Let me give you a mint for asthma

[cjl_RN, BSN]

I had this student come down8th grade today and she presented me with a note from her parent that said "giving a mint for asthma is unacceptable." And she is going around showing all her teachers in the building. I asked the student what this meant and she said this is what the last nurse did at blah blah elementary school. I said oh If you ever need your inhaler please let me know. I listened to her clear oxygen 99%. Gave inhaler per her request. About 30 mins later I get a phone call from her mom saying her daughter came to the nurse for asthma and her inhaler and was brushed away given a mint to go back to class. I said she looks somewhat familiar but when you see 100 kids/day you can't be sure. I check my documentation. Nothing on this kiddo. I said well I have no documentation of her coming here, but she was very insisting. So I get off the phone with her and send an email to the teachers. I had a teacher call me and say " it was me that sent her to you last week bc we were talking and she said she had a sore throat. " Teacher said I sent her down bc she said she's had a bad case of strep in the past. (So student wasn't even going to come to me, teacher recommendation?) but now I remember. Someone comes to me for sore throat and it's normal and no fever. You go back to class. I give you water and a mint for comfort. Not once did she say she was short of breath or anything. So I attempted to reach out to mom no answer. Should I let this get me down?

[MWOOD,LPN]

I wouldn't let that get you done. In the future I would be sure to document every visit in the health room so that it does not happen again.

[Amethya]

Always document. If the parent tries to contact you again about this, you explain your logic on why you gave a mint and that's that. If she keeps bothering you on this, you tell your admin.

[tamarae1]

I would be happy to pull and print my documentation and leave it with the principal for the parent to come pick up.

[WineRN]

As other's said, this is why it's so important to document every visit. It is incredible how far a little one can spin a story between the nurse's office and home. And like you, I see a ton of kids a day, so there are times when I don't remember the "devastating head injury" until I look at my charting and see that a foam ball in PE hit him on the head.

[OldDude]

Don't let it get you down. It'll happen again; don't let the next one get you down, or the next, or the next...Just one of the benefits of school nursing:happy:

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I had a similar issue happen. But I had documented it and explained to the parent that the student complained of a sore throat, indicated no respiratory distress, and I observed none at the time. It actually turned into a good moment for me and the parent. I learned more about digging deeper with that student and parent reached out and share more with me. We also used it to teach the student about sharing any asthma symptoms with others as it will only help him.

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

Nope! Sometimes, especially after I know how a kiddo can exaggerate and how mom believes everything the child says, I will shoot an email with a quick FYI.