I did something wrong. Help!

[Amethya]

Please do not post on Facebook.

Everything was fine today but I got a letter about a student that is coming back from recovering from mumps. My AP asked me to ask our supervisor on what we should do, as for protocol. I didn't remember at the time but I remember I got a first letter of this student a few weeks back but didn't think on it because it just said he was tested positive and he was going to be out for two weeks. I remember thinking he was out since Harvey, so it was fine. But now I'm panicking because my supervisor is requesting the forms they sent. What should I do? I forgot and I didn't know what you're supposed to do when you get a note like this. What should I do or say to them?

[Amethya]

I could be wrong, but isn't the person who diagnoses the one who reports to the health department? If you were the first one to assess and suspect then you would be the one to contact the health dept with a suspect case, and then the health dept would follow up with the parent/child and doctor for confirmed diagnosis. Right then and there I would be calling my supervisor and the administration of the building, with answers prepared.

Nurses don't diagnose. (Unless you are advanced practice)

However, back to protocol - I'm going to ask questions so that you can learn (and I'd have to look them up in my own setting if it happened, too, and make phone calls) what do you do when someone does test positive and has been exposing people in your school? How do you notify so that those who are not vaccinated for whatever reason can be monitored and excluded appropriately to keep the rest of the population safe. Always use everything as a positive learning experience, every day. Try not to panic and keep your head high. I wish you the best, my school friend. :)

1) That's something I don't know. If I report it to my admin or to my supervisior.

2) I'm not sure. That's something I wasn't told what to do, I was just told to notify, but not how. I guess call the parents?

[Amethya]

I think OldDude said it best. If you were not trained on what and how to report certain diseases, you aren't at fault. You are not a nurse, so they cannot claim you are negligent about something you have no background knowledge in.

But if your supervisor is claiming that she has sent you material that has this information to review, and you did receive it before these letters started coming in, you most likely will be held accountable.

At this point all you can do is stay focused on work and hopefully this won't be as bad as you think

She didn't sent it, it's just there, but I didn't look at it.

[Farawyn]

No, it wasn't and I was just told this too.

But my supervisor is upset about this because I didn't report it.

I already called the Health Department and they are investigating the matter, but apparently the doctor's office didn't reported it either. So I'm not sure what's going on.

While I do report, the office that does the test and diagnosis are liable to report.

Why did the doc's office not report the mumps to the DOH?

[OldDude]

I can't because now it sounds I may get fired or in trouble for this.

My supervisior's reasoning for this is because she shared forms on our google docs and a big poster that says this. I didn't read these.

And my AP said it was my job to report it to the Health Department, not the doctor.

Until they bring you the cardboard box to clean out your desk don't worry about it. Remember, you are not a "School Nurse" and can't practice independently. Everything you do or don't do is with the supervision and responsibility of your direct supervisor. Sounds like a bunch of buffoons playing hot potato.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

We can't test, and so can't report. It's the responsibility of the private physician to report to the state. Is the question that there was a case of mumps and that wasn't shared with the school? Because that's a shared decision with your supervisor...not something I would just readily do unless designated to do so by the local health jurisdiction.

[Amethya]

While I do report, the office that does the test and diagnosis are liable to report.

Why did the doc's office not report the mumps to the DOH?

I'm not sure. The DOH is checking on that, because the first person I talked from DOH said she didn't see any lab report or anything reported from the doctor.

[SaltineQueen]

Personally, when I got the letter about the positive dx I would have called the health department just to make sure of what my next steps should be. But my training included talking about reportable diseases, so I would have known that was something that needed my attention.

At any time were you told that there was information "out there" on Google Docs that you should be reviewing periodically? Again, that was part of my training. If you didn't know it was there...

[Amethya]

Personally, when I got the letter about the positive dx I would have called the health department just to make sure of what my next steps should be. But my training included talking about reportable diseases, so I would have known that was something that needed my attention.

At any time were you told that there was information "out there" on Google Docs that you should be reviewing periodically? Again, that was part of my training. If you didn't know it was there...

Not really told to reviewing periodically, just told it was there.

I didn't know it was there, because she never told me until today.

[Amethya]

Update:

So today I got a write up. Basically it said that it was negligence in my part.

Yeah... I'm going to go find another job next year, possibly helping a school nurse next year.

This is getting ridiculous.

[OldDude]

Update:

So today I got a write up. Basically it said that it was negligence in my part.

Yeah... I'm going to go find another job next year, possibly helping a school nurse next year.

This is getting ridiculous.

Write your rebuttal, get an acknowledgement signature from your supervisor, keep a copy, and file it with your write up.

[Amethya]

Write your rebuttal, get an acknowledgement signature from your supervisor, keep a copy, and file it with your write up.

What should I write? Basically it says it was negligence in my part for not reporting it. How can I respond to this?

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

How are you meant to report if you are not the one testing the student? Not reporting to whom? Do you have access to the teachers' union?