School Nurse-Cough Drops

[tgray152001]

I am a school nurse at a private/boarding school and our students think that cough drops are candy and if I don't give them a cough drop for a nonexistent cough then they start making up other symptoms. This is my first year as a school nurse and I was wondering how you handled situations like this. I don't feel the need to hand out a cough drop to every kid that walks through my door saying they have a cough.

[Eleven011]

Hey Tgray! Come on over to the school nurse section! We are under the specialties tab. We talk about everything school nursing, even cough drops! And no we don't hand them out like candy!

[Flatline, BSN, RN]

Not a school nurse but whenever my kids start this kind of thing I make them have some skin in the game.

I do not know what you can do but if someone had a cough and was ill at school maybe taking their lunch break or recess with you would be an option. They are sick after all. You might find people get much better really fast if you turn their perceived reward into a neutral at best.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Temp check, salt water gargle, and hydration. 16 oz red solo cup of nurse water. I don't even keep cough drops at this point in the clinic.