nightie-night nurse

nightie-night nurse has 6 years experience and specializes in School Nursing, Critical Care.

nightie-night nurse's Latest Activity

1. 

   Help what would you do?

   nightie-night nurse replied to Lucy776's topic in School

   How physical and active you are really all depends on the student population and their needs. I have been in a school with classes of medically fragile kiddos and I was pretty active and busy all day long. I have also been in a school with fewer classes of medically fragile kiddos where they are mostly self-sufficient. I remain busy, but it is less physically taxing. I am still mentally taxed:specs: and never forget that you never know what is going to walk in the door next. I know of a few nurses who are physically limited and still are able to practice in the school setting, so chances are you will too.
2. 

   Contract?

   nightie-night nurse replied to RNbubu's topic in School

   I actually have a two-year contract. They have an option of offering a one-year or two- year contract. We have had a couple of nurses leave mid-way through the year these last couple of years. They did not have any penalties for leaving during their contract. It just depends on the district.
3. 

   HELP Pink Eye Question

   nightie-night nurse replied to uthscsa2011's topic in School

   If a student meets the criteria for exclusion and cannot be picked up, I will keep them in the clinic in order to protect the other students from exposure. Keep in mind this is after I have exhausted all avenues of having them picked up (grandma, aunt, sister, babysitter, etc.) I am currently at a middle school and I have had parents say to let them walk home. I then have the parent speak to an administrator and get their approval. This never happened at the elementary level, so I was surprised when it happened here.
4. 

   New School Nurse CPS situation has arisen

   nightie-night nurse replied to blueiwahine's topic in School

   I have heard the same thing. The officers do not want too any people questoning the potential victim because it may damage the integrity of the investigation. So, when a teacher sends a student to the clinic because of suspicious bruises or report from a student, I tell them I will document assessment only and they need to make the report and give my name as someone who has additional information. I may follow-up to see if they have made the report at the end of the day and if they are not going to report, then I would report. It is not our duty to investigate or say whether the accusations are true or suspicious. We need to report to CPS and let them do their job. All of this is assuming you don't feel the student is in immediate danger if they go home. I would handle that in a totally different manner.
5. 

   No, I'm Not a Beauty Shop!

   nightie-night nurse replied to mysixlittleones's topic in School

   I said that same thing to my principal last week when I came to her with a concern. Her reply was that it we could give people common sense or figure a way to teach it, we would be millionaires. Needless to say, that conversation with the principal did not resolve my concern and left me feeling dissatified with my job.
6. 

   hot cheetos & GI probs

   nightie-night nurse replied to cruzcontrol's topic in School

   My kids eat the flamin' hot cheetos occasionally and they don't get sick because of them. They also don't eat a lot of other spicy food, so I am not sure the correlation. But, I think it may have something to do with how much good food they are eating with it or the volume eaten. I still see a few students a week with stomach aches who have eaten them and are feeling sick, but not as many as last year. I recently read a newspaper article about a school nurse that was trying to get them banned in their cafeteria based on the fact they are not a nutritious food item. On a different note, I saw a 1st grader who "sniffed" Taki dust (Takis are another brand of spicy chips) and had an anaphylactic reaction. Fun times
7. 

   School nurse denies inhaler

   nightie-night nurse replied to phnII's topic in School

   Mrs. H. has a good point. This situation would be good evidence as to why it is ideal to have an RN in every clinic.
8. 

   What do you go by?

   nightie-night nurse replied to Flare's topic in School

   My principal calls me "nurse" ex: "Hey, Nurse. How's your day?" So I call him "principal". "I'm great, Principal" When I answer the phone or make a call, I identify myself as Nurse (last name). I feel this helps to indentify they are speaking to the nurse and not someone else who might be covering for me. This is kind of like how my state's nurse practice act requires us to have our credentials on our badges. The students and teachers can call me anything appropriate, Mrs. (last name), Nurse (last name), or first name (for the staff and teachers only).
9. 

   Just Amazed

   nightie-night nurse replied to SchoolNurseTXstyle's topic in School

   I just assumed she was describing the problem. There was no outcry for saying she had multiple head injuries in the clinic. Peepee pants was a quick way to type it. That was my first thought, I am glad no one hears what runs through my mind sometimes.
10. 

    Need help charting

    nightie-night nurse replied to phnII's topic in School

    For the "S" (subjective) you include everything the student/patient tells you about their problem. I often use exact quotes. "O" (objective) - Everything you observe while they are speaking to you. "A" (assessment) - You nursing assessment documentation often broken down into systems. I usually include my objective observations and assessment under the same label. "P" (plan) - Any interventions you provide for the student. (water, rest, calling parents, etc.) I include everything I told parents when I spoke to them and their comments and/or them verbalizing understanding. This way if something comes up later, I can check my documentation on what we discussed. I hope this helps.
11. 

    Teaching CPR ??

    nightie-night nurse replied to Keepstanding's topic in School

    All of our nurses are AHA certified CPR instructors and teach classes that are arranged by our department and also we arrange for classes as needed on our campuses. This is an expected part of our position so we are not compensated extra for our time
12. 

    Diapering and toilet accidents

    nightie-night nurse replied to Jocelyn Z's topic in School

    I work at a school with K - 5 students. I do have students come in with soiled clothes. Very seldomly do I cahnge them. I ask the student if they can clean themselves and if not I call home. I do have two students with Spina Bifida who come in twice a day for catheterizations. They do need help cleaning themselves. I have a doctor's order and parent's written permission to help them. One is in a wheelchair and one uses crutches. The one with crutches I change standing up and I have him use the toilet seat and the handicap bar to help with stability. I have a grocery sack open and ready to put the soiled wipes and diapers in. I tie it up when I am done (this helps with the smell also). I wipe front to back (this makes cleaning easier). There is no changing table or private area for cleaning while he is laying down. It would make it easier on my knees, but there is no place to put one.
13. 

    Am I hard of hearing?

    nightie-night nurse replied to Flare's topic in School

    I admit, I have done this, but I did not last very long. I quickly tired of them staring at me.
14. 

    What Teacher's Really Want ??

    nightie-night nurse replied to Keepstanding's topic in School

    I have had teachers call the parents right after I had seen the student and deemed them well enough to return to class. This made me feel undermined because this was one of the student's who was playing in the clinic and assured me she felt okay to go back to class. The mom said she was called within two minutes of the time I had recorded for her leaving the clinic. That was barely enough time to walk to the classroom. . . Grrr.
15. 

    School clinic substitutes- help!

    nightie-night nurse replied to millhouse's topic in School

    I was actually told by my director that it is difficult to find a sub for my clinic and many of the ladies who have subbed for me before will not come back. They say because it is very busy and the special needs kids have complex needs. The director actually asked me to contact my principal and ask him to let the teachers know there will be a sub and to "please be nice to her". I did, but he never sent an email out about it. I thought it was a very odd request to say the least.
16. 

    Electronic Process You Would Like to See in Schools

    nightie-night nurse replied to BunnyBunnyBSNRN's topic in School

    The hand-held device could be something like a blackberry or other smartphone that would have your electronic records and charting system on it where you could chart away from the clinic, but without the bulk of a laptop. This could be helpful if you went to a classroom to provide care for a student having a seizure or other emergent problem where they could not be moved. Then you could enter data as it happens. Just a thought.