PreK Potty Problems!

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  1. Who Changes Wet/Soiled PreK students?

    • 17
      The Prek Staff
    • 6
      The Nurse Office

16 members have participated

This is my first year at a Prek-5 school. I didn't know that many school daycares for preK have no rules regarding who is to call the parent and who is to change or help change the wet/soiled student/child. The Prek teacher has an aide but will send the wet child to the nurse's office for the nurse to change the child. The nurse supervisor looks to the Admin to decide and the Daycare Director is saying the nurse needs to change the child in order to have documentation. That doesn't seem right to me. How does your school handle this? With seeing up to 40-50 students and then this, is ridiculous!:madface:

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Specializes in Community Health/School Nursing.

Will I let a child sit in pee or poop if there is no one to help them? No. I will take care of it. BUT there is no reason a nurse should have to change a child just so it's documented. It does not take nursing judgement or a special degree to change a child. They can keep a record and send notice home to parents.

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Oh, heck no!!!! We have pre-K disabled, pre-K ABA and mainstream pre-K in my school. I do not change any of those children. It is up to the teachers and the aides. Changing a child is not something that only a nurse can do and quite frankly, it's a risk to my license. I don't change or go near that area in any child. If one of my Kindergarten pees or poops, I either call the parents or try to find them a change of clothes. If your pre-K teachers want it documented, they can write it up and file it. I put up with a lot of crap from our mainstream pre-K because the teacher expects that a nurse can act as a primary care doctor and diagnose every little rash, red mark, belly ache, etc. But changing their kids is where I definitely draw the line.

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NO, no, no! I agree with the above comments, potty accidents are not medical and therefore do not require a trip to the nurse's office. I do keep extra clothes in the clinic restroom and will find something for them to change into if they don't have something in the classroom cubby but never will I be alone with a student changing clothes. Not worth the risk! I will make a call to parents if I don't have clothes that will fit or it's multiple accidents in one day. Do you ever wonder just who changed the teachers kids when they had accidents, did they have private nurses to call? LOL!

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

PK makes me tired in many ways but potty accidents aren't one of them...that's up to the teachers and aide. Totally agree with above wise statements. Throw being a guy into this mix and the risk skyrockets.

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Specializes in ICU, Adventures in school nursing.

In my school, the TA's and teachers do the diaper/potty accident changing for our preschool students. I'm here to help if need be, but rarely get called upon for this issue. I have some extra clothes here in the office if needed, but have called parents in the past to bring clothes if I don't have anything to fit the child. Our teachers and TA's are great about communication with parents.

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I do it. Is it right? No, but that's the way it is here. Drives me crazy. Working on a change to that policy for next year but I am not holding my breath.

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Specializes in family practice and school nursing.

Nope.I only get involved if there's a rash or something concerning the TA or teacher notices and wants me to evaluate.

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Well, here's the update. The nurse who asked admin in the first place got a response CC'ed to her from her principal. The aide is to walk the student to the nurse office and assist them and the nurse is call the parent and document. Wow, so much extra! Are the prek staff so incapable of calling and documenting something as normal for this group? (sign) I'm exhausted from the energy we put into this rally.

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My class was a class for developmentally challenged, moderate to severe, children. There were two aides present, and I was there for one child. I changed my child and the two aides changed the other (from six to eight) children. No way could the school RN do the changing for this class as well as the other d.c. classes! She was only at the school for a few hours one day a week! In the case of bad diarrhea, the aide or teacher called the parent to take the child home. This happened at least twice while I worked at the school.

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This thread is the reason that I will never do elementary school again!! I actually had a principal tell me that the only reason she had a nurse was to change soiled clothing for students. I told her she was wasting money paying a professional with a license for something anyone could be trained to take care of.

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Nope, I don't do that either. For one thing, there is no way I could ever do that with having so many places to be every day.

I was at the special ed class today which is completely separate from campus to do a H&V on an almost 5 year old student with Autism. There are plenty of wonderful aides and a teacher in that classroom to help with potty accidents. I've never been asked to do that.

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