School Health Assistant

Good Luck in your new position. You will enjoy the time off as you most likely follow the student population. This is a good thing if you are not looking for a lot of money. The kids will try to visit your office, thus get time out of class if you allow it. But realise that you have to not only monitor the health of your student population but also try to find out why a student may visit the office so much.

Just listen to the student, take a temp when needed and follow up on any injuries when needed. A little TLC goes a long way.

So it's summer vacation now and I made it through my first semester as a health assistant. I have to say it is probably the most frustrating job I have ever had, and I was a waitress for a few years prior to this position. It drove me crazy how often kids would take advantage of the health office and how much they would lie. I enjoyed working with kids who were legitimately sick or hurt and needed help. I enjoyed working with "frequent flyers" who just needed a little TLC. But I had a huge problem with kids coming in constantly from in-school suspension, just to get out of there. Then they would come to me and cause all kinds of disruption and make themselves throw up in the bathroom if I tried to send them out. There's no way, really, to do anything about them, because I'm not allowed to accuse them of acting even if it is is obvious that they are. And parents just fall for it every time, or either they just don't care if the kid spends half the school year "out sick" or in in-school suspension! Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going back in August for the new school year. I was told that the budget may not allow for me to be there this coming school year. If I do go back, I could use some advice on how to make things run more smoothly this year with discipline issues. Parents are just the worst. I feel like if they don't care what the kid does, how am I supposed to make a difference?

It sound like they are bored. And sounds like detention person needed a break from them.

Sounds like even as exasperated as you are with them, you are nicer to them than the detention person.

This is a team problem that requires a team approach. Did you keep statitistics on how often they came, the reason and what they did? Did you share the information with your supervisor?

Who is monitoring the detention room?

Not sure how the parents can help with this? Sounds like a school issue.

Write it up. 1 page, just the facts. Who, how often, describe impact on the health office and the children who are sick. Don't guess about the cause. Have several trusted friend read it and make sure no emotion, no blaming. Don't just send it, ask for a meeting to discuss with supervisor. If the supervisor does not suggest it, ask for a meeting with the team to plan a behavior plan for the kids. Ask for some training, perhaps with the counselors, or readings on strategies for responding to children with problem behaviors. You need a game plan on how to respond.

One link which might help: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_with_oppositional_defiant_disorder

This is a problem that we all learn to deal with, especially if you are new or a sub. There has to be standard procedures (SOP)for these frequent fliers and liars. In one school where I subbed the kids get 20 minutes to lie down if neccesary then back to class, no exceptions unless they are sick enough to go home. You have to be consistent so you don't get in trouble. You have to remember the old standard that pain is what the patient says it is. If they are showing up frequently the parents need to be notified and you tell them that they need to be seen by a doctor because they are sick so often. You cannot change behaviors on your own. Teachers need to screen frequent requests, counselors need to be involved if there is something else like bullying that is sending them to you in fear. Parents need to know and seek help. If you are a health assistant then you are under a nurse and she needs to set the tone for handling these things. Yes it is frustrating, and school nursing is not for everyone. Certain age groups can be harder for some people to deal with than others. But most of the kids are a joy and some days can be such fun. Nursing has its problems in any setting and dealing with people is a skill that takes a lot of time to develop. You will always have demanding, manipulative patients. It is a matter of what you can cope with in what setting. It gets easier in time. Good luck with the school year if you go back. You won't be the new person this year!