Ridiculous things. This is a new one one me.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Dec 29, 2016

Oh believe me. I am never in favor of letting the parents off the hook / not holding them accountable to be the parents and give a.m. dose...AT HOME. This is one of those situations, that for the kids education, its just better to give the a.m. meds here at school. Already been down that LOnnnng road with this family.

The administration at my school are constantly on me about getting all my ADHD parents to get orders for ME to administer the morning doses because SOOO many parents forget to give the dose and the kid is running circles around the teachers. It's frustrating, because I feel like the school admin/parents think because I'm there, their responsibilities to the kids fall on me. This isn't just making sure they get their morning adderall. I'm responsible for making sure they get appointments with hearing specialists when they fail screenings (and if parent's cant afford it, finding the resources necessary to get them to the doctor). If they parent's miss the appointment, I have to set up another. I literally am responsible for just about every step except plunking the cash down myself (but if a fund raiser is needed, I need to head that up!).. I also am responsible for making sure every child that needs glasses gets them. This is a little easier for me because I have a partnership with a local university and charity that provides transportation, exams and glasses for all the kids that need them. Of course, getting all the parents to consent is another story. There are about 5-10% that say no, even though it's free and the kids NEED them. :/

I love this job, but I get frustrated when a parent neglects to do their part, and if falls back on me for not doing enough to get these kids the help they need.

We don't have a councilor and until about two weeks ago, I didn't know we had a social worker to help with this. 1.5 years at the school and someone shows up saying she's our campus' social worker and has been for a couple of years. Apparently, it took a formal complaint to the district by a parent looking for free services (very poor family, child with special needs) to push her out of the woodwork.

I love being able to help these kids, that's why I'm here. However, I'm one person, and a bit miffed that things PARENTS should be doing at home get thrown on me because it makes everyone else's (parents, teachers, admins) jobs easier.

Flare, ASN, BSN · Jan 3, 2017

The administration at my school are constantly on me about getting all my ADHD parents to get orders for ME to administer the morning doses because SOOO many parents forget to give the dose and the kid is running circles around the teachers. It's frustrating, because I feel like the school admin/parents think because I'm there, their responsibilities to the kids fall on me. This isn't just making sure they get their morning adderall. .

This would cause a battle royale between myself and the admins. By my calculations, if I pushed for ME to give all the AM doses of the students with ADHD medications, I would go from a handful of daily medications to roughly 150 that need to be given before i can even hang my coat up.

Where is the safety in that? Who needs a line of children running the length of the hallway while I handle their controlled substances along with all the other early morning stuff that comes in?

I mean some of it can wait like the kid that was told "if you don't feel well, go to the nurse"- then bee-lines it for my door. But the kid that bites it on the pavement and is all blood gets a little priority. Then there is the thought of just HOW of earth i would get all 150 of those students medicated in that window. Like you - I am one person. No way. That sounds like a HUGE liability waiting to happen. Plus, now we've gone from the students having their dose kicking in by the time they're in school and ready to learn - to their dose taking juuust a little longer. The difference won't matter much to the admins, but it will to the teachers

kidzcare · Jan 5, 2017

This would cause a battle royale between myself and the admins. By my calculations, if I pushed for ME to give all the AM doses of the students with ADHD medications, I would go from a handful of daily medications to roughly 150 that need to be given before i can even hang my coat up.

Great point!

If there is a student who is frequently forgetting, you could ask a parent to have a supply at school for when they do. I have had a handful of students do this and it's worked out well. If they come to my office and say they forgot, I call a parent to confirm and then administer. Or sometimes it'll be the parent who calls after realizing it was forgotten.

MrNurse(x2), ADN · Jan 5, 2017

I love being able to help these kids, that's why I'm here. However, I'm one person, and a bit miffed that things PARENTS should be doing at home get thrown on me because it makes everyone else's (parents, teachers, admins) jobs easier.

The cycle of poverty has many causes and unfortunately poor parenting skills is a major one. I am inspired for what you are doing and trying to impact these children and possibly changing the future for some of them. I know it feels like you aren't making an impact, but you are. Giving those meds to those children may be what it takes to go against the odds and graduate from high school. Keep in the fight, it is worth it.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Jan 6, 2017

The cycle of poverty has many causes and unfortunately poor parenting skills is a major one. I am inspired for what you are doing and trying to impact these children and possibly changing the future for some of them. I know it feels like you aren't making an impact, but you are. Giving those meds to those children may be what it takes to go against the odds and graduate from high school. Keep in the fight, it is worth it.

Yep.

I have a handful of morning meds - more than afternoon meds, actually. One student never sleeps at home so therefore school is only constant for this student and the only place the student can consistently take the medication. I wish it were different, but it's not.

I also have some back-up supplies for students that occasionally forget at home. But those parents usually call/email me to let me know that the morning was crazy and that student left the house without taking it.

I have another student who refuses to take the medication at home, but is totally okay taking it at school. Parent was at wits end and asked for my help. That is a situation I can work with.

These are all exceptions rather than the rule, of course.

But...if I had to give every single morning med at my school, I'd be like Flare, with a looooong line outside my door before the first bell even rang.