Today I felt almost useless in a situation. I had an elementary teacher come to me regarding a high school student who appeared to be having an "emotional moment" (shaking, visibly upset, etc. etc.). This particular student is not very approachable by people who don't work with them on a daily basis. I hate to say it, but he tends to put a lot of people "on edge", for lack of a better phrase. With that being said, I do not have any kind of rapport with him because he's just not one to come see me. Which is totally cool. He's old enough to know when or if he needs some medical advice. So during his situation, instead of approaching him on my own, I enlisted the help of a teacher that I know he is familiar with. I sat with her class while she visited with the student, but I couldn't help but feel bad that I had not at least attempted some sort of contact myself. My initial plan when I approached the teacher was to go as a team, but it wasn't feasible as her class would have been left unattended. She was able to get him to calm down and return to class and she and I both let him know that my office is always a safe place if he ever needs it, so for that, I was really grateful.
But it makes me wonder: have you ever had a situation where it was best if you, as the nurse, stepped aside and let someone else help in that moment?
