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Hand Foot Mouth
At our school, for awhile HFM became the new "head lice"- everyone was looking for it, asking kids about and digging for symptoms, hysteria over very very mild- unconfirmed symptoms. Our Principal is amazing- we stuck to the guidelines - "no fever and the kid feels like being here". It finally wore itself out, now I don't hear anything about it. Yipppeeeee!
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No recess due to asthma
A few questions come to mind. Is the child's asthma under control? What does the Asthma Action Plan indicate? If the child seems like they're feeling well- I'd tell the parent that until the Dr clarifies further- the child will be going outside with their classmates. I wouldn't think that 30 -45 minutes is considered an extended time. How long is recess. Document all the times you've tried to reach the Dr. Can you fax a note to the Dr. office? Is it a local family Dr or at a bigger hospital? If the child has to stay inside. I'd have them sit in the office. If the child isn't ill- it's too busy and no need to expose the child to sick students that could be coming in and out.
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High BP in High Schooler
If you have done everything you can do to get the care and attention that your student needs and deserves. I would hotline it e.v.e.r.y. t.I.m.e. there is an episode at school, until you have evidence that the student has been to the Dr. for eval. IDK what state your are in. But, in Missouri- every hotline called is kept in the system. In this instance- I would also fill out this form and send it home with the student. Sorry- can't attach it from where it is saved. This creates your own paper trail. I'd also mail it to the other parent. Good luck and please update us! __________________________________________________________________________ School Health Illness/Injury Referral Student's Name: Date: Reason for Concern: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank You ~~ Nurse ______________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care Provider please complete: Date: ___________________ Pertinent Findings/ Plan/Relevant Information for School: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When may student return to school? _________________ Will student require frequent absences from class? No / Yes Activity Restriction: No / Yes/Explain ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Follow-up Appointment recommended - No / Yes- When? _____________________ Health Care Provider: ______________________________________________________ Address/Phone: __________________________________________________________
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New grad as school nurse
Hi! I am catching up on reading the threads. How are you and how is your school year going? Welcome aboard!
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Starting a School Nurse Job 25-26!
Hey- I am just catching up with some reading on the threads. How are you and how is your school year going? Welcome aboard!
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PE injuries in middle school kids
How is your rapport with the Admin? Seriously sounds like the Admin needs to monitor the class much more closely. Do you fill out the incident reports or is it the responsibility of the supervising teacher? If the teacher doesn't have to fill it out as completely as possible- maybe getting it changed so that she has to do that- just may make her take more ownership of all these situations. May help her realize that she needs to be more responsible and that allllllll this is happening under her watch. I would make sure that you quote what she says in your notes as to what happened during these accidents. And of course, what really happened. I would not let this go- this sounds like a situation that needs to be working to a resolution very quickly. As much as anything else, to me, the teacher not knowing what really happens in these situations is a major concern. I get it, now and then- it's pretty hard to see every situation. BUT, repeatedly- no- not acceptable.
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PE injuries in middle school kids
This is a great question. Is there a particular game that the injuries are happening in? I absolutely hate Dodge Ball and hope it's not that. That seems excessive on the number and severity of injuries. Sounds like admin might need to monitor the class closer for starters. Is the PE teacher a new teacher? Seasoned teacher? As far as the incident report goes- Do you fill it out completely or does the PE teacher have to take some ownership and fill most of it out?
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Extreme Emergency Preparedness
I am just now catching up on this thread. You all may not need this by now, but in case it is helpful. Here is the training that I did at our Health Department and can now be an instructor for my school. https://www.stopthebleed.org/get-trained/online-course/ It's pretty basic and simple and covers the essentials. There is a better video here to supplement the one at the link above. https://stopthebleedcoalition.org/essentials-of-stop-the-bleed-video-class/
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School System ... Is this ethical?
What a difficult spot to be in. Please Do Not do anything that's not in the Scope of Practice in your state. Speaking with Admin and a parent would be a good place to start. Good luck and please update us soon.
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Electronic health forms ?
Thank you for asking this question. There is talk of my District going to all electronic registration in the near future. I have expressed my need to have paper copies of my Health Enrollment form. I pull out my old fashioned 3 ring binder multiple times a day for information that I need readily at my fingertips. Hoping that I can learn from you all.
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School Nurse - Calling Parents
You will get it figured out. It's pretty much a skill that comes with time and experience with kids you are describing. If a kid is persistent and on the bubble in my nurse brain- I call the parent. Tell them a run down of how the day has gone and ask them to talk to the little. I explain this as getting a "mom feel" (or whatever the relationship is). The mom/parent/whoever can usually cut to the chase and decide if the little can stay or not. This takes it off my back- it's the parent's decision at that point. Most of the time- kids just want to know they are heard. Looked in the eye and have a conversation/a little break from class. I believe them until they give me a reason not to. If the visits persist with any given kid- I suggest a check up with their Dr. Good luck! You are doing great! a
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Tired of kids coming to the nurse...
Let me help you out with that ? Illness.Injury Referral Form. Blank.docx
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Tired of kids coming to the nurse...
When I have this happen- Of course, I contact the parent and let them know- question if there may be a medical problem. If the visits from a specific student don't slow down- I fill out an "Illness/Injury Referral" - I summarize the student's frequent complaints, and make sure I put in it how the student's class time is so frequently interrupted. I tell the parent they need to make and appointment and take my referral note to the Dr- have it completed and bring back to school. The bottom of the note asks for the assessment/findings, pertinent information for the school, if the student requires frequent absences from the classroom. if the student has any activity restrictions, if a follow up appointment is needed, etc.
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How to eat this elephant!?
Ashlie- Welcome to our world. This is a wonderful supportive group and we don't eat our young. So, thank you for asking your question. A few thoughts- If your state has a State School Nurse Consultant- email or call that person and let them know that you are brand new and need guidance. What state are you in? If your state has resources to support your new endeavor, look them up and use them regularly. If not, here is the link to Missouri's resources- they are fabulous- https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/index.php If you go there- there are many tabs to click on. I would suggest that you click on the Health Office Management, then - "Guidelines and Manuals". Under that- the first one won't do much good unless you are in Missouri. But there are also some things in there that would be helpful. The next 4 resources under that are the meat and potatoes of what I use/have used the most- **"Manual for School Health Programs"- A general overview of the Health Program. It has forms and a wealth of information. **"Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases" - If your state doesn't have this- I would print this ASAP and have the CNA to start using it to determine who stays at school and who goes home when they are sick. This is the ONLY thing I or my schools use. It helps with consistency and builds trust that everyone gets treated equally when it comes to exclusion or not excluding. **" Medication Administration in Missouri Schools: Guidelines for Training School Personnel"- If you aren't in Missouri- check with your BON- but, if your state doesn't have a resource like this- it will still be very useful. It will hep save you license if there is a med error, because you have a training to train the CNA or secretary/whoever gives meds in your absence. ** Emergency Guidelines for Schools and Childcare Facilities" - this is for use when you- the RN are not in the building and there is a medical anything that happens. It is a great resource. As soon as possible- please get familiar with the immunization laws and rules. Enforcement of compliance is not easy sometimes. In Missouri there is no grace period for kids to be in compliance to attend school. IF your state has a state wide immunization database- get a password or however it works and start using it. In Missouri it is called ShowMeVax and is THE single most useful tool I have in my toolbox. I hope this is helpful. Please reach back out and update us on how you are doing or when you have more questions. You've got this! Best wishes!
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Do you feel kid are sicker today than before?
THIS! Times a thousand. Just makes me shake my head...as I'm making the gzillionth phone call and mail all the repeat letters- trying to get completed paperwork back.