Cattz

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!

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.

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: __________________________________________________________

Hi! I am catching up on reading the threads. How are you and how is your school year going? Welcome aboard!

Hey- I am just catching up with some reading on the threads. How are you and how is your school year going? Welcome aboard!

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.

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?

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/

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.

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.

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

Let me help you out with that ? Illness.Injury Referral Form. Blank.docx

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.

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!

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.

Please don't hesitate to get back to us!

What an exciting opportunity! I made that transition from adult care in different settings to School Nursing many years ago. I love it and have never ever looked back. It is a totally different mind set. Depending on the size of the school- you may be the only health care person in the building. This makes our assessment skills/thinking on the spot and ability to do this very critical. And this is huge- my many years of experience has taught me that no other position in the school system thinks like our "nurse brains" do. Establish good rapport and also set boundaries for your office. Protect your license. Be firm, fair and consistent. Get familiar with your State School Nurse Consultant and look at the School Health Website. Learn everything you can about Immunization rules and regs. If you have a State Immunization Data base. Utilize it. It is the biggest help to my job and I can't imagine doing my job without it. The learning curve can be pretty steep but the trade offs of a great and dependable schedule, No weekends/holidays. S.N.O.W. D.A.Y.S. -- YES!! Good luck and update us!

If you're not already familiar- finding out what the law is for your state is a good starting point. In Missouri- there is no grace period for students to be up to date/have complete immunization record on file before they can attend school. Unless those few circumstances such as being homeless. It is my responsibility to make contact with parents, look it up on the state wide immunization data base, or get it from the previous school. Kids don't start until it is in place. We still try to get parents to be responsible and provide it for us.

Oh my goodness- I was ready to bust some kids yesterday, as I had been told that there are some that have been carrying them in the hallway. No-not happening on my watch. I'm only there one day a week...sooo yesterday, of course- there were none to be seen. I think they knew I was gonna get 'em for it. Hang in there- a

OK- take a lonnnng deep breath. For starters- if you haven't already- look at and get familiar with all the state guidelines and manuals. Print them so you can have easy access to them. Make contact with your State School Nurse Consultant. Let her know your situation and ask for guidance. How many students do you have? Do you have many students with chronic health issues? I would try to figure that out and see what Emergency plans are needed and get the info to the teachers that "need to know". I would then prioritize getting immunizations in order. Take one grade at at time. Do you have a Student Records System? If so, you can probably print a report that shows all the students that are not in compliance. If this isn't possible, talk to your State Immunization people. Ask for them to come and do an audit of the immunizations- this will show that you are serious about wanting to "right the ship". I did this at my very first school nurse job- there hadn't been a nurse before and the immunizations were a mess. Screenings are so important- but you can't do everything at once. Deeeep breath again- Big hugs to you for being a Champion for kids. You've got this- a

This is a safe place to vent and to know that we feel your pain and anxieties. Do what you need to take care of yourself and your precious family. No job is worth your health and well being. At the end of the day- go home and know you did the very best that you can. Give yourself a big hug from me and the rest of our School Nurse Crew here. a

Good afternoon- Hi! We started back today. This is my 28th year as a School Nurse. I love it.

My littles in the Early Childhood Special ED. program were some of my dearest and favorites. My strategy for helping them feel familiar and less scared of me, was to visit their classrooms often. When I did this- I emersed myself into their world, visited with them about whatever they wanted to talk about, talked with them about what they are learning about. I wanted for them to feel comfortable with me as another adult at school that they could trust. When they seemed scared - I always said something like, "I don't do anything that would hurt. I have the best nurse job in the world, because I just do nice things and get to visit with you. (or something like this)." It also helped that the teachers were very welcoming to me popping into their classrooms. The kids saw that their teachers trusted and welcomed me, so this seemed to carry over to the kids. Good luck in your new adventure!

Hang in there. It sounds like you did all the right things. Did you document who you informed, s/s highs/lows and the plan of what to do and when? This is a chance to re-educate the teacher(s). As far as the Principal- That's not on you. But, with the seriousness of lows and highs- the teachers/staff that are in the building- need to know in case the student experiences them. Good luck- ?

YES! We started using TeacherEase this year. We had SIS for several years before this one. I really like it and didn't take me long to learn to navigate it. I hope you find it user friendly as well. The only thing I have noticed that it's a bit confusing for the teachers to read the Allergy/Medical/General Medical notes for their specific students who have health concerns. When I put a new entry in- I learned that I need to write the date- or if it's the beginning of the school year. Note that- otherwise- they appear to run all together. I also space down so there is some separation between entries. Good luck!