dianer

I work in an elementary school in New Jersey. It is impossible to get a school nurse sub. If we do find one it's someone looking for a full time position that we usually lose when they find one. At times we have had a parent who is a nurse who I beg to substitute. I am not out many days, but of course we get sick or my kids get sick. You can't feel guilty, we have lives outside of school.

Well, if you think about hospital nurses, they can give nothing without an order from a doctor. In New Jersey school nurses can not give any meds without a Doc order and parent permission. Sometimes parents grumble. We do let children carry inhalers if the Doc writes an order that they have been instructed and are capable of self-medicating

I think because of fear of disease the school nurse handles any and all bodily fluids these days. also, the kids need some privacy and there is a bit more in the nurses office. If it occurs alot I would meet with the teacher and parents to try to figure out why. I also have the child clean themselves and call the parents. for some reason the staff at school do think I have an endless supply of clean clothes in just the right size for each child, not just for BMs, but for spilled milk from the lunchroom. this is another of those problems that school nurses deal with until they come up with an acceptable alternative. good luck

Thanks. i know we did what we could. I guess I just need to hear from my peers.

Thanks. I would like to take an ACLS course but for my job I am only required to have CPR. I know I did everything I could and even with several shocks, her heart did not return to normal rhythm. Still, it was very stressful for me and the the lay people who assisted me. I think those AED are great, but people need to be told that once a person is in cardiac arrest the chances of survival are not great.

I worked some private duty nursing my first summer but since then I just relax and enjoy the time off. If you can afford to, I would advise the same. It is a perk of being a school nurse. My kids love having me home and I get recharged for September.

I work in an elementary school with only 200 children. We were able to purchase defibrillators a few years ago. One day following a staff picture a parent came running into the office and told us to call 911, our social worker had fainted by the elevator. When I got to her she was purple, no pulse, no breathing. I yelled for someone to go get the defibrillator and began CPR. We shocked her 3 times before the paramedics arrived. They shocked her several times and said they got a pulse. She was transported to the hospital and lived for two weeks. She had major heart damage and some brain damage. She had a history of heart problems and a parent who died young from a heart attack. I was so glad to have the defibrillator and other staff who were trained in its use. We at least gave her the best chance we could.

I work in a small school district that has been able to purchase an AED. A few weeks ago a co-worker had an unwitnessed cardiac arrest. we found her,called 911 did CPR and used the defibrillator. She did not make it. I am wondering what other school nurses have in the way of CPR training. I have had BLS. Do we need more?