First year as a school nurse....feeling disrespected as the only nurse in the building.

[Skips]

Quick vent. I've been a nurse for a year, and this is my first year as a school nurse at an elementary school.

I feel like more often than not, other staff literally come into my office and tell me how to do my job!

Teacher: "You need to send this kid home. He's sick."

Support staff: "You need to get this kid a medication." (That of course, I don't have orders for, and I've been practically begging the non-compliant mother for this med...another story for another day).

Today, I had the lovely privilege of an office staffer having someone take a call about a parent asking if it was okay to send their child to school and make the final decision rather than come and ask me (it was health related, the child ended up being sent home).

Never mind that I have district policy to follow, and my own nursing assessment skills.

Is this common? I'm just venting. I actually really LOVE my job! (:

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

I also agree it takes time for them to trust you and your decisions. I also agree teachers are very afraid of parents and lawsuits over things that would not even hold up in court! Anyway, I find it helpful to send a letter to the teachers stating guidelines for sending students home (temp over 100, vomiting, pink eye, diarrhea, etc) and that your goal is to keep the student in school as much as possible. Then when a teacher says they think little Susie needs to go home because she keeps putting her head on her desk then you can say sorry it doesn't meet the guidelines. Ask your principal to back you then you can also say the principal says I have to follow the guidelines of which your student is not meeting. That being said there WILL be times you say that, send them back to class, and then they puke. But then you can say NOW they meet the guidelines!

[CalNevaMimi, LPN, LVN]

I'm all for passive-agressive responses. You can always ask them where they went to nursing school.