Teachers and Ice

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

I get the same thing. Had a 3 day old injury that the kid wanted ice for. I try to do the whole education thing, "ice is only good for 24 hrs, yada yada yada". It does no good.

I also get them sending me every invisible paper cut or scraggly cuticle for a bandaid. I only give bandaids to open cuts. I have a very limited budget and I am not allowed to purchase clinic items on my own, so if I gave a bandaid for every imagined injury I would run out before Christmas! They just don't get it.

Keepstanding, ASN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

hi rosie....yes i have the same dillema in my elem. school. i too only give ice packs for swelling and some redness. all others get the "magic" wet paper towel ! i have no tollerance for teachers who want various things from the clinic, just to shut the student up. this is irresponsible as i see it.

praiser :heartbeat

SchoolNurseBSN · Mar 5, 2009

It is irresponsible. It is also disrespectful - as if our assessment which is based on our hard earned education is insignificant. I would make copies out of nursing textbooks or journals and show them that your decision is based on evidence-based protocol.

tntrn, ASN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

I am not a school nurse or a teacher, but I will bet big bucks that the teachers are being told the must do something for any and all complaints, regardless of how big or small, in order to prevent a lawsuit down the road. Political correctness gone awry, or would it be unintended consequences?

SchoolNurseBSN · Mar 5, 2009

I understand that reasoning. However, all they need to do is refer to the nurse and their job is done. If something goes awry.......the burden is on the nurse.

cