bleemadden

As others have said, the moon has its effects on the tides and since the human body is appr. 60% water, I'm sure it has its effects on us also. I worked in LTC and I'd like to believe that we have more sundowner's residents on full moons. Once full moon I had a resident smearing feces in one room while another resident was streaking down a hall...both behaviors weren't "normal" for these two, but crazy happens everyday in LTC. It is a fun idea and topic and even with no test results showing it actually exists, I still "prepare" myself for every full moon!

A kiddo came to me today panicked asking where he could get new pants. His 3 sizes too big costume pants were wet at the bottom and upon questioning he said that he stepped in yogurt and needed his pants off "right away!" He was a heftier 2nd grader so I gave him a few different pants to try on and he finally found ones that could fit comfortably. He came out of the bathroom with a huge smile on his face and thanked me. He turned and pointed to his dirty pants lying on the bathroom floor and said, "I don't know how this works but I'm guessing you take them and get them washed and I can get them from you tomorrow??" I tried not to burst out laughing... In a job with so many stresses, it's great to have some unexpected humor every once in a while!

I was lucky enough that my prospective employer asked me in my interview whether or not I needed a heads up to talk to my current employer before she called my references; my staff coordinator, DON, and ADON. It worked great. She called and offered me the position, told me exactly when she would be calling them, and I was able to go to my employer right then to give them the heads up and turn in my two weeks. It would be worth a shot to ask for that in an interview. Most prospective employers understand that you don't want to throw yourself under the bus by saying you may leave then not get the job.

I was Little Bo Peep and my daughter was my sheep last year! how funny! That's too cute! Enjoy your evening and stay safe!

I had a parent come in today upset that her daughter keeps getting lice so it must be from another student in her class... nobody else in the class has lice (I did a lice check yesterday when she called her daughter in absent) and I told the mom that it's probably just stuck in the home and gave her a flyer of tips to getting rid of lice...she huffed and puffed and said she knows all of the tips and has been doing them everyday...there's no getting through to parents...ever.

I'm the Queen of Hearts! Dressed up with my daughter who is Alice! Isn't Halloween great?! The one day of the year I get to release my inner-child and wear something to work besides borning ol' scrubs!

Spidey's Mom - I congratulate you for standing up about that dance!! Even listening to the radio I find myself asking, "Can they seriously play this on a public station?!" It's really quite disgusting that it has become socially acceptable to use such foul and vulgar language so freely. Complaining about something like that, that can be changed and really needs to be, is not something for staff to complain about. There are quite a few complaints that I get where I give the parent the district phone number and ask them to voice their complaints to the higher-ups to get something changed. What I don't appreciate are accusations that everything is "my fault" including illnesses, lice, state vaccination policies, etc.

That's a great idea! I hadn't even thought of that and will definitely bring that up with her mom. Hopefully we can figure something out for school time for this little kiddo!

I have a kinder that is afraid of the flushing noise of toilets. Unfortunately, every toilet in our school has an automatic flush. Poor thing has at least an accident a day. I've talked to her mom numerous times but "it's just the way she is about toilets everywhere but home so that's why I keep spare clothes in her backback".... She doesn't feel there is a severe issue and just let's it fly and flushes the toilet for her daughter at home. She refuses to put her daughter in pull-ups because "she's potty trained". I'm just so tired of these accidents. Her teacher sends her every hour to the bathroom but she just sits in the hall. I've showed her a million times that flushing isn't scary and she always says it wasn't that bad but the next day is doing the same thing...

Oh the wonderful, magical world of school nursing! Where every fever, case of lice and sick kid is your fault! Because everyone knows that those calls are our favorite to make and we do it for the enjoyment that an upset parent brings to our lives! Puuuhhhh-lease!

Finally got the money refunded! Ridiculous that I had to buy it myself because a parent 'demanded' it right then and there. No more lice with that kiddo but the other day she "sprained her ankle" and started crying while getting on the bus so the bus driver sent her to me and took off without her...since she was under my care I had to call the mom and what a shock, it was all my fault the mom didn't have a car and couldn't come and get the girl...she told me to tell her daughter to suck it up!! Umm..no. As for the lice policies, yes they can transfer fairly easily through head-to-head contact which is why we keep them home with live lice but we do encourage 'secret handshakes' instead of hugs and keep belongings stored away from others. As for a child itching to the point of bleeding, most itching doesn't occur until the infestation has gotten significantly bad. If the itching is that bad, that's on the parents for not checking their child's hair because they will see something if the child has a reason to be itching that bad. Parents should be actively involved in the grooming of their children, especially in my school which is K-2. All parents should know about lice and regularly check their school-aged children. Children can miss a lot of school if their parents keep them home until their hair is completely clear of nits as well as live lice, especially if the infestation is advanced. I appreciate the efforts of a parent that keeps their child home though because at least then it's known that action is being taken against the lice.

