Wondering why it takes an RN license to get this done (even though policy dictates otherwise, it is not followed through on). If a child urinates on his clothing, the procedure is that the parents are first called to bring a change of clothing. Only if they cannot be reached, or absolutely cannot come or send someone else, do we offer clothing. I have a few things in my office but most of the selection is kept by the counselor. Despite this, students are repeatedly referred to the nurse's office with this problem. We have a district memo that states that it is supposed to be a "team effort" and "designated staff members" are supposed to help so that "any one staff member is not over-burdened" by this. Well, I'm feeling over burdened.
Student is sent to me for urine accident. The phone numbers are kept in the main office, so I go there. The family is Spanish speaking only, so I ask the clerk to call for me. The numbers are not in service, and there are no different numbers under any of the student's siblings. So, on to plan B. I have a pair of shorts that will probably fit him, but no undies. My student who gets a cath shows up so I ask the clerk to call the counselor. Finish cath, counselor has undies but probably too small and she does not have the key to the cabinet.
I call counselor and determine that the kid is tiny and undies will probably fit well enough. She does not have keys to cabinet. I have to approach secretary for keys (who gives me attitude about it). Now if I am to retrieve the golden britches, I have to leave my office and travel upstairs, and I've got kids filing in and out. So now I track down the campus monitor to go get the undies for me. FINALLY after directing traffic for 30 minutes, the kid gets to change out of his wet pants.
Is it just me, or could this not be a whole lot easier if the teacher calls home, then refers to the counselor if no one can come? Two people involved instead of five? Does that make too much sense? OK, vent over. I feel better. Just glad my RN license is getting put to such good use!
What really gets me is the teacher that sends the child to the clinic, with their extra clothes in hand! Is my bathroom more special than yours? geesh! The little kids have a Teachers Aide in each class; that is part of their job (really!).
If you are talking about teacher assistants, then it is not their job either (at least not in my school district). I am a teacher assistant in a public school that specializes in educating children with special health and mental needs (this is sort of an inclusion school). I am not allowed to change a child if they have an accident, so I have been told. If a student has an accident, as far as I know of I would be the one to call the parents while the teacher continues to teach class.
We have a number of CNAs and medical assistants to assist certain students. Some students have their own nurse for their needs (the school district has a contract with a home health company). We have a couple of classes for students who have severe disabilities that cause them to be low functioning. They are in a special class for most of the day. They have CNAs to change them if needed.
I feel you pain. Reading everyone's stories makes me feel like at least I'm not the only one wondering if an RN license is really necessary to change diapers.
Obviously, when we added the title RN or LPN behind our names we also became more qualified to deal with urine/bm accidents. I have just tried to except it- to a certain degree. This is what I do. I ask for the teachers to request a change of clothes for students pre-k - 5k- if a student brings in clothes, the clothes stay in their bookbag. A few of the teachers will go ahead and send them to the restroom to clean up/change. They have bathrooms in their classrooms-- I do not have a bathroom in my office.
All of the extra clothes are in my office. That way you are not running all over the place to get clothes. Because lets face it, no matter what they are going to keep coming to you for a solution. If a student shows up for urine/BM accident- I call a parent and ask them to bring clothes and help their child get cleaned up. If I can't reach anyone or the parent refuses - I tell the students exactly what they need to do to get cleaned up. I do not clean the children myself. Maybe if the student takes responsibility for the accident, they are less likely to continue having "accidents".
As far as wiping the 5k student after his bm's-- NO WAY!!
I guess many teachers send bm/urine accidents to the nurse because in many school districts the teacher nor the teacher assistant is allowed to help with a bathroom accident, not because they just want to ruin the nurse's day !
How funny - we had a 1st grader today who wet his pants and we sat him on a chair and called his mom, who came to take him home and change. Then he came back and went to class.
Specializes in Med-Surg; Telemetry; School Nurse pk-8.
Yes, it's begun again this year. I've already had the teacher of the Pre-K age 3 classroom pull me out of a meeting for a 'crisis'. That crisis was that she had three kids who had messed their pants, and she couldn't find the janitor.
