Licegate 2017

Published

Specializes in School Nursing.

In a nutshell: Livid mother because her son has lice again this school year. Mom went straight to the school board and it eventually trickled down to me after she called both our principal and lead district nurse stupid. I was asked to pretty please just this once do a classroom check so we can reassure this mother that there are no other cases of lice in the classroom so she doesn't follow through with her threat of keeping her son home from school. Checked 24 heads, found 4 cases of nits and 1 with live bugs. Received word today that the livid mother withdrew her child today to do online school. Meh. What do ya do?

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Specializes in school/military/OR/home health.

Laugh it up when the kid "gets lice" from his virtual classroom?

I have a very similar situation and I just inspect the same class of children over and over, and find maybe 1 other kid with lice. That's enough for each parent to feel like their child isn't patient zero, and the hysteria continues.

"What a life I have chosen for myself" I think as I comb through 20 heads of kindergarten hair, "I comb hair looking for bugs, and if I find none someone accuses me of not knowing how to look, and if I find any someone accuses me of being a dirty nurse at a dirty school. Huh."

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I would have refused to do the classroom check. It goes against all medical advice, it's not be shown to prevent the spread of head lice and it can be considered a violation of student privacy. Mom is crazy and the administration should not have put you in that position in the first place. Why don't parents care this much when their kid is spreading the flu or norovirus?!

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.
Why don't parents care this much when their kid is spreading the flu or norovirus?!

Truth!

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Snowflakes

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"What a life I have chosen for myself" I think as I comb through 20 heads of kindergarten hair, "I comb hair looking for bugs, and if I find none someone accuses me of not knowing how to look, and if I find any someone accuses me of being a dirty nurse at a dirty school. Huh."

I have gotten this a few times - so annoying. Sometimes I want to say to parents - "Why didn't you catch this sooner? Are you not the person washing, combing your kids hair everyday???"Uggg.

I have to say I caved to the pressure from the teachers and did head checks on 120 kinder kids, took me all day to get thru them. Unfortunately, head checks are still in our policy when 2+ cases are found in a classroom - I had 3 cases in the last 2 weeks from 3 different kinder classes and 1 case that the mom states her kid has "caught it again" since last month. Checked all kids, sent home the dreaded letter and had all rooms "deep cleaned" by custodial staff. Now just waiting for phone calls and emails from parents about the "Lice infestation" at my school.

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Specializes in NCSN.
Laugh it up when the kid "gets lice" from his virtual classroom?

"

:roflmao::roflmao:

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Specializes in School Nursing, Hospice,Med-Surg.
I have gotten this a few times - so annoying. Sometimes I want to say to parents - "Why didn't you catch this sooner? Are you not the person washing, combing your kids hair everyday???"

I did say this. Followed with, "I check my own daughter's hair everyday when I'm brushing it out and pulling it up into a ponytail. I send a reminder email several times each year to be checking your student's hair and I put out lice information in the clinic at the beginning of every school year but NO ONE ever comes by to pick it up or read it."

I was reported to the principal and then got my own personal meeting with the principal and dean of school. My current principal (interim, thank goodness) is a really parent butt-kisser so I got in trouble. We'll see who her replacement is and that will determine if I return to my job in the fall.

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Specializes in School.

We had a nurse be accused of planting lice on one little darling. LD would go into her office and while taking a temp or applying a bandage, she would notice nits or live bugs. Mom would call/come into our office (the district coordinator is housed in my office, too) and complain that her little darling was being picked on by the nurse. This same parent was given supplies to treat the 4 girls multiple times and the coordinator even offered to go to the house to help with clean up (which was refused).

I worked at the elementary campus yesterday and had a Little Darling come in because her head itched and wanted to check. I found 2-3 old looking nits, so I sent her back to class and told her she was hot and sweaty from PE. Little Darling came in again after recess with same complaint, but still nothing. I think the 2nd visit was because she knows I know her whole family. I did call mom and told her to keep watch since LD had lice before spring break.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

You mean you don't keep a jar of live lice in your office to generate visits? ha ha!! I've been accused by a parent of the same thing as the nurse in your district. I could barely keep a straight face when the parent was confronting me. I had never heard something so absurd.

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Specializes in School Nursing, Hospice,Med-Surg.
You mean you don't keep a jar of live lice in your office to generate visits? ha ha!! I've been accused by a parent of the same thing as the nurse in your district. I could barely keep a straight face when the parent was confronting me. I had never heard something so absurd.

Job security!

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I can't get started on this topic. It makes me too :mad:. Just know that I :madface: every time I see lice or have the same students come around for the 40th time this year.

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