I would like to comment on several postings I read on this forum while looking for help for my 8 year old nephew. There was a nurse who stated she was tired of doing "non nursing functions for her students including "cleaning up after a child with encoperesis, that where I draw the line she said" .
I am absolutly offended and embarassed for this fellow nurse who feels its "not her job" to help a child who has a medical condition of not being able to control his bowels. Should the child stand up in class and tell the teacher I soiled my self so all his classmates can make fun of him?Should the teacher stop teaching class and clean the child so then the child can be more humiliated?This nurse should be ashamed and should look for a new vocation.I have been a nurse for thirteen years and I am tired of hearing fellow nurses complain about doing things that are their job. Nurses are there to nurture and heal MIND BODY and SPIRIT. Is this nurse above cleaning stool off a probably very embarrased child. My advice to her is get a new job and stop complaining.
Sincerely,
Upset Nurse who loves caring for all no matter how unpleasant the job
Specializes in Med Office, Home Health, School Nurse.
In my system, we are not allowed to clean a child after a bowel movement. I will provide clothes from our school's "clothes closet" and direct the child to the bathroom. If they are unable to adequately clean themselves, then I call their parents to come do it for them. I have no contact whatsoever with a child's genital area, cleaning or otherwise. I feel that this is a good solution, it keeps all sorts of unforeseen problems from arising.
And yes, I have several students who have had accidents--and I have some who do it on purpose.
I agree that cleaning up "poo" is not and should not be labeled a "Nurse only job". Do we do it......yes! Do we have to like doing it.....no. Some of us probably don't even mind doing it......I was blessed to work for an awesome elementary school as my first school nursing job. If a child was known for having accidents frequently.......the parents were notified to keep and extra set of clothes at the school....the child, the aide and I would help her clean herself up...with her doing the majority of it herself. After a few months of doing this, the child did not like cleaning herself and stopped pottying in her pants (granted there was no medical reason for her incontinence).......The aides and teacher assistants would actually come into the health office and if I was busy, they would help the child themselves, not just wait for me, and I appreciated this very much. In the situation that the student had no medical reason for incontinence we would call a parent to school every time to clean the child up if they did not send clothes- pretty soon they quit forgetting to send clothes. I believe that this helped the student become independent in the long run bc when there were extra clothes, the student was expected to clean him/herself up as much as possible before we would step in (usually 1st grade and up) and it wasn't just dismissed by the parents bc the school took care of it. As far as venting on this forum, I see no problem with it.......this is a place where you are sure to find someone who feels the same as you do or just get some encouragement. We all have moments when we just need to talk about things with people who will understand...that's all, and usually for one vent, you can find many more good posts. You can have the biggest heart for your job and love your job, but there will always be "those days".
just have to say---just because you ask a parent to provide clothes doesn't mean they do--in fact in my experience normally doesn't happen--what seems like a simple solution may not in reality work! this forum is a place where school nurses can share triumphs and frustrations and I don't think anyone on this board should be ridiculed for that---until you have been a school nurse you cannot understand where one is coming from--it is far far different from nursing in the hospital. Hope all have great day!!!
In my system, we are not allowed to clean a child after a bowel movement. I will provide clothes from our school's "clothes closet" and direct the child to the bathroom. If they are unable to adequately clean themselves, then I call their parents to come do it for them. I have no contact whatsoever with a child's genital area, cleaning or otherwise. I feel that this is a good solution, it keeps all sorts of unforeseen problems from arising.
And yes, I have several students who have had accidents--and I have some who do it on purpose.
This it true for my school system. I will never provide such intimate care for a student, unless that student is physically unable to toilet themselves(such as a severely mentally handicapped student). I will send them to the bathroom with some wipes and they can clean up. I will walk them to the office where they can get some extra clothes if they need them. I will call their mothers if the accident is too bad to redeem. But I will NOT clean up poo at school. A little dried poo won't kill anybody. You can think I'm a poor nurse if you want to, I don't care. I'm not going to set myself up for a child abuse allegation~
Specializes in Med Office, Home Health, School Nurse.
This it true for my school system. I will never provide such intimate care for a student, unless that student is physically unable to toilet themselves(such as a severely mentally handicapped student). I will send them to the bathroom with some wipes and they can clean up. I will walk them to the office where they can get some extra clothes if they need them. I will call their mothers if the accident is too bad to redeem. But I will NOT clean up poo at school. A little dried poo won't kill anybody. You can think I'm a poor nurse if you want to, I don't care. I'm not going to set myself up for a child abuse allegation~
Amen! I'm right there with you. Too much can happen in that situation and it can lead to a whole lot of trouble. I wouldn't want someone at school cleaning my child like that without my knowledge and I won't do it for someone else's child. Bad nurse? No. I'm not. I care about these kids and love each and every one of them. But I'm not going to set myself up for false allegations and misunderstandings.
In the situation that the student had no medical reason for incontinence we would call a parent to school every time to clean the child up if they did not send clothes- pretty soon they quit forgetting to send clothes.
LACA, BSN, LPN, RN
371 Posts
In my system, we are not allowed to clean a child after a bowel movement. I will provide clothes from our school's "clothes closet" and direct the child to the bathroom. If they are unable to adequately clean themselves, then I call their parents to come do it for them. I have no contact whatsoever with a child's genital area, cleaning or otherwise. I feel that this is a good solution, it keeps all sorts of unforeseen problems from arising.
And yes, I have several students who have had accidents--and I have some who do it on purpose.