Of course, thinking that maybe we might have a GI bug circulating, I asked if the kids seemed ill. Were the BM's loose, watery or foul-smelling. "No, they are normal", she answered, "I just need someone to clean up the bathroom and the school secretary can't find the janitor, so I got you"!
This is why after 3 very long years in elementary school - I returned to middle school! My thoughts - everybody in the building should be responsible for the children in their care, not just the nurse. If this includes restroom needs and you don't like it, get another job. Problem is, school nurses are so busy with real medical issues - we complain not because we don't want to help kids - we just don't have time. While I was dealing with toileting issues, my asthmatic was sitting and holding his chest and my diabetic was late to lunch. The TA responsible was on her cell phone. Happened more than once. Left that school, left that district. Now, i am somewhere they value my "professional" services.
Yes, it's begun again this year. I've already had the teacher of the Pre-K age 3 classroom pull me out of a meeting for a 'crisis'. That crisis was that she had three kids who had messed their pants, and she couldn't find the janitor.
Of course, thinking that maybe we might have a GI bug circulating, I asked if the kids seemed ill. Were the BM's loose, watery or foul-smelling. "No, they are normal", she answered, "I just need someone to clean up the bathroom and the school secretary can't find the janitor, so I got you"!
No... I did NOT stay and clean her bathroom.
OMGoodness, there are no words. She expected you to clean up the bathroom?!?
From what I have been told, the teacher assistants at my school are not responsible for cleaning a child after a toilet accident. I would only be responsible for notifying the parents. However, this year I work with 5th and 6th graders. They would probably be mortified enough that they had an accident, let alone baring their private parts to be cleaned by someone else.
I mean, think about it. If I take it upon myself to clean a child after they have an accident, and I am not supposed to, then I could be accused of trying to molest the child. No thank you! If a child were to have a toileting accident and anyone were to tell me to clean the child, you better believe I would be on the phone with my school district's central office to get their okay. Finding clothes for them, and handing them the supplies is a different story.
We have nurses aides in our classes that have special needs students in them. Some students have their own nurses aide that is there for one particular child. In those cases, those aides clean up the children they are assigned to.
Hah! I know just what you mean. I actually had a little girl look at the tag in the clothing and turn her nose up! Apparently they were a designer brand family. I told her this isn't Macy's. She could either wear the pants or go naked. She chose the pants.
At my school, we keep a large supply of extra pants, skirts, shirts, and some underwear. It's much easier to just deal with it than to waste time tracking down their apparently non-exisistent parents who have no working numbers, figure out which language they're speaking, and wait for the parents to saunter up to the front door with shorts and panties in hand. My goodness, that whole procedure can easily take 45 min to 4 hours!~ I find the kids something that will do. Sometimes there's no underwear--tough noogies, kids.
It's rare that we get the clothes back, but I really can't get too worked up about that. We serve a very impoverished population and we're a uniform school. Some of our kids wear the same pants & shirt & socks every single day. I can only imagine what their undies look like. The clothes we give out are almost always hand-me-downs acquired from the teachers or the thrift store. So if they decide to "forget" that they borrowed some clothes, well, i just overlook it.
I have just tried to except it- to a certain degree. This is what I do. I ask for the teachers to request a change of clothes for students pre-k - 5k- if a student brings in clothes, the clothes stay in their bookbag. A few of the teachers will go ahead and send them to the restroom to clean up/change. They have bathrooms in their classrooms-- I do not have a bathroom in my office.
!
caregiver1977
494 Posts
If you are talking about teacher assistants, then it is not their job either (at least not in my school district). I am a teacher assistant in a public school that specializes in educating children with special health and mental needs (this is sort of an inclusion school). I am not allowed to change a child if they have an accident, so I have been told. If a student has an accident, as far as I know of I would be the one to call the parents while the teacher continues to teach class.
We have a number of CNAs and medical assistants to assist certain students. Some students have their own nurse for their needs (the school district has a contract with a home health company). We have a couple of classes for students who have severe disabilities that cause them to be low functioning. They are in a special class for most of the day. They have CNAs to change them if needed.