denstar

I have started in a city health department (in communicable disease) after years of school nursing. I already have my masters degree, technically an MS, not MSN. I did a program for direct entry into nursing/masters (I had a non-nursing undergrad). I know I am going to spend the rest of my career in public health. I am debating what degree would be most beneficial - an MPH or a DNP (with focus on public health). There are MPH/DNP dual program, but none in my area. Any experience or thoughts? Thanks!

Hi - I am in an elementary school (through 5th grade) and we are looking to see what other schools do for injuries that might be in more delicate areas (any area that would involve removing or pulling down of pants-private area or upper thigh). Barring an emergency, do any schools have a policy on how to assess injuries that would involve removing clothing? My own instinct, again barring an emergency, is to relay the information I have to parents and have them come look at the area with the student. I am not comfortable with asking a child to pull down pants for an assessment. Administration is wondering if we have 2 staff present and phone consent from a parent, would it be appropriate for the nurse to remove clothing to assess the area? Any feedback on what other schools do or policies in place would be appreciated. Thank you!

Has she considered that if kids attend school while still contagious, they get more children sick, leading to.....MORE absences?!

Yes - I remember when a staff member found out how many kids I see in a day and how many ice packs I give out. She thought I had a rotating supply of 5 ice packs (like my TOTAL ice pack inventory was 5). Hahaha!

I agree overall, that this isn't a battle I generally choose to fight-so I feel many of my ice packs are just 'TLC ice packs'. I do find with playground/classroom injuries that seem super minor though, that if I have them go back to class (without ice) and 'see me in 10 minutes' or next class break or something if still having pain, at least 50% of the time the student does not return, as they've probably completely forgotten they were even injured in the first place! That avoids any children complaining they didn't get any ice or treatment for an injury, and avoids me giving unneeded ice.

I think I need to add you to my 'bubble wrap' list. We'll just wrap you up in it, and then you won't get hurt so often.

Oh goodness...I'm already creating a poster to put up. If that doesn't make someone wash their hands, nothing will!

Unfortunately, I think it's pretty common. I remember being (embarrassingly far) through part of my first year and realizing - wait, who checks that the AEDs are working?!? It just hadn't crossed my mind (I think I thought of it as part of the facilities management), and there was no documentation/protocol for it. Sure enough, one of our AEDs hadn't been checked since loooong before my arrival and wasn't working. I think there are so many little (and big) things that can be missed without a proper handoff from the previous nurse and without a policy/systems in place.

Last school year, my then 7 year old told me that he and classmates had a 'mini rally' against Trump and McDonalds. How random kids are. Wish I had seen it!

Yes! The salad bar is fantastic - the children are really encouraged to make healthy choices, and do!

That's a good idea - for certain students who might have any of their allergens in the food bar. I'll bring that up!

Thanks OldDude! We're figuring out a good plan going forward. Part of the issue is parents pay ahead of time for lunches. Students then go to the hot lunch or sandwich line to get the main part of their meals, and then go to the salad bar. From the salad bar they just go straight to their table to eat, so there really is no one checking salad bar food before students eat. That would be great to have food services have to check students out and have a 'back up' allergy check!

The student sometimes brings lunch and sometimes takes hot lunch. I agree it would be best for the student to avoid the salad bar altogether, but mom seems to want him to use it still. He does always have some sore of an allergy free hot lunch option. For now, we are taking out chickpeas completely, but we can't feasibly do that for every allergy in school - we wouldn't have much of a salad bar left!

The student has a chickpea allergy, and knew not to eat hummus, but had never actually seen a chickpea, and so, didn't know what it was. I have the parent in touch directly with our food services manager to discuss as well. Not sure if it makes a difference, but we are not only a private school, but also receive no state/federal funding whatsoever.

Good morning, Well, last Friday, I had the moment I've had dreams about since starting school nursing - a student with an anaphylactic reaction at school. Staff did everything perfectly, and student is well now. Student complained throat "didn't feel good" at the end of lunch and then staff member noted bottom lip swelling. Student was immediately brought to me and needed his epipen. Really proud of my staff for recognizing the severity of the reaction, especially as the student was not yet in any obvious distress. Going forward, however, we're hoping to prevent any further reactions. This student (who is young), has known food allergies, and one of the foods he is allergic to was served in our school salad bar. The salad bar is open to all students, and students self serve (even the younger ones). Although we avoid peanut/tree nut products, we have a number of students with random, atypical allergies, and so we cannot guarantee these foods are not sometimes served in the salad bar. In looking to prevent reactions though, we want to see what we can change/improve on. Do any schools have salad bars and young students? Do you have any policies or advice on preventing reactions? If so, please feel free to PM as I would love to discuss. This is our 4th year of having the salad bar and the first time we've had an issue. Hoping to make it the only time. Thanks!