BettyGirard BSN

Our students start on Monday. Technically that's my start day, too. I'm coming early this year to help the new discipline monitor/nurse get started. In the long run it will take a bit of unpleasant load off me. I'll see if I can interest he...

It is illegal under federal law to use a medical device inconsistent with it's labelling. Amo is right. If it says URO only, it's against the law and YOUR NECK if you use it for non-uro purposes.

We don't have an itinerant nurse, but we have a supervisor who gets pushed into coverage when one of the building nurses is out. This year, they actually hired a LPN for the discipline monitor. My deal with the administration is that since I go...

I agree with Lucia. The shape of the balloon is part of it's efficacy. I tried only putting 5-10ml in a 30ml foley and found that problematic. If you can't use a 30ml balloon (fully inflated), they need to get the smaller size. Caths are so...

Actually, I got one of those eyeglass screw kits with the screwdriver and the magnfier. Oddly, I get as many requests for it from staff as the kids. If that won't fix it, there's always tape (tape the school has in the stock room). Larger ziplock b...

I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time understanding what you are asking. Could you rephrase the question?

If the doctor is acting in his military capacity, most likely he doesn't need a state license in your state. If he's a civilian doctor (who just happens to be int he military), then he can't treat patients without a state license most likely, but ...

We refer to LPN and RNs as nurse even if they are hired in a position that doesn't require those certifications. I've had people hired as aides with RN. Usually, they are waiting for a nurse slot to open up in the district. I'm sure their HR st...

The only person I've delegated it to is the SPED teacher and she's pretty accustomed to things like that (she's Physically Disabled specialist). Response time is about 15 minutes to initial relief, it's way faster than the other option (oral, whic...

Actually, ours is fairly low I thought, but this position only required an LPN but we got a lot of RNs apply as well.

My experience is similar to Eleven11. A 504 plan is still an educational plan and the lead is taken by the teacher and SPED coordinator. If they need medical input, I provide it. Much of it is pretty canned health plans on my point. Occasion...

We have one in our district as well. I just was on the initial screen for a new nursing position in our district. I'd have to say we got 2 men and 60 women applicants.

They did indeed buy a box of those. They have pretty good overlap so there's no "butts hanging out." Not the solution I would have gone with, but at least it's no longer my responsibility.

Back when I did home care for a while, I was changing an IV on a bedridden patient. I had fitted the IV bag to the administration set and was flowing the fluid into the tubing. I like to have everything ready to go before I approach the patient. ...

I'm not a man so I can't vouch for how it feels. I'm nervous about it too, so I just advance way more than is probably necessary and inflate the balloon. It always slides back noticeably when the balloon seats in place. I guess this causes a b...

I have a locked cabinet and use the ZipLoc-style boxes about the size of a small shoebox. I put the drugs/syringes/meters in there along with a copy of the orders. I write the student's name with sharpie on the edge.

I suggested to the admins that I could just hand out examination gowns to those needing clothing and they could wear those. I was rather surprised a few months later when he asked where they could order those. I gave them schoolnursesupply.com ...

Most baby wipes leave a film which can exacerbate things. I've found that soft, disposable towels moistened with just water work well. Yes, barrier creams help as well.

I finally got out of the lost and found / dress code enforcement loop. I don't know how it got to be a nursing job (I guess my predecessor didn't complain as much as I do). I keep a few cheap panties in my office for those who have legitimate ac...

Originally, I had a tiny office off the main office. When they redesigned our school athletic facilities, we got moved over to some of the old gym space. Not only did this give me a larger suite of offices for the health room proper, it also gav...

I've never seen a drainage bag with a "sample" port. I think people are talking about using the normal drain clip at the bottom. The bags indeed start out sterile (you don't want to connect something that's not to the foley be it the drainage ba...

Yeah, I suppose those "kits" for IV admin or Foleys or whatever seem like a good idea, but frankly, they are wasteful. First off, there's no reason for the whole thing to be sterile as each component is individually wrapped. Inside are the antibi...

Most of the manufacturers have pretty good customer support (both for the patients and caregivers). I've done a number of calls to Hollister's support line over the years.

Yeah, I finally got free of the following: 1. Lost and Found (really? unless it's a body part) 2. Dress code and other clothing issues (so you got sprayed with water from the sink, give it some time and it will dry out). 3. Discipline problems (su...