Diastat on Field Trips

[valeriecathleen]

I have a fourth grader with a prn order for Diastat. It has never been used - either here at school or at home.

There is a field trip scheduled in two weeks for her class - how do you handle something like this? Usually with PO ADHD meds, I send one pill in a pharmacy labeled container with the teacher. Diastat is a whole other ball game.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

We can't send just the meds in my state. usually either a.) the child gets their med late b) a nurse goes on the trip c) the parent goes on the trip or d) the parent signs off that it is not necessary for the child to have that medication available on the trip. Occasionally if I know the place the student is going has a nurse (say another school in a different district) i'll send the med and the order but only after calling the nurse there first. YOu'd be surprised what places to hire a nurse - Great Adventure (or Six flags to the rest of you) usually has one.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

In my district Diastat can only be given by an RN or an EMT. Therefore, I do not send Diastat on a field trip unless I'm going too, or the parent is going. I do not turn it over to teachers. Just thinking of the potential consequences sends shivers up my spine. We have to use it not infrequently with my son--nearly all his seizures are 3-5 min or more. There have been times that he became super-somnolent and we ended up in the ER for airway management. Definitely not something you want on a field trip. I think the better thing would be to instruct the teacher to call 911 if the child has a seizure, then call the parent. Once the EMTs get there, they will take over and can talk with the parent about transport. But I would not feel at all comfortable with a teacher managing a seizure alone and definitely hands off the Diastat.

[missfixit]

In my state, trained UAP's can give diastat, so the med and all paper work are sent on the field trip- if a UAP is going of course.

[valeriecathleen]

Problem solved!

A family member is going on the field trip as a chaperone and will carry the Diastat. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond to me. You guys rock!

[noreenl]

doesn't your school have a substitute nurse contract of some sort for covering when u r out? here in NYC the school nurse determines if a med or treatment needs to be given during the times of a trip and files a request for a trip nurse with supervisors. It then gets sent to my agency and I place the appropriately trained nurse with the trip. one nurse caovers the entire trip and he/she is given a copy of the orders, the necessary meds and a short summary in writng with contact info that is signed by both nurses. With No Child Left Behind kids can play as well as work in school as it should be!!

[DistrictNurse19]

Sounds like NYC is the place to be if you are a school-aged child! In our district, I have to train the teachers to administer it and the Diastat is sent along on the trip. I bet you can imagine some of the things that teachers have said to me about Diastat...I am the only RN for a district of over 8,000 students so it is impossible to be everywhere at once...and the idea of a another nurse available to cover sounds like heaven (but never gonna happen here)!