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.