School Project

[kidzcare]

Hey coworkers! I am doing a school project and looking for other school nurse insight!

I am doing a project on student stress and anxiety (focused on junior high). I'm really excited to be researching this topic.

I think so much stress starts in junior high- the more demanding academic load, extra curriculars, changing peer relations. Not to mention some kids have rough home lives. How they learn to handle it now will affect how they handle it for the rest of their lives!

So I'm wondering how other SNs handle these situations?How do you guys handle kids who come to you with stress/anxiety? Do you send to the social worker? Talk them through some stuff? Let them rest?

I'm putting together a pamphlet about causes of stress (like the ones I mentioned above) and how to deal with them. I know I'll have in there talking to an adult (the SN, the counselor, a parent- if the parent is not an additional stressor), proper sleeping/eating habits, deep breathing techniques, exercise, ect. Any other suggestions?

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

What a great idea. Middle school destroyed me, went from an A student to a C student overnight. My insight is a little skewed, as I only have 45 middle school students. IPR in this group is the biggest stressor that my students report, but even that is unlike public schools. Outright bullying is monitored very closely, dating is not allowed and staff oversight is very tight, but the small numbers also concentrates the clique dynamic and new students find it difficult to assimilate. Academic stressors are present, but small numbers in the classes allow for better opportunities for assistance. I talk to the students who come to me with anxiety, letting them lead the dialog. We are not a Christian school, but most kids are either practicing Christian or practicing Jewish, so it is also an option with most to pray. I have found prayer seems to allow the student to find that balance they need to return to class. Most want to call home, but we have a policy to only allow that as a last resort so the child can learn independance, something I see most anxious kids aren't allowed at home, corollary? I think more than that. I have found most anxious kids come from anxious parents, not always, but enough that you can predict when you meet the parent first, which I often do here. Hope there is something in there you can glean from. Good luck,

[Farawyn]

I let them rest. We sometimes talk. Sometimes I escalate. It really comes to feeling it out. Also, in MS a kid is verbal enough to ask for what they need. It may not be the best thing for them, but at least they get to voice it, and maybe have some part in the decision making, which is huge.

[kidzcare]

Thanks! This project has been pretty fun for me. In my next semester I get to teach my lesson plan and this is something I think can be really relevant to this age group!!

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

The MS office has a rocking chair it is amazing the number of kids who use it. I dont havfe one but I do have chair on wheels and sometimes they just scoot around and burn off some energy

[kidzcare]

The MS office has a rocking chair it is amazing the number of kids who use it. I dont havfe one but I do have chair on wheels and sometimes they just scoot around and burn off some energy

I would worry a bit about students rocking too violently if they were upset. Just today I had a student who was in my office (for holding, which I disagree with anyway) who was upset and acting unpredictably. I was nervous she was going to get violent. Her dad was here in a meeting with administrators and I know they called the police, either while he was still here or just after he left, so he must have been violent or threatening. This poor girl is overrun with stress/anxiety and this man is her only guardian and example. She stormed out of my office after being told to stay in here several times. She told me "My dad says I don't have to do anything that no one at the school can tell me what to do!!" She had been yelling and cursing before that.

My heart is breaking for her.