KeeperOfTheIceRN

And blocking it seems like she is trying to do! She won't even give us dad's contact info to speak to him about anything. All communication is done through her.

We have told her that since before school started when we found out about this kiddo. She just kept telling us they didn't need a 1:1 nurse and that she would get documentation stating that. We have received absolutely no MD documentation related to this trach. All documentation we have has been written by mom. We *think* she may have been trying to get one of the doctor's the kid sees to write orders for no nurse but none of them would do it. That is unconfirmed though. After our meeting yesterday, she said she would get orders but she's said she'd get orders since all of this began and we have yet to see any. I don't have any emergency action plans for the kid.

Hello all! I'm looking for some guidance on a situation. I have a new student with a trach in place. Student is self sufficient with almost all care (they are unable to re-cannulate on their own). However, all documentation that we have received from previous school states they are to have a 1:1 nurse to assist with all trach care. These orders are a few years old and mom is adamant that student doesn't need that level of care. BUT, she refuses to provide any new MD orders/documentation and she refuses to give consent for me to speak with MD about student's trach care and emergency plans. As it stands right now, the only information we have received, related to the trach, is CPR (ya know, mouth-to-stoma, not mouth-to-mouth) and that re-cannulation needs to be obtained within 90 seconds if it comes out. That's all. Anyone dealt with this situation and have any advice on how to navigate it?

I ask them if they want to go outside for a little while. Mental health is not my strong suit by any means, but I'm a huge fan of getting them outside when they reach this point. Especially with the older ones. I've noticed the fresh air, change of scenery, and sun light (even on cloudy days) does wonders for them. If they want to walk, we walk. If they want to sit, we sit. If they want to talk, we talk. But I let them do what they feel they need to, within reason/safety parameters, and I just meet them there. I also have this jar that I made with glitter glue, sequins, and water. I'll have them shake it and then watch the glitter and sequins swirl around. I'll ask them to tell me some of the shapes they see (there's unicorns, stars, geometric shapes etc. etc. in the jar). This works best with my middle schoolers though.

I walked into a kiddo sitting in my office before announcements had even been made...I was grumpy from dealing with a difficult parent the ENTIRE day before too. Imagine my absolute shock and instant emotional mess when I saw a potted lilly plant and a gift basket sitting on my desk from my PTO for me!! I'm not an openly emotional person (I prefer to keep my tears private ? ) so I had to close my door while I went through my gift and just appreciated the absolute consideration that was shown to me today! My campus principal came in shortly after and said "we haven't forgotten about you, we just wanted to spread our love to you on national school nurse day which is NEXT week!". So to know they were already planning and aware is all I needed. I genuinely love my school!

Ya know, its sooooo easy to get stuck in your own mindset, especially this year! My husband and I tend to think completely opposite of each other so I truly appreciate his point of view on almost everything because he is so good at bringing to light things I hadn't considered yet or that I had just forgotten. You just did the same thing for me, Flare. THANK YOU!! On this particularly tough morning where I was feeling just exhausted and weighed down by my responsibilities this year, your post brought a very valid and much needed reminder that THIS IS NOT OUR FAULT NOR IN OUR CONTROL. You turned my day around, Flare!!

Yes, and honestly, my admin is extremely supportive and has had no problems discussing things with the teachers. I'm just so tired of them doing their own thing "when no one is around". I move around a lot this year to minimize unnecessary visits so I'm popping into classrooms more frequently than my admin is so I see it more.

One of my kinder kiddos called me a "Mask Monster" last week and originally, I laughed. Today, I'm feeling like a "mask monster" because it seems like everyone dreads when I walk in the room. I also feel like the ONLY one on my campus who is actively reminding kids to put their masks on. I have teachers who do not require them in their classroom but make sure to tell the kids to put them on if Nurse Keeper walks in. I'm over the blatant disregard for this policy that is quite literally out of my control. Ugh. My responsibilities feel heavy today.

OK, great! Thank you!!

We do not have a school physician ? that would make getting stock epi much easier!

All of your "typical" school nurse duties ? I maintain all health records, perform all State mandated screenings, provide training to staff for various topics, handle all office visits (when on campus), perform all health related data entry, I travel to each campus periodically, communicate with parents etc. etc. And, new this year, I am the "COVID contact" for my district. I will add, I was recently given the green light to hire help on one of my campuses so I now have 1 extra nurse, but they are part time.

Yes, it's definitely something that has been on my radar for a while. But with it just being me, myself, and I for my entire district, I just haven't had the time to really sit down and get it all done. ?

Goodness! I didn't even think to check their BP but will definitely add that in the event something like this occurs again. I don't know about anyone else, but this week has been nothing but office visit after office visit! By the time this one got to me, I felt like I had been running nonstop in a marathon! Thanks Kidz!

Trying to see if you guys would have done things differently... Had an afterschool staff member approach me today stating they felt like they were having an allergic reaction to the dipping sauce they ate with their chicken wrap. They stated they had NKA and had eaten this meal before. Face was flushed but no swelling. C/o scratchy throat. They were located in another building so we walked back to my office after they stated they felt OK to do so. O2 sats were normal. They denied SOB, difficulty breathing, or feeling like their throat/tongue was swelling. HR was normal. Lungs were clear. They did not appear to be in any distress. I administered 25 mg of Benadryl and had them stay in my office for observation. Approximately 10 mins after the meds, they stated they were feeling better. O2 sats were sill perfect, HR was still normal (I kept my pulse ox on them the whole time) and their face was no longer flushed. At the 15 minute mark, they verbalized continued improvement. I encouraged them to call their roommate to come pick them up as I did not want them driving home since they had taken Benadryl. Friend arrived right at the 30 minute mark after meds and they stated they were feeling much better and were ready to leave. I did instruct them to go to the ER should the symptoms return or worsen to which they verbalized understanding. We do not have stock epi on any of my campuses but I do have one set of pens that was abandoned that I held on to. It was last checked at the beginning of the year and was still good at that time. I was hesitant to use them as the first response, but was ready to do so at the first sign of decline. But I'm curious...would you have used one or opted to go the route I took?

55 days! We've been in person since we started back and truly, I think it went the best it could have gone! It's been a year, and parents have been mean, but y'all. My kids have done AMAZING with the mitigation processes we have in place this year. I'm so proud of them!