icepak

I LOVE THIS!

New nurses, please do this if possible. You will be so glad you did later in life!

"Prom night" Now that one made me laugh out loud!

We have not checked classrooms for years! The evidence does not support doing this. Teachers should not be telling you how to do your job. We don't tell them how to teach so they need to respect your professional opinion. You are the health expert in the building.

I wondered about that too...

Dansko

What is the compensation for field trips? Overnight trips?

I LOVE the handbook line! Especially with attorneys.

How does the compensation work for overnight/weekend trips? I think the entire trip should be compensated because you are on duty the whole time. "Others" feel differently. I do not go on trips. Ever. But some of the other nurses do.

One had a chart with stickers for days there was not an accident but nothing negative last year in K. The other is diagnosed with Hypotonia but I cannot find anything that says that is the actual cause. More like an excuse. Very frustrating for the teachers and the nurses but the parents...no so much.

Still dealing with this again this year. Two first graders. They don't seem phased by it all. Does any district have a protocol or procedure in place? We would like the parents to have some "skin in the game" and hopefully things will change. One mom just said she was too busy to come in for a meeting! The other kids are going to stop being so nice pretty soon. This is a big problem.

Graphic designer or web designer FROM HOME!

I'm going to hit the lottery and share. Also, open a foundation for wounded warriors and that will be my job.

No is a complete sentence. Or, no, cant do it.

Me: Can I help you? Student: Yesterday we went to the hospital for my foot and we saw a real nurse. Me: *crickets*

Meet with them and go over what you do when a student comes in, the nursing process etc. Also, how you handle different situations. I think they just don't want to be surprised and be caught off guard if a parent calls them, especially if they are upset about something. I tell mine that no news is good news and that I will absolutely find them if something is going on. Otherwise, I try to leave them alone.

Only as a last resort. Just went to a conference from the PA Department of Health and they said we do NOT need permission to obtain this info from the doctor's office. It is not covered under HIPPA because it is a provider to provider call. We are excluding starting next year as we recently had major changes in regulations in PA.

Time to go. They are using you.

If a teacher says "ice pack" I NEVER give it (unless really needed). I wouldn't go into their classroom and say "reading help". This is a BIG pet peeve, can you tell?

We also had an IV team. Looking back, I wish I had mastered that skill and only called them when needed.

At the beginning of the school year, ask for 30 minutes to do a staff presentation that covers emergencies. Also, a medical drill twice a year. Teachers on the medical team(if you have one) need to have a plan in place for their class to be covered if they are called to assist in an emergency. Then, assign everyone a job. A post meeting is a great idea to see "what we could have done better". This also validates you as the medical person in the building and shows admin why you are there!

Nursing is going backwards. If housekeeping can't clean bodily fluids then why have them at all. That is absurd. I really feel it is because most nurses are women. I RARELY play the woman card but I cannot see a majority of men putting up with this abuse.

Missing instructional time really gets their attention. Use one of your frequent flyers, add the total minutes they have been in your office or just say about 5 minutes each. Then, give them the amount of HOURS the student is missing. Also, be firm and send the student back if it is nonsense and they will get the message. Remind the student that the visit was not a "good nurse visit". Also send the student back with band aids and a note saying here are some more for your classroom supply. I have found that it takes a long time to get the teachers on board with the way a health office should work. It is not a free clinic. A faculty in-service is a great idea with email refreshers throughout the year. For example, "allergy season is coming....here are some tips the students can use BEFORE coming to the nurse....like wet paper towels on itchy eyes etc. Does anyone use "health hours" and close at different times during the day?