Emergency communication from staff

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Specializes in School nurse.

Seems like many staff members are unaware of the definitions of emergent or urgent when relaying info from the field. For example getting hit in the throat is not a neck injury nor is a scratch on the head a head injury. A stomach ache after running or bleeding from a minor laceration should not be verbalized in a way that makes me clear the office and run.

I get it that they are not medical people but geez the PE teachers did take A&P for Petes sake and should know some basics since they are also health teachers.

So, I've started putting together a training manual defining emergent, urgent, and non urgent issues and about how to communicate those issues with the school nurse.

My question to you all is do you train the staff to communicate potential emergent or urgent issues correctly and completely? Do the staff bother to listen? Do you have the same issue? Just wondering.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

I usually do an inservice with my staff at least once a year - usually for seizures or diabetes - where i end up going on a brief tangent about emergencies and "your definition of emergency and my definition of emergency are vastly different." That leads me nicely into my "let me know what i'm coming for and who i'm coming for" speech. It is so annoying when i get called for a mystery emergency which is either a. complete nonsense (student couldn't walk until i appeared, then it was like Reverend Louie's Miracle Hour Jesus let him walk again!!!) or B. I get there to find that the mystery emergency is one of my diabetics and they didn't want to tell me over the phone due to privacy - really?!!

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I had a teacher run into my room this year frantically yelling that we had a "student down in the gym", I get up to run down to the gym and she says "we need ice", I'm thinking ice? huh? Turns out a student ran into a rolled up mat, fell and hit his knee on the gym floor. The student was up and walking around by the time I got there (gym is 3 door down from my office) Needless to say the next faculty meeting I came in to discuss the art of telling me what happened instead of raising everyone to panic level because we are all assuming we had a student unconscious on the gym floor.

Next year at my beginning of the year talk I will definitely remind them of what I consider an emergency. Not sure it'll help but maybe at least for a little while it will.

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Specializes in School nursing.
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Specializes in kids.

Can you put that in a document or as a PDF? That is awesome!!!!!

I got pulled out of a meeting for.....a staff members headache........sigh

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Specializes in kids.

Never mind I was able to save it and email it to me and then to all my stafff!!!

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Specializes in School nursing.
Never mind I was able to save it and email it to me and then to all my stafff!!!

Yay :)

I put this on my door when I am attending a meeting, during screenings, or if I have to close my office for any time (i.e. during a more urgent situation). The kids are slowly learning to actually read it. I will be including in my first email of the year to the staff next year.

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Specializes in kids.

Truth be told, it is the front office person who needs this the most!!!!!!:banghead:

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Specializes in Acute Care, CM, School Nursing.

I was called to the playground, and told to bring a wheelchair. I went out to find a child that bumped his shin on the monkey bars... They were afraid to let him walk, because he was starting to get a light bruise on his shin... *sigh*

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Specializes in kids.

I just got a reply to my request to send it out all school....."Do you mean you don't want the non-urgent things to be sent to you?"

No.... that was not the point...I guess I will just print it out for my door when I am not there.....sigh....

and the front desk person will not see it......sigh sigh sigh!!

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I got a call to bring a wheelchair for a student who fell from the merry-go-round and couldn't move her legs. I am thinking, of course, that if she can't move her legs we sure as heck aren't going to be loading her in a wheelchair...get to the playground and she is standing by the merry-go-round waiting for the wheelchair. CAN'T move does NOT equal WON'T move. Big difference. BIG.

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To the OP. it is not just your staff!!! Everything in school is an emergency. And the lack of info given when called to an "emergency" just makes smoke ome out of my ears. If these same folks were to call 911 on their own family - would they dial the phone, yell at someone to come quickly and then hang up????? No, you give them information!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Location, name, help needed, etc.

I sent this to my teachers a few weeks ago:

Please keep in mind – knowledge is power. In my 9 years of school nursing, I have been called to come quickly” many, many times. Rarely, am I given any information. With no information - I will need tostop and gather a wheelchair, 2 emergency bags, an AED, etc. That could take awhile!!! However, if I know someone has fallen and their knee is hurting butthey are alert – I can grab the wheelchair and a bag of ice and be there quickly.

Imagine that it is the first week of school and the principal tellsyou I am not going to tell you what subject you are teaching or what classroomyou will be in until 8:30 on the first day of school .You will get no roster,you will need to find out your student's names as they come through your door.However, you better be ready to start class promptly at 8:35"

Usually, a breathless student will come in andyell at my back Ms. H needs you right away.” I turn around and the student isgone. I am left there wondering which of the 10 Ms. H's needs me. Please try tocall, send another adult, or make sure you are sending a responsible student that can at least tell me a room number and student's symptoms.

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