell a new teacher, "Make sure you let the nurse know about field trips. That woman will stop your buses as they're pulling out and pull your kids off to make sure they have their inhalers and epi-pens." Yep, I did that 2 years ago and haven't had a problem with the language arts department since. :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

Specializes in School nursing.

Teachers are supposed to tell me, but they don't. I'm on grade level emails, so when a field trip is mentioned, I make a sticky with the grade and date and stick to my computer. I give a grade level leader teacher until the day before to reach out themselves, then I'll reach out. I can put together field trip stuff in less than 10 minutes, but it helps that most of my older students self carry inhalers and Epi-pens. (So many teachers that reach out last minute are like "You're the best!" I just laugh at this point.)

I don't go on field trips. If I did, I'd need a sub and that is hard to find. The school also doesn't send a sub nurse on a field trip. Though I know we will need to eventually as medical needs for students continue to grow at my small school. Though I was once told if that was needed I would get a sub for the school so I could go on the trip and also be a chaperone. That, I told them, would not work if I was tending to a medical emergency on the trip and they were down one chaperone ;).

Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

Late to the post but I just got back from our TWO WEEK (be jealous, guys) fall break.

When I first started I had problems with teachers not telling me about the field trips until the morning of. Uh, no.

So I got admin involved and now when the field trip is approved by the bus garage, the principal emails me the approval that she sends the teacher. I put it on my desk calendar and if I need to go (diabetic students only) I arrange to do so.

I have two teacher from each grade medication trained, if there is a student that has a med that isn't in one of their classes I pick a teacher to put them with as they will have to be on their bus and in their vicinity at all times (for emergency meds) and they also get to bring a friend.

I make copies of the orders and MAR's, sending the originals with the teachers in a folder. I also have a little first aid kit in their backpacks. If meds need to be counted I do so before and after the field trip.

WineRN

1,109 Posts

Specializes in NCSN.
Late to the post but I just got back from our TWO WEEK (be jealous, guys) fall break.

Color me green with Jealousy! We had a four day weekend last year but they took that away, so I'm just here counting down till winter break comes.

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