Has anyone ever done a presentation for area pediatric offices to educate their staff on what school health office needs are? If you have, how did you go about arranging it? Was it an actual presentation, or more of hand-out/power point situation?
There is one particular office in my area that will send a "med order" that is in narrative form which, A) makes it hard to read and B) often leaves important and required information out.
Today, I received an order that read "Please dispence 1 benadryl at 1.30pm on 1/14/20 and 1/15/20"
I have so many issues with this... AND DISPENSE IS SPELLED INCORRECTLY! Honestly, I know the PA did not fax this herself, so I'm a little irritated that a nurse didn't check the order before forwarding it on to me (though I suppose a MA or receptionist could have been the one to do it).... But regardless, now I have to call back and say What Dose, What Route, What Reason....
I know that the practitioners at this office will get irritated if they have to sit through a presentation, but it frankly would be easier on everyone if they knew what we wanted ahead of time so that repeat phone calls and corrections to orders didn't have to be made.
I have been in another role where we had to arrange presentations at clinics...my experience was, it is *very* difficult to get yourself in front of provider eyeballs. There are a lot of people vying for their attention - pharmaceutical companies, CME providers, charitable organizations, interest groups, public health, and so on. They choose the presentations that have the most compelling clinical, financial, or logistical benefits for the practice. And not to be vulgar but: every minute they spend talking to you is a minute they can't be billing insurance and getting paid. They don't really have a compelling reason to worry about your time wasted on follow up phone calls and faxes.
I wouldn't be very optimistic about getting providers to sit down with you about this. However, you might make reasonable progress by calling the office manager or the RN, if they have one, chatting the person up, and exploring the idea of sending over some templates and/or summaries of relevant law/policy, along with your direct contact info and a warm invitation to get in touch whenever there's a doubt about coordinating with the school. Perhaps have concise written info ready to go, and offer it with a smile the next time someone at the practice is annoyed about faxing you a correction for the 3rd time that day?
I wouldn't be very optimistic about getting providers to sit down with you about this. However, you might make reasonable progress by calling the office manager or the RN, if they have one, chatting the person up, and exploring the idea of sending over some templates and/or summaries of relevant law/policy, along with your direct contact info and a warm invitation to get in touch whenever there's a doubt about coordinating with the school. Perhaps have concise written info ready to go, and offer it with a smile the next time someone at the practice is annoyed about faxing you a correction for the 3rd time that day?
This is kind of what I am thinking... Because really, the docs aren't the one whose time is being wasted, but the nurses, MAs, and receptionists, who certainly don't know the regulations or requirements, unless they've been in the school nurse role previously. I'm going to discuss with the other nurses in our district and hopefully come up with a plan...
tining, BSN, RN
1,071 Posts
Maybe simply get an email address and email the expectations?