given meds

[smartnurse1982]

hi. i am a sub nurse. just a question. the regular nurse at this job hands out halls and cough drops to any student that wants them for sore throats and coughing. the students tell me she doesnt examine them, just hands it to them, no questions asked. my question is this-can she get in trouble for that? the policy and procedure book said no meds unless a doctors order, not even herbal meds. also, after i refused to give cough drops to a student, a teacher said"well, ill give it to her". is that practicing medicine without a doctors license? oh, one last thing the regular nurse does is give tylenol or motrin if she gets verbal consent from the parents. strangest of all, this nurse actually documents these things in the log. c/o sore throat, cough drop given. Or "child c/o menstrual cramps, tylanol 325 mg given per verbal order from parents.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

I don't know how it works at other schools but at the school I worked at I can tell you that this wouldn't fly with me ! We need a docs order for halls and cough drops that have medicine in them. If the cough drop is non-medicated then we can give the cough drop only if we have a parent note on file. As far as tylenol and motrin... doctors order only. Before meds are given of anything kind the students are examined and everything is documented.

[kidsnurse1969]

I wouldn't consider that good practice.

[bergren]

There are states where Halls / cough drops are specifically barred without an order. There are also school districts that require parent permission also.

"the regular nurse does is give tylenol or motrin if she gets verbal consent from the parents. "

Ditto - most states do not allow nurses to give OTCs without a doctors order. Check with your state school health website NASBE has a state by state link http://nasbe.org/healthy_schools/hs/map.php or your state school nurse consultant. http://www.nassnc.org/

The NASN Medication Administration Position statement: http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=230

NASN state affiliate links: http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=60

[CampSchoolNurse]

Our school is very straight foward No Doctor's Note No Meds. of any sort

We can't give them anything without a Doctor's note even with a Parents Consent

At times if I Student really needs it I will call the parents have them sign them out and give it to the kids off campus then they can come back with the medication in them

It's very complicated but the only way to get around it