Can I vent please??!

I hear you. Geez what's in the water? I just shoveled my angst out clearing the driveway. Hang in there!! Maybe I should put some Baileys in my hot cocoa...yea that sounds good. Hang in there!

You're definitely not alone. I get and take my lunch. I mean there are times that i have to leave that to tend to something that can't wait, but for the most part, that stays pretty much intact, but I do remind the teachers that I don't get preps to focus on paperwork and charting and data entry. When the teachers make a face at me like "What could you possibly have to do if there isn't a kid in you room?" i will tell them. State reports, immunization charting, physical charting, hearing and vision catch ups.... i don't have to spell it out to you guys

Seriously, thank you guys!!!! So glad we all have this message board!! Today was slightly better. We had an early dismissal and I attended my daughter's preschool to talk about being a school nurse for community helpers week. So fun to have the kids play with stethoscopes and such! Hoping tomorrow I can finally catch up on all the paper work and finish those darn screenings!!

Ugh, the dog poop on the shoes...that one kills me. I usually say to the kids "I'm the nurse and that is not a nursing issue. Here's some paper towels."

I mean, it's usually met with a blank stare but I said my piece, right?

I get a lot of "I spilled milk/water/soup/juice on myself, can you clean me off?". Irritates me because for real, if they were home and spilled milk on their jeans, what do you think they would do?

Ugh, the dog poop on the shoes...that one kills me. I usually say to the kids "I'm the nurse and that is not a nursing issue. Here's some paper towels."

I mean, it's usually met with a blank stare but I said my piece, right?

I get a lot of "I spilled milk/water/soup/juice on myself, can you clean me off?". Irritates me because for real, if they were home and spilled milk on their jeans, what do you think they would do?

Their parents would do it. I ask the child what they would do at home, most respond that they would do nothing. Nursing is it's own worst enemy. We learned in acute care settings that we are to be available all the time, and let's be honest, we embraced it because it made us feel like superheroes. Now in a school setting, we also try to be invincible and available so we still have that importance, not to mention teachers want to be able to send students at any time and reduce the disruption of class. Lunch was always a grab a bite when you can deal, but this year we actually have whole school lunch at the same time. I can have 30 minutes without interruption, because no matter how sick, they aren't giving up their lunch.

I feel like we are only aiding in the next generations sense of entitlement (I think I did a thread on that).

Kid says their head hurts-immediately go to the nurse.

Bellyache- nurse.

Arm hurts (without injury)-nurse. They aren't taught to work through things on their own, they want someone else to fix it. And likely there isn't even a problem to be fixed.

I want to have a little in-service with each class and say "Kiddos, if you have a bellyache, stop and think, 'Do I need to go poop? Am I hungry?' Try to work through these things before you jump to the nurse." One of our middle schools has no nurse currently so they are in for a rude awakening.

I also want to tell teachers, "If this kid has been playing and jumping and carrying on with no problem and all of a sudden says they are dying, tell them to straighten up and carry on with their work!"

I understand teachers are so afraid of parents going to higher ups because their precious snowflake didn't get to go see the nurse for something that happened two weeks ago, but c'mon now! (wrong place?)

OMG, I can't stand the dog poop thing! I don't mind dealing with poop, BUT I don't have a dog so I don't deal with dog poop, and it makes me gag every time! I have them take their shoes off, I put them in a plastic grocery bag, and call the parents to bring them a new clean pair of shoes, and give the parents the dog poop ones to take home and clean. NOT MY JOB!

I use a blow dryer as well for spills on clothes.

I talk with my co-worker who is a counselor. She brings a new light to me when I complain. She explained it to me...

If you were the teacher and had an annoying kid distrupting the class, wouldn't you want them out asap. I get it. I do my due diligence, Check temp, ask questions, maybe let them rest a bit. Is it annoying to me, YES, but maybe it's better to have them sit with me for 5 minutes so the teacher can calm down or whatever. Also 9/10 times the kids will be sent up from another teacher, and I can happily say, "Ive already assessed them, go back to class".

If you were the teacher and had an annoying kid distrupting the class, wouldn't you want them out asap. I get it. I do my due diligence, Check temp, ask questions, maybe let them rest a bit. Is it annoying to me, YES, but maybe it's better to have them sit with me for 5 minutes so the teacher can calm down or whatever.

I do see your point but...that is the admin's role. I feel like the more I quietly accept being used as the "get the disruptive kid out" outlet, the more my role gets muddied.

Maybe turn the suction down on your pump. Seriously though, I find in the school system that people are frequently passing the buck to others. For teachers I get it because ultimately all the crap rolls downhill to them so they just don't want to have to deal with more. Administration is always telling them new things they have to do (outside of teaching the kids). To me it is akin to when you work in the hospital and every week you find out you have a new piece of paper or task to do for every patient. By the way, you're legally entitled to breaks at work and if you're not getting them you should discuss this with your supervisor or seek support so you can take at least a short break in the school day. You could probably just close the door to your office for 15 minutes or send out an email to the school staff that says the nurse is not available from x to Y time unless it is an emergency. You can do it! Set some boundaries!