PARENTS!!!!

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I have had the WORST time with parents today! It is SOOO frustrating! I get yelled at by one mom in front of the office this morning because I haven't had time to drop everything I am doing and IMMEDIATELY do a vision screen on her daughter.... who I ALREADY screened this year and she passed... but now she is seeing black spots. I tried to explain to the mother that I can only screen for vision acuity and will be unable to diagnose what is going on with the black spots... and she understands, but still feels like she needs a rescreen. I told her ok and I would try to get it done by tmw afternoon.. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! She wants/expects me to do it right then even though I have 3 kids actively throwing up and it isn't even 8am yet! She then yells "I have asked for this 100 times, I am getting sick of it. Well I have asked you once, but other people more. Fine I will just take her to the dr, I have asked for this 100 times, I am getting sick of it" umm ok yeah that is what you should have done to start with. And I am the only nurse so I don't know who she asked...

Today is head injury day... I have had like 4 in about an 2 hours.. The most recent one was a 6th grader, hit the back of his head on the playground was laughing and all that. Still, I took him seriously did neuro checks, PERLA, no bump, neuros WNL. He c/o small headache... wanted to go to class. I gave him ice monitored him for about 10 minutes and sent him on his way. About to call mom when he comes back in like 2 min later crying and wincing in pain. When I called mom, I tell her my initial assessment and what has changed. She interupts me and says, "Just give him the phone, I am a nurse. I'll just ask him" So he talks to her, she FINALLY decides to come get him. As I am observing him he begins to act more and more tired, difficulty opening eyes, I told him if he cant keep his eyes open, I am calling an ambulance.. he opens his eyes lol.. But he DEFINITELY isn't feeling right. So I continue to ask questions trying to keep him alert. Mom comes in, stands in the doorway and says "ok come on lets go" he just sits there, I try to tell her about the changes in his condition, she stands there and says, "yeah I am a critical care nurse, I can do this." I again try to tell her what he has said because he isn't talking to her and she interupts me again with "I am a CRITICAL care nurse" So I just said, "good, because he is having a hard time answering questions and keeping his eyes open" FINALLY she listens, pushes past me and says "oh, well he will be fine I am in critical care" then she looks at him and says "ok I'll take him somewhere" :uhoh3: yeah thats what i WANTED her to do...

It's been a frustrating week, and the last thing I need is a "critical care" nurse acting like I am an idiot because I am "just a school nurse" :devil:

Anyway sorry I had to vent because no one around me can understand... I have friends who are nurses and they have been trying to make me feel bad lately because my job is boring and "easy" and all I do is look at ant bites and give out bandaids... :down: It's funny how this "easy" job has given me more stress than any of my other "real" nursing jobs.. lol

Ok enough negativity... sorry for the long long long post! If you read all of it, thanks for listening and Happy Thursday!!

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Don't feel so bad we get the blunt of things as usual. Unfortunately, one of my main problem parent was a nurse a few years ago. She wanted me to do hourly assessments on her ADHD 8th grader because he had anger problems and his heart would race at times. I told her I needed a doctor's order and she said I am a nurse you have to do what I request. He would walk out of classes, run down the halls with the AP behind him, the counselor set up time outs for him to go to her for 15 min then to the nurse and then the AP, but they all wanted him to stay with me. Thank goodness I am at another school. The stop and do me syndrome played out in the hospital as well except you weren't put on the spot in the front office. It can be stressful at times because to me school nursing is a nurse/secretary/counselor. You didn't do anything wrong, you had your priorities right. Vision screening is just that-screening out the good from the bad, she just needed to go to the doctor but didn't want to. Chin up!

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OH my goodness, that sucks that you have to be treated like a dog. Big time critical care nurse has to rub it in huh. So many things you would like to say, but you can't. I would think middle school is worse than high school as a school nurse. One of the biggest problems is these kids are so spoiled wrotten, they seem to think they are all better than everyone. Probably this kid will learn to treat others like his big time critical care nurse mother. Geez, I worked critical care, let me tell you the hardest job I have ever had is the one I have now, correcting nurses and disciplines work!

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

I've been met with holier than thou nurses that look down at my choice of career. Sometimes you just have to yes them to death and then chart the heck out of everything. Chin up, you're in good company!

