I know you all know my pain! I get way too many students in my office for stupid stuff (loose teeth, bug bites, invisible injuries, etc) and so far I've come up with a letter for loose teeth. There are so many reasons to not send healthy kids to the nurse's office for no reason. It is really helpful to have the administration on board with keeping kids in class to promote learning time. BTW, I haven't seen a kid in my office for a loose tooth since. Next I will tackle bug bites (Really? Stop scratching!) and the kid who comes into the office 15 minutes before the end of school with a 2 week old abrasion that happened at home and you can't even see anymore. Come on teachers, get a grip!
Dear Teachers and Staff,
I have had several students come to the nurse's office since school started with loose teeth. I cannot do anything about loose teeth and it is a natural process that happens approximately 20 times in every child's young life. Students are missing valuable learning time to come to the nurse's office (often accompanied by another student who is also losing valuable learning time) to tell me about a loose tooth. Play-time, lunch, exercise, music and art are also valuable to student's learning. And most importantly, student's who visit the nurse's office are exposed to viruses and bacteria that cause illness.
Unless they are bleeding from the mouth, please do not send students to the nurse's office with loose teeth. I am happy to provide teachers with containers for lost teeth for those happy moments when the teeth actually do fall out.
I can perhaps understand why you might lose faith in school nurses. I've been a school nurse for 3 years and have been told, "School nursing is what nurses do when they can't do anything else". Society's perception of what school nursing is amounts to substandard care. What an insult! I have over 1100 kids in school in addition to the teachers and administrators who constantly come to me for advice. Let me tell you what I do in case of injury: assess the damage is no. 1. Bear in mind, these kids come to me about 5 minutes post injury. It takes time to see the repercussions of damage, it's NOT instantaneous. 2. Call parents 99% of the time, it's a disconnected number, the parent sees it's the school and they don't answer, etc. I continue to try to get in contact w/parent, those on the contact list, etc. all the while explaining to the child, "Please, PLEASE come back if pain increases, if swelling, lack of ROM, etc. And let me tell you, in today's SUE-HAPPy world, all the kid has to do is complain to the teacher and BOOM, back to the clinic. So, I'm not seeing how you can be "disappointed" in school nursing. What do you think we have to work with? Absolutely nothing!! No o2, no meds, no NOTHING. Know what? I take offense at the thought you are disappointed with school nurses. Walk a mile in my shoes.
9/10 it's a ploy. I give them three strikes and they're OUT. Then I tell them the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. "One day you may come to me and say you're sick. I won't believe you, because you have been at my clinic half a dozen time/3 days a week, hmm, at about the same time. God help you if you are really sick. I'm gonna think you're full of crap and send you back to class immediately. If they come to my clinic three times, I immediately refer them to Guidance. Period
I have young kids in my school and although I can't really do anything for their loose teeth I'm ok with them coming to see me. Sometimes I can spend 3 minutes with them and they will wiggle it out themselves and go back with a smile, sometimes they just need a hug and that's ok I'm here for that too. I am in a small school so I am sure I have more time and fewer visits but I am definitely the nurse/mom at my school and I'm ok with that.
I'm not so sure it's just a ploy to get out of class. Nothing worries a child more than having a wiggly tooth at school. And they're doubly upset if there's blood(which there always is!)
Isn't that over-generalizing? When I was a kid, I would purposely try to wait until the middle of the school day ... during class ... to pull my own teeth. Then I would raise it up triumphantly and announce my accomplishment to everyone. We'd all get a little break from class that way. It was even better if there was some blood. Then I would put a Kleenex on the gum, letting it hang out of my mouth -- very dramatic. :thankya: The more attention I got and class disruption, the better.
That's what is wrong with kids today -- getting too wimpy.
I have walked a half mile. I shadowed the school nurse at my daughters high school for a week. Her high school with over 1600 students, plus an additional area for students with children so we not only saw students but also babies in the care center! As for my daughter and her arm she sat waiting for the nurse over an hour before the nurse even showed up for work so her injury was well past the 5 minute mark. I'm not sue happy at all I was just very upset as any parent of a small child would be. We're all human and I suspect she learned a valuable lesson that day. None of my lines were disconnected but she didn't even bother to attempt to call my cell phone or any other emergency number only the home phone and I wasn't there.
I wonder if I missed something major here......you're posting as though YOU are a school nurse, but didn't I just read your posts elsewhere saying you are a new grad in an ICU? I'm not looking for a fight (and I do agree with your sentiments here) but it seems odd to me that you're posting as though you, yourself, are a school nurse...when you aren't?
I AM a school nurse!!!!!
Yes, I'm a new grad RN in ICU but have worked in school health for 5 years( 3 years of the 5, I was full-time), first I was a health assistant then when I became a LPN I transitioned as a sub school nurse and I still do work as a sub school nurse PRN. Thanks for seeking clarification.
I have walked a half mile. I shadowed the school nurse at my daughters high school for a week. Her high school with over 1600 students, plus an additional area for students with children so we not only saw students but also babies in the care center! As for my daughter and her arm she sat waiting for the nurse over an hour before the nurse even showed up for work so her injury was well past the 5 minute mark. I'm not sue happy at all I was just very upset as any parent of a small child would be. We're all human and I suspect she learned a valuable lesson that day. None of my lines were disconnected but she didn't even bother to attempt to call my cell phone or any other emergency number only the home phone and I wasn't there.
Shadowing for a week is not even a quarter of a mile. Try 9 months plus summer school.
And they're doubly upset if there's blood(which there always is!)
Imaschoolnurse64
2 Posts
kissafish4,
I can perhaps understand why you might lose faith in school nurses. I've been a school nurse for 3 years and have been told, "School nursing is what nurses do when they can't do anything else". Society's perception of what school nursing is amounts to substandard care. What an insult! I have over 1100 kids in school in addition to the teachers and administrators who constantly come to me for advice. Let me tell you what I do in case of injury: assess the damage is no. 1. Bear in mind, these kids come to me about 5 minutes post injury. It takes time to see the repercussions of damage, it's NOT instantaneous. 2. Call parents 99% of the time, it's a disconnected number, the parent sees it's the school and they don't answer, etc. I continue to try to get in contact w/parent, those on the contact list, etc. all the while explaining to the child, "Please, PLEASE come back if pain increases, if swelling, lack of ROM, etc. And let me tell you, in today's SUE-HAPPy world, all the kid has to do is complain to the teacher and BOOM, back to the clinic. So, I'm not seeing how you can be "disappointed" in school nursing. What do you think we have to work with? Absolutely nothing!! No o2, no meds, no NOTHING. Know what? I take offense at the thought you are disappointed with school nurses. Walk a mile in my shoes.