S/s x 3, 4, 7 days??

[Mavnurse17, BSN, RN]

What do you all do when a student comes in and tells you they've had a headache, stomach pain, musculoskeletal injury for many days (sometimes a week!) and have not seen a doctor?

I encounter so many students that tell me they've felt sick or have had pain following an injury for days. Part of me thinks "so what makes this a problem now?" but the other part of me really likes my license and wants to CMA ?

[nursetlm, ADN]

Ask them if they've told their parent- offer Tylenol or Motrin.

[tining, BSN, RN]

"What did your mother say" If answer is: see your school nurse = asses and report to parent. If answer is: I haven't told her = assess and report to parent.

[EnoughWithTheIce]

4 minutes ago, tining said:

"What did your mother say" If answer is: see your school nurse = asses and report to parent. If answer is: I haven't told her = assess and report to parent.

Yep, this!!

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

16 hours ago, tining said:

"What did your mother say" If answer is: see your school nurse = asses and report to parent. If answer is: I haven't told her = assess and report to parent.

Yeppers.

And I do say "So why is this a problem now?" We do not have any standing orders for anything so I usually call a parent ostensibly to see if they can bring pain relief but really to validate the story.

I usually get one of two responses: Either "I'm on my way, s/he really did X to Y at Z location," OR "S/he is fulla baloney."

[tining, BSN, RN]

27 minutes ago, ruby_jane said:

Yeppers.

And I do say "So why is this a problem now?" We do not have any standing orders for anything so I usually call a parent ostensibly to see if they can bring pain relief but really to validate the story.

I usually get one of two responses: Either "I'm on my way, s/he really did X to Y at Z location," OR "S/he is fulla baloney."

Yeppers back at you ❤️

[BunnyBunnyBSNRN, ASN, BSN]

I ask the student what mom/dad/grandma (whoever) said about it. If they tell me they haven't told an adult at home, I point out then it's probably not a big deal if they "forgot" to tell someone about it.

Before anyone gets mad about my apparent lack of sympathy, please understand this is dependent on the kid. A FF presenting with sx for "several days" is way different than a kid I never see.

[SandIsMyGlitterRN, BSN, RN]

19 hours ago, tining said:

"What did your mother say" If answer is: see your school nurse = asses and report to parent. If answer is: I haven't told her = assess and report to parent.

Agree!

[Mavnurse17, BSN, RN]

Yes usually the first thing I ask is "what did your mom say?" About half say they haven't told anyone at home, the other half say something to the effect of "mom told me to come to school and see how I feel."

I just wondered if anyone allows them to rest or takes any other action (like calling parent, making a medical referral, etc). Of course if the kid is febrile or has exclusion criteria or really looks like they need the rest, I'll provide comfort care/intervention. But I've heard of nurses that flat out don't allow them to miss class if it's been an ongoing issue that they're just now reporting.

My district currently doesn't have standing orders for OTC meds.

I work with high school kiddos so I try to emphasize that I'm not a primary care provider and can't prescribe meds or treatment...they need to see their MD.

[arlingtonnurse]

I will also pull out my pain scale chart and ask them about trends... if they have had pain for a week but it's getting gradually better I am much less worried and tell them as much.

[tining, BSN, RN]

I don't always assess and report. It's the kids who have had an issue for more than 3 days and an adult is not aware.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

I always make the parent aware, that is your CYA. I tell them they are missing class because of this. Being private, I have parents who want to keep asses in classes, except for vacations, of course.