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
:down: It's funny how this "easy" job has given me more stress than any of my other "real" nursing jobs.. lol

:p I so agree with ya. Everything I ever did at my "real" nursing jobs *ER, NICU, PICU, L&D* comes to bear in the school. Today I had a mom yell at me when i called to tell her that her child smashed her finger in a door. I didn't think it was broken, but I suggested she make a point to look at it when she got home and take her to a doctor if she's worried about it. Mom launched in to me about how she just moved, they don't have a doctor, blahblah. I told her about a nearby pediatric urgent care just for situations like this. More haranging--did I not know that she doesn't have a car? She can't just take her to to doctor all the time! "Do I have to just walk up there and take care of this??" Uh, no ma'm, I think I've got it covered. Ice and a pat on the head. Mom called back about 10 min later to see if I really sent her darling to class because she just "knew" her daughter would be so upset she'd need to be sent home. For a bruised finger? Puh-leeze.

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I have also been dished the put downs from our brothers and sisters in acute care.

I respond along the lines of :

"I run my own office, an independent nursing practice. I personally affect the health of XXXX students and XXX staff and faculty. Any child who is in the ER or ICU, is going to be in school the next day, 2 weeks or a month, many with the same level of care they received at the hospital. I care for kids with Diabetes, seizures, asthma, and anaphylactic food allergies. In my last school, I had two students on ventilators. School nurses keep the public safe by providing surveillance for infectious diseases and enforcing the vaccine adherence for the population. School nurses save lives, without a crash cart or a resident down the corridor, without a CODE BLUE team and the first responders anywhere from 5 - 25 minutes away. Come spend a day with me?"

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Specializes in school nursing.

Thanks Martha! I second that! I call us the McGyver's of Nursing. We keep all of these children and staff members alive everyday, and with what? Band-aids and safety pins! That's about as "real" as it gets! I bet no critical care nurse can make a great finger splint with a tongue blade like we can!

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Specializes in School Nursing.
i have also been dished the put downs from our brothers and sisters in acute care.

i respond along the lines of :

"i run my own office, an independent nursing practice. i personally affect the health of xxxx students and xxx staff and faculty. any child who is in the er or icu, is going to be in school the next day, 2 weeks or a month, many with the same level of care they received at the hospital. i care for kids with diabetes, seizures, asthma, and anaphylactic food allergies. in my last school, i had two students on ventilators. school nurses keep the public safe by providing surveillance for infectious diseases and enforcing the vaccine adherence for the population. school nurses save lives, without a crash cart or a resident down the corridor, without a code blue team and the first responders anywhere from 5 - 25 minutes away. come spend a day with me?"

hurray martha........that's the first time i have seen you get "your dander up" :yeah:

praiser :redbeathe

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lol I LOVE it!!! I wish i could say that!!

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:rolleyes: I think that we as a profession need to be kind to one another. We have been there, and done that. School nurses know their stuff and keep the kids safe and healthy. Critical care nurses know their stuff, which is not the same as school nurses. Let's just give each other some slack!
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Specializes in emergency room, TBI.

I have been in this situation about 10 times as the newest nurse in the district...and when a parent nurse starts in on me, I play to their "strength" and "commiserate" with them...saying oh I didn't realize you are a critical care nurse or your experience is in blank blank and blank...so you know how "critical" this could potentially be, you understand what signs and symptoms he is showing and how I need to document your understanding for my chart. All of a sudden they realize we are all nurses under the scrutiny and lack of appreciation from others! We know nurses eat our own kind before we look for anything else, remember being a new nurse on the floor and the "old timers" givning us hell. Parents can be VERY difficult at times, I know we don't get enough appreciation for what we deal with in a day...it is just looking at bugs (head lice) and washin' booboos right! (I actually had a peer say that to me...) So I gave her the gory version of my day...yea looking at head lice is great fun! But, then I got to fight with the parent who didn't want to pick her up because I didn't know what I was looking at, so I picked one off of her head and taped it up all nice...As that was going on I had a teacher bring me a student vomitting into a garbage can and then the teacher ran out of my office as quick as she could and 2 bloody noses that I got to pinch...and...I usually get stopped there and apologies come...Nobody realizes what we go through until we share it! It is true there are days that I can relax...but the reason I love this job is that it is NEVER predictable!! And that smile looking up to me saying thanks is pricelss.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery/ Postpartum/ School.

Parents are the absoulte worst part of my job. It seems like there is always someone complaining about something! And its not because I am a bad nurse! I go above and beyond in my job to do a good job for the kids, the teachers, and the parents. Someone mentioned the kids are spoiled, well I think the parents are as equally spoiled. I just cant take it anymore.

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