Kim O'Therapy BSN, RN

Wow! Wonderful post. I am wrapping up my third year of school nursing and you've hit the nail on the head. I have been deciding if I want to go back next year, but I really feel that the worst day of school nursing is still better than a good day...

Just like any type of nursing, school nursing requires prioritization. Most days (99%), I would not have time to teach a child how to put in an earring. I've got diabetics and emergencies to take care of. Yes, there are moments where I can (an enj...

I agree. Under normal circumstances, I would probably help with the earring. However, under the circumstances described in the OP, I would have done what the OP did.

I can understand your frustration. I had to draw the line when a teacher sent a 5th grader to me because his nails were dirty. He wrote me a note asking me to clean and cut the student's nails. With the principal's permission, I sent an email out ...

Our school district is rather large; therefore, all the nurses are receive Red Cross training and are certified to teach CPR to those employees required to get training.

I understand where you're coming from. My famous quote around my school is "the nurse is always the last to know." Yesterday, I told the AP that if I had to produce an IHP or 504 documentation, I wanted to be at the meeting. On a positive note, at...

I would be curious regarding the doctor's visit. Do you think they are telling you the truth about taking her? Unfortunately, I have parents lie to me all the time when I advocate for the student. Last year, I had a second grader that kept defecat...

I am on the P & P committee for my district. I would advise making immunization requirements a priority. It is pretty basic because all you have to do go by your state health department's requirements. Health department communicable disease ex...

You're welcome! I may vent in frustration sometimes, but I love my 802 kids! My own 2 at home and the 800 I help out whenever they need it.

I have asthma too. I'm talking about the kids that come running down the hall into the clinic just to tell me that "mom says I need to take my inhaler twice a day in the clinic". How do feel now? Fine, but she says I need it. I also had a child co...

They wanted to pull me for other duties in the morning (getting bus riders to class, car pool lane, etc). So, I pulled a report for all the visits I get from children coming in right off the bus (before the first bell) and the kids that come in on t...

I've done bone marrow transplant (critical care) and now school nursing. Each requires its own set of special skills and critical thinking. School nursing involves a lot of compassion and toughness and excellent assessment skills. Last year, I had...

I have around 800 students at my school and around 75 staff members. Somehow, I take care of them all! I do a dental hygiene teaching or have a dentist come in to do it for K through 3rd graders. I do a growth and development (hygiene, menstruat...

What does your school policy say? Unless the older siblings' school is somehow connected with or chartered with your school, I would have to place HIPAA before passing along any information. If the parent were to become angry over the shared inform...

I agree. It seems as though all the other parents want to blame the school, the other classmates, or even me when their child gets lice. I think some of the special parents have been through so much that head lice is insignificant compared to the o...

Your registrar or an administrator should be able to get that for you. Fortunately, we use SNAP and can pull most of the info ourselves. And, its not a dumb question.

I had a teacher that would continually send students to the clinic with her "diagnosis" and "treatment plan" written on the clinic pass. Finally, I started writing what I *actually* did, what the actual "problem" was on the pass. When I signed, dat...

Our process isn't so bad. I wouldn't mind the billing if the clinic saw some of the $$ *we* earn for the district by billing services. My budget stays the same and it is small. Of course, the special ed assistants do a lot of billing for personal ...

Sending hugs your way. We've all been there. :hug:

Hang on tight and enjoy the ride!!! I'm now in my second year of school nursing, including summer school I got extra pay for this summer. You will learn so much and be saddened by some of the things you will see; however, you will be the only perso...

Don't be too hard on yourself. The child should not have exposed him/her self to a known allergen (if it was on purpose). Additionally, the parent should have had an allergy plan and medications on file with the clinic if this was a known allergen.

Hope you are feeling better soon. I sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances. My district does not allow personal transportation or stock medications, so I would have had no other choice but to call 911. Children who may nee...

Now that I see the child was ED, I can see a little reasoning behind the admin checking in, but we has several similar ED, SpEd, and other programs too. They should have let you be. You still did a great job of handling it. Once you have been ther...

Oh, poor thing, you had your first drama queen! Fortunately, the school staff where I work listen to my opinion. I have also made teachers leave the clinic because they were upset and causing the children to become more hysterical. I usually talk ...

Sometime, I get the school counselor involved with a case like this. So far this year, it has solved the problem in all but one or two cases.