My day starts 20 minutes before school starts and with our new after school tutoring, my day has been extended. I come in at 7:30, 30 minutes before the start of the day for filing, cleaning, etc. I have signs on both office doors that say I don't 'open' until 8 but always have a line of kiddos when the bus arrives at 7:40 saying they "woke up sick"...those are my favorite phone calls home.."So and so is saying they were sick when they woke up?" "Well I thought they were just faking..." UGH!! Then it's the teachers sending them last minute. I had a teacher ask for a complete classroom lice check 10 minutes before school was out then told a coworker I was lazy because I asked to do it in the morning! I'm not lazy, I just don't have the time! My office is already full of last minute tummyaches and headaches and bumps from recess...the "lice" (there were no called-in cases so to me they are just imaginary) can wait until tomorrow.

At my district, we hire "health aides" for our 5 schools and have a floating RN at the district level. We've been doing this for 3 years and have had no problems. The health aides don't have to hold any certification however, one of our aides is an EMT and I'm a CNA/finishing school to become an EMT. Our other 3 hold no certs and have been doing the job the past 3 years we've had this system. When our district first implicated this system, it raised a lot of concern...and rightfully so. Now it's all a thing of the past and works really well. We are retrained by the RN every year and renew our CPR/First Aid. We have specifics to when we send students home, very rarely give OTC's (15 minutes of rest usually does a kid a world of good), and for accidents that cause bumps and dicoloration we call parents and let them decide if the child stays in school or not. Most of the RN's on here that I've seen blasting systems like this have a main concern of medication administration. We have all done a training with the RN and parents if they choose to be a part of it (none of mine did) but I was already med tech certified from working in LTC. Our RN is very close with all of us health aides and we communicate daily. Our comminity has expressed an appreciation of the system and I love my job!

I hear ya!! Teachers are a major reason why students become 'repeat offenders'. I sent a mass staff e-mail (so teachers wouldn't feel cornered) and offered tips. Send the kid for water, have them go to the bathroom, tell them to wait until the end of the lesson (9 times out of 10 they will forget), or for students really pushing the issue ask them what the nurse can do for them. If they can't come up with a legitimate answer, they stay in class. I've also been deemed as a 'not very fun nurse' by some of my repeat offenders. I have a huge stack of books in my office. "School is for strengthening the mind, read a book!" Half a picture book later, they're outa there! Don't get me wrong, I am very sympathetic to those who are sick or just having a really crummy day. Those who need rest, get rest. Those who need to go home, go home. But those who don't like math or want to go home and play XBox (usually they slip and will say something implying they just want to go home), get a lecture. I'm a very busy health room with just the meds I need to give..I don't have time for noncense. I try to scare them away with germs first. Like, "I had a kid in here earlier coughing and sneezing all over the place; do you know how fast germs can spread?!" Girls especially think it's really gross. Or if they say they don't know what's wrong or 'just don't feel good' I reply with, "Oh no! Well what's best here is if you come in on your recess time so that I can watch you..you must just be really sick if you can't figure out what's wrong!" When their own free time is on the line, they tend to rethink things. You learn fast which kids are ALWAYS coming in and how to control it. Like I said, start with the teachers. Most aren't empathetic at all because it's 'our job' but I keep a list of how many students teachers send in a day. I email the teacher with the info and cc the principal. Worked like a charm with my problem teachers. Now I have a little less BS goin on in my office, and it's pretty nice!

Every year we have parent's fill out an Emergency Health Form. It has their contact info, emergency contact info, health problems, meds taken at home, and any allergies. At the bottom of the form is a place for written parent consent with a list of meds that are available in the office..tylenol, cough drops, benadryl, bacitracin, vasaline, etc. If a parent signs on it, meds are given. If they don't, it's just soap and water. I only have 2 students of almost 500 that don't have consent to give meds.

I had a kinder diabetic (he ended up moving) but mom was that same way. Fortunately because of an old student and their family, we had a policy in place at our school where we follow dr's orders only. We also had a policy where parents (and all volunteers) are required to be on a schedule. The first week back to school she was allowed to stay all day but after that she was only allowed to come 'hang out' from 11:00 to 12:30 which was his lunch through recess and a half hour after. She was fine with this policy as she was only really concerned with lunch time. It gets uncomfortable with somebody breathing down your back and you become more concerned with them than the student. The mom and I had also had a meeting and decided to keep a log of his sugars in his backpack so she could look at the rest of the day's numbers when he got home. This saved me from having to call every sugar and I only had call in the extremes, which were numbers decided on by the physician.

Our school allows 10 'parent decision' absences and the system gets overwritten for health if it's a 24 hour case. Quite frankly, 10 absences is way too many! Our school district posts the next year's school calendar halfway through the current year...parents know when they have time to take vacations. If your child has school on a certain day and is in compliance with our health policies, they need to be in school. I understand emergencies, funerals, etc, but leisure is not a reason to miss school. As it has been said before, parents love keeping kids out if it benifits them but never follow the 24hr rule. I made 24hr passes for kiddos that I send home. Parents have to bring the child in to me upon returning to school so that I can check temps and give them the OK to return. I make teachers aware to look out for the '24 Hour Pass' from kids. If the kiddo is back at school after being sent home and doesn't have the pass, they get sent right back to me and I send them back home. (Just an FYI for parents, if one call where you had to come get your child makes you upset, two calls won't be any better!) If the parents ignore the 24hr rule 3 times, they are reported for neglecting their child's healthcare needs. Knowing this keeps most of my parents in check!

I had to report a doctor and parents for neglect because the doctor openly admitted that she wouldn't see one of my children (her patient) and deemed him as OK (I sent him home for an elevated temp of 100 and urine-consistency diarrhea) because a fever isn't anything below 100.4 and diarrhea is only a problem if it's happening 5-6 times a day. (It was 8:10 when I sent him home..school starts at 8 so I'm sure he had at least 5-6 that day...) The boy is a non-communicating austic and when I asked how she thought he felt she said, "He didn't tell me he wasn't feeling well so he must be doing fine". SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! I advised the parents that they may want to start seeing a new physician but they expressed no concern and backed up her statements!! Both the parents and doctor said that I was dumb for sending him home and that I don't know how to do my job. I give my heart out to disabled children, especially when their parents aren't even advocated for their health.

We have a 24hr policy in place for diahrrea, fever, vomiting, and antibiotics. I have a repeat offender that never follows that policy. Mom is self employed and dad is a stay-at-home. They are older parents but apparently have better things to do than care for their non-communicating autistic son.

And as Spidey's Mom's Q&A states, we don't have the time or equipment to determine whether an infestation is active or not. Our school policy doesn't even take an inactive infestation into account. I could go on and on about why I hate our policies, but I'm sure ya'll are having the same problems!

I completely agree that children do not need to be sent home for lice but it was a policy put into effect because of complaints of parents that they don't want their children catching lice! No matter what we have upset parents. If we don't send them home we "aren't taking care of the problem" but if we do try sending them home, we "are targeting the families" or "burdoning the families for something that isn't an issue". Gotta love it! I love the idea of contacting parents and keeping kids in school the remainder of the day for them to be treated at home after school. All-in-all 4 more hours of staying in school isn't going to make a difference. I've done way too much research about lice and all of it is conclusive in saying lice is not a threat, it's just a nuisance, and holy heck it is! My mom is a teacher and warned me that parents are the worst part about working for a public school system, and she couldn't be more right!! We see the worst of everything. We see the parents who just don't care and treat children like garbage, or parents who "care" too much and will complain about everything just because they can. I worked in a nursing home for 3 years before this and family complaints (from individuals distraught about a loved one's end of life or those grieving a lost one) didn't cause as much havoc as this mom and she's upset about lice!!! I just don't understand people and their motivations. Next year I am definitely pushing for new policies about lice and how parents are handled. Our policies are in a handbook that all parents have to sign and as problems arise, I would love to have that as a tool. Right now our health policies are so vague or just innacurrate and it makes me want to rip my hair out!

Yes I had to buy the treatment with my own money because "the school using funding from sources other than our health source would tie things up". Unfortunately that day, the person who has the Visa for the health source was out and the card couldn't be accessed. I'm yet to be reimbursed... The principal has been in the room the last couple of phone calls, and I guess my biggest issue is that nobody will stand up to these parents and put them in their place. The parent is now refusing to speak with me because I'm "at fault" for the lice...good to know I have the ability to give lice to kids! I guess last year the school had all the same problems with this mom with lice, bus routing, and teachers and it never ended. At what point does the district finally say (in more appropriate terms) "You're crazy and unless you stop trying to sabotage our staff, your child will need to attend another school"? It's so hard not to take anything personal when every jab is directed toward you...it upsets me that while I have so many other things to do, I'm writing a report to the school board because a parent is upset about lice. Not a life-threatening issue, not a wrong-doing of staff; no, lice.

If a patient was being harmed by a coworker, would you just ignore it and let their life be in danger because you were afraid of what your coworker would do to you for snitching? I'd certainly hope not! The only thing your coworker would be doing is leaving the building after being fired! As many others have said, aside from you spending money on the class and deserving an adequate education, as a healthcare professional it's almost a requirement to be selfless and think about your future patients and how your lack of education could harm them! I can't believe you're even questioning telling somebody. Remember, you're an accomplice and just as guilty if you're there, witness it, and go along with it.

I've had quite a few run-ins with a parent this school year. First it was about being out of compliance with vaccinations...mom came into my office screaming and cursing (with students in the office!) when all she ended up doing was signing an exemption and storming out of my office. Then a couple of weeks later, her daughter was found to have live lice and nits. School policy states that we have to send them home. On the phone the mom was yelling about how there's no way her daughter has lice and how I have no idea what I'm doing, but finally came to pick her daughter up. Policy states I have to do a classroom check and none of the other students had lice, however I sent letters asking parents to continue checking at home, just in case. For a few days after I continued to check the girl's hair, but the girl never got completely rid of it. I continued to call mom to check in on if she needed any help, extra tips, etc, but only ended up being yelled at. At one point there were only a few nits and the girl said her mom was combing throught every night, so I documented that, and refrained from having to contact mom. I became more relaxed about calling her in to check; the nits were almost gone. Well last week, a month after only having a few nits, she came into my office itching her head. She had tons of nits and live lice. I called mom who demanded that I check one of her firends because she "knows it came from there, there's no way it came from my house".The girl was in her daughter's classroom so I explained that I would do a classroom check. She continued to yell and curse and essentially blamed me for the reinfestation. I attempted to (through all the yelling) explain that this most likely was not a reinfestation, that all it takes is one louse to be left behind and lay eggs. After our "conversation" I did the classroom check, which was clear, and again sent home the letters. Later that day I get a call from theDepartment of Health Services concerned that a parent feels that I'm not adequetly taking care of the lice problem. SERIOUSLY?! I explained that as he should know, I can only control what happens at school, and since it is under control here, the issue is residing in the home. I thought that was the end of it, but as I was on the phone with DHS, in storms the mom demanding to talk to the principal. She yelled, pushed all blame on me, and demanded that I leave my office and go buy the treatment for the girl. So now I'm $15 out to this nasty parent and it's a week later. The girl's teacher brings in a 2 page letter from the mom with rude remarks towards the teacher because her daughter has lice again (mom needs to get it's not happening AGAIN, it's the same infestation). The teacher explains she feels harrassed, and I told her to send the child in so that I could check her hair and that I would call mom. The kiddo had a few nits, no live lice on her, so I called the mom to address the lice issue. Her first words were, "I'm gonna start yelling!", and she did. She ended up coming in to talk with the principal, refused to speak with me anymore, and stormed out. That was yesterday. Today, the mom contacted the principal stating they saw a "professional" last night and the girl's hair was clear, and that I was targeting the family. The girl was sent in for a hair check (which was clear) but told me the hair stylist, yes that's the professional, had found a few nits but removed them all. I love how the child has a different story!! I documented this, and luckily the principal was in the room so she signed off on that documentation! Well hoping all problems has subsided, we just got word that a board member has been contacted and that the thoughts of her filing a lawsuit are in the air. Now the principal and I are writing reports to go to the superintendant and school board!! How do you handle parents like that?? I'm baffled that a parent would go this far about LICE and be as rude as she has been. How embarrassing this must be for the child!

We had a broken arm at my school the third week of school. The student was playing on the monkey bars (No surprise there!) and fell on his arm. No broken skin, good pulse, and no placement abnormalities. Mom was very easy to get in contact of and said she was on her way (she lives right around the corner). I asked if she wanted EMS and she said no. When the student returned to school two days later, mom inquired me about why EMS wasn't called first because the hospital told her that's what should happen. Our district has the same policy of notifying parents first and asking them about EMS if the injury isn't too serious (broken skin) or life threatening. I of course stated that she had denied my offer to call EMS and that's why they weren't called after contacting her. If it would have been the other way around, she would have been upset that we called for such a minimal injury and be upset about the transport bill. You can never win with parents.