Reducing visits to the nurse

[alexis98]

I am currently a first year school nurse at two elementary schools. Both schools have approx. the same number of students. One of my schools averages twice the number of visits as the other. I need ideas of how to reduce unneeded visits to office. Students are missing quite a bit of time sitting in my office waiting their turn in line to see me - only to be sent back to class after I assess them. Thanks!

[SchoolNurseHolistic]

You're allowed to put peanut butter on your kids?! Our 100 acre campus is nut-free. No employees can even bring nuts in their own lunches.

[bleemadden]

I have a few teachers that are HORRIBLE about sending kids...I once saw half of a teacher's class in one day!! I've seen the shoelace knots, hair ties that need to be taken out, etc. One day I had 3 students from a class come in at once. On one note it read, "He just explained to be that he tripped at recess (2 hours ago). He's been acting fine though." On another it read, "Bumped knee on desk when getting out of chair". And the other said, "Dropped pencil on floor and bumped head on desk when getting back up". With all three students chattering, laughing, and 2 skipping into my office, I asked them who was hurt and I was AMAZED (sarcasm to the extreme) when all three looked back and forth at eachother and one spoke up and said, "I don't even know why we got sent down". WHAT?! The teacher happened to come by my office at the end of the day in regards to another issue, when I addressed this situation. I explained that her and I don't go to the doctor when we bump a knee on our desk because we weren't paying attention when we were getting up, if we did, I would be visiting my doctor just about every day! She said she didn't realize she was sending them so frequently and that it was an ill habit that she had formed..This was last Wednesday. Thursday and Friday went well but first thing this morning I saw one of her students with a note reading, "Complaining of a hurt knee". When I went to grab him an ice pack he laughed and said, " No. I told her I have to pee and she told me I needed to go straight to the nurse!" Apparently communication isn't this teacher's specialty!

[nursebooboo]

I just had a student sent to me because his shoes were tied together in a knot. I guess you need a nursing degree not a teaching degree to get out a knot. **

are you kidding me??????? that's NUTS! I have them come in to see me because of problems with eye glasses and poop/pee accidents.... just makes you wonder what exactly are they expecting you to do!! I don't know how to fix eye glasses any more than the teacher does! also, poop/pee accidents: CALL THEIR PARENTS!! good grief.

[sharpeimom]

Not a school nurse, but I had to share this:

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

Ha That is awesome!!!!! and true!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not a school nurse, but I had to share this:

[AngelfireRN, MSN, RN, APRN]

I once had a 6th grader come shoving past the line outside my door, claiming it was an emergency. The water fountain splattered her shorts and she was wet.

Oh, the humanity.

[Britrn04, BSN, MSN, RN]

We are awesome......a colleague of mine shared that she had an ES student sent to her for cat poop stuck in/on the child's shoe ha ha!! Major emergency!!