Infection control

[fnlyRNstudent05]

Hugs to all you brave souls who do School nursing:)

I am a nursing student and mother of a 2nd grader and I've got a question for you guys.... What do you do in your schools, besides teach kids handwashing and send home the sick ones, to control viruses and colds?

I'm curious because it seems like this time of year schools are plauged by illness but I don't see alot being done to stop transmission in the classroom. I was wondering also if anyone knows of any evidence based practices that deal with this issue? Can the simple practice of using disinfecting wipes on desks, counters and chairs in the class help keep kids out of your office? If anyone has info or can show me where to find it I would appreciate this.

[Jolie, BSN]

What an interesting and timely question during cold and flu season!

I'm not a school nurse, just an RN mom of 2 school-aged girls. Our current building does not have a nurse, so NOTHING is done in terms of infection control. Questions regarding who should or should not attend school due to rashes, low grade temps, etc. are directed to the secretary who has no medical background whatsoever.

In our old district, there was a student (I'm not sure if she was a nursing student or an education major) who was conducting a study on the effects of regular handwashing periods for elementary-aged children. One group of kids was directed to the sink 3 times per day for handwashing. The control group did not have any input from the staff on handwashing. A second student studied whether using disposable (Dixie) cups instead of drinking directly from the fountain had an impact on rates of strep.

I thought both were interesting topics, but don't know the outcomes of the studies.

[fnlyRNstudent05]

thanks! In my daughter's class they use the hand sanitizer before going to lunch each day so at least once a day they are cleaning their hands!

I just think that leaving it up to a 5 year old to do infection control thru handwashing is kinda crazy:clown: .....