Entitled Staff

You shouldn't be providing them with ibuprofen without a doctor's order. They can provide their own PPE at this point. 

lifelearningrn said:

You shouldn't be providing them with ibuprofen without a doctor's order. They can provide their own PPE at this point. 

We have standing orders from our school physician, so it is expected that we provide the ibuprofen. And yes on the PPE - I have started telling them that we can use the masks we have, but once we get down to a certain stock, it will be at the nurse's discretion and daily wear is not going to be provided for...

Ugh yes!!  A pet peeve of mine too... When my staff come down for something medically we are told to refer them to their PCP.  Our school physician is a pediatrician so we just tell them that we can't help them as we are not under a family doctor, only pediatrics. Of course, if it is emergent we will absolutely help them.  We also have Tylenol and Ibuprofen available.  This will be going away though when we run out of stock medications so I have been pre-warning them. I wonder what the use for the gauze is?  I would simply tell them you don't have any for them.  Or something along the lines of "Our supplies are budgeted for the remainder of the school year, and once you are out of supplies you will not have a supply for the students, therefore you are not able to accommodate any staff members".  Then next school year, set the ground rules at the start of the school year for those things. ?  I know it's easier said then done.... Good luck!

My schools don't have any stock meds for students or adults. The staff already know we don't have any- so they rarely ask.

lifelearningrn said:

  They can provide their own PPE at this point. 

Well, that's not true.   The school is obligated to provide PPE when necessary, but it is not (at least not in our district) the student health department's job to do so.

k1p1ssk said:

We have standing orders from our school physician, so it is expected that we provide the ibuprofen. And yes on the PPE - I have started telling them that we can use the masks we have, but once we get down to a certain stock, it will be at the nurse's discretion and daily wear is not going to be provided for...

Might be good to talk to the district and advocate for the district providing PPE for certain situations. Health advocacy is part of our job, after all. 

Nurse Trini said:

Well, that's not true.   The school is obligated to provide PPE when necessary, but it is not (at least not in our district) the student health department's job to do so.

seedanurse said:

Might be good to talk to the district and advocate for the district providing PPE for certain situations. Health advocacy is part of our job, after all. 

We do provide it if it is required for them to do their jobs or if there was a mandate in place! What I am referring to are staff who are choosing to wear masks throughout the day, when there is no mask mandate in place, they are not exhibiting signs of illness, and they are not recovering from illness. At this point in the pandemic, we need to reserve the masks we have left for the staff and students who actually need them. 

I had a horribly small budget this year due to the last nurse that was at my school. The ONLY thing I caved and bought myself were crackers, genuinely for my own sanity because crackers are the new morphine to these kids. Had a staff member ask for crackers for herself, I explained that I buy them myself for the kids and I am running low again, staff member then proceeds to say "it's okay I only want like 2 or 3." This same staff member comes in at least once a week asking for deodorant because she "forgot" for the 50th time this year. 

elemnurse007 said:

" because crackers are the new morphine to these kids."

THIS. SO. TRUE. Thanks for the giggle. 

Sorry about your teacher that can't seem to remember how to keep her underarms under control...??

Hang in there

k1p1ssk said:

We have standing orders from our school physician, so it is expected that we provide the ibuprofen. And yes on the PPE - I have started telling them that we can use the masks we have, but once we get down to a certain stock, it will be at the nurse's discretion and daily wear is not going to be provided for...

Aren't your standing orders for the student's only? For basic OTC meds I would think so, especially if your medical director is a Pediatrician. I no longer have a staff stock, I refuse to since those would have to come out of my own pocket. 

beachynurse said:

Aren't your standing orders for the student's only? For basic OTC meds I would think so, especially if your medical director is a Pediatrician. I no longer have a staff stock, I refuse to since those would have to come out of my own pocket. 

Our School Physician is not a pediatrician, she is a family primary care MD who lives in the community. The standing orders are the same for all of the buildings in the district, are not age restricted, and are renewed yearly. This has been standard practice in every district I have worked in and seems to be standard practice in just about every district in my area.