sunscreen in school

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I know we're all on summer break, but perhaps you guys have been following the latest media frenzy: the need to have drs orders for sunscreen in school. It amazes me how the schools and school nurses are made out to be the bad guys.

What are your thoughts on the sudden push for lawmakers to make sunscreen legal in schools with a parental note only? It would save me a certain amount of aggrivation, but also creates its own issues.

I think that i would require that students provide their own sunscreen and not share. Then the next question becomes where it would be stored. I don't know about you guys, but i certainly don't have room for 800 bottles of coppertone. Who would be responsible for ensuring that students are actually using it? Is a teacher with 25 students liable to ensure that all students are wearing it (if they have it) should they go out for recess? How about the nurse with 800+ kids? Does it open a pandora's box for other otc medications to be administered with simply a note?

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

You have got to be absolutely kidding me. At camp, I used to just go around with a big bottle of high-SPF and try to hit all the campers. Way to put up a barrier for cancer prevention! Is this because of the parabens in most brands?

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

it's more so because litigious minded parents have sued districts into a police state where common sense has been overdriven with nanny state laws. All you need is one kid to have some sort of dermatitis from a school supplied sunscreen and trust me, parents will be all over it!

[100kids, BSN, RN]

You have got to be absolutely kidding me. At camp, I used to just go around with a big bottle of high-SPF and try to hit all the campers. Way to put up a barrier for cancer prevention! Is this because of the parabens in most brands?

In my state as an RN doing just this could lose you your nursing license. It is out of the scope of Nursing and considered dispensing medication without a prescription. These are the sad, unintended consequences of the lawyer happy times we live in.

In my school I would love the ability to have a set of standard items we use (and purchase) including sunscreen, bug repellant, neosporin, anbesol, cough drops, etc. that parents could sign off on me using in school. But I am in a small school where it would be easier to keep track of than other larger schools.

[SchoolNurseTXstyle]

Where is PARENTAL responsibility in all of this?

[Jolie, BSN]

Generally speaking, I think it is unfortunate when lawmakers propose legislation as a knee-jerk reaction to a situation, especially when that situation involves education, healthcare, or some other facet of society that most lawmakers know little about. While well intended, legislation that suddenly allows OTC products to be sent to, and administered at school without parental and/or physician consent is likely to have all kinds of negative, unintended consequences.

It would be far better to convene a panel of school and healthcare personnel to make recommendations, but why then would we need lawmakers? :)

[Andy Droid]

"but perhaps you guys have been following the latest media frenzy: the need to have drs orders for sunscreen in school"

I actually had to google that to make sure it wasn't a joke. (haven't heard of this before)

Wow... just..... wow.

[photomom]

I understand requiring parental consent, but why a drs order or sunscreen?!

[Jolie, BSN]

I understand requiring parental consent, but why a drs order or sunscreen?!

Because it is required by state law, in some places. Sunscreen is an OTC medication and must be treated the same as Motrin, Benadryl or any other OTC that may be used in school. If state law or the Nurse Practice Act requires physician consent for administration in school, the district has no choice but to comply.