Need your opinion

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

Thankfully this year is almost over ! It has not been a good year.

My new push this year was to keep as many kids in school as possible.

This has proven to be the hardest thing in my whole school nursing career.

I have a lot of frequent flyers and lots of teacher's who are so "high drama" that it has made my life miserable.

I am seriously thinking of making next year the year that I will change my thoughts on keeping kids in school. I am sick of teachers being mad at me and sick of the dirty looks I get when I send students back to class.

Next year.....I think everyone goes home (unless it's a mild cut or things like that). I am soooo over this conflict. :trout:

Please help me to understand what I am doing wrong. I am just seeing a decline in responsibility and courtesy. Parents who are demanding and teachers who want to overule anything I say regarding the health of students'. Administration is absent most of the time and they are of no support at all. What's a school nurse to do ???

Frustrated !!

Praiser

[Jeanine]

I Love It!

It's technically part of the job to keep kids in school, but also to keep them healthy! The kids on our retention list are usually the ones with the most absences/tardies.

It truly is a conflict because you don't want them getting everyone else sick. I always give everyone the benefit of the doubt the first time they ask to go home. I tell them that this is their one freebee. After that, they need to have a fever, be actively vomiting, bleeding, have a broken bone, severed limb, or any other such emergency in order to go home. Some choose to save thier "freebee" for another time, some go home. I don't think that strategy will work with elementary students though.

I often call a parent every time the kid comes down if they have become a frequent flyer. Make it their problem too.

Let us know if your new policy of sending everyone home works!

[luvschoolnursing, LPN]

One problem I have had is if I don not send kids home (elementary) the teacher calls from the classroom and has them sent home-why bother to ask my opinion in the 1st place?

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

loveschoolnursing,

I have the same problem with teacher's calling parents from the room too.

This totally frustrates me, because the parents do not appreciate it when the nurse is not the one to make the call. How do we change this ?

I find it get's harder and harder every year to appease the teachers.

[luvschoolnursing, LPN]

Praiser,

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one. One thing I try to remember (and not always successfully) is that no matter how irritated I get with the teacher side of my job, I do make a difference in kids lives. Sometimes a BIG difference. Parents thank me and the kids appreciate me. I try to keep that focus, because we are nurses lost in an education world and we're not gonna change the teachers. And don't get me wrong, in my schools we have great teachers who do wonderful things. Some days are just more irritating than others. This forum is great for venting and learning

[Chilenurse]

Hi

My opinion is, we not doing anything wrong. It is just sometimes (actually mostly of the time) very hard to make the right desicion. Should we or should`nt we sent the child home!!

I have K-12.

I try to talk to the children first, but some of them don´t want to and just want to go home. My policy in my school is, I just let the children home if the the parents agree on the phone (85% they do). If I can´t rich them, the child has to stay.

My frecuent flyers and "frecuent go homers"- that is a very delicated story.

What I have learnt in my 5 yeras of schoolnursing is, to send just "sick " kids home. Jeanine wrote it.

BUT, for me and my school, it doesn´t work 100%. Sometimes I know the student is not sick, no fever, no broken bone, nothing I can really see. Just a : I really don´t fell good!!!!!!!!!!!!But because he bla bla me, I call parents.

It is so hard to make the right decision with this.

The subject:teacher

I love them , and sometimes I can send them to the moon.

I guess it is a problem world wide.

I work in a "kind of private school with 950 students. I´m the only nurse. (In Germany actually there are NO SCHOOLNURSES_THEY DO NOT EXCIST)

I don´t have any help from nobody. Even all the fotocopys, letters, distribution of the letters, and all other things- I have to to by myself.

I don´t want to complain. But sometimes:madface:

And then I have beatifull days when kids and parents are so thankfull.

Today I received a email form a mother who was very thanksfull because I took care about the 16 yeras old daughter, when she had a pretty long seizure, and felt down from the chair!!!!!!!!!

2 times before I asked the mother and that girl to sent me information about her seizure (teacher informed me last year).

Nothing! Then the seizure happen. Still nothing.

Today a email to say thankyou, but still -NO INFORMATION ABOUT HER CONDITION.

I sent another email.

So, I´m wrong?

Schoolnurses all over, we have the some things to deal every day all over the world. This list is so helpfull.

To all of you a big hug. Thanks for sharing every day.

Wish you all nice holidays.

I have 5 more weeks to go and then I will go to Chicago for 1 week and from there I will fly to my home country: CHILE for another 3 weeks. (The only concern I have-it is winter there--brrrrr)

Last year almost this time I went to NY to the NASN Conference.

This year I can`t make it to Nashville. To far away from Germany and my school would go grazy if I would ask again.

Greetings form Frankfurt/Germany to all of you

Monica

[bergren]

Is the problem kids who are coming to you who need a break, or kids who are not 100%, but do not need to go home? They respond to a rest, a gargle, whatever, a few kind words. Is it a pattern from certain teachers or kids?

Many schools are instituting a policy that the child cannot be released for illness unless the nurse sees the child. Teachers cannot dismiss for illness nor can kids call their moms or dads direct and get dismissed. It used to be that it was impossible to do this without the nurse or front office, but with cell phones proliferating there is a need to put a lid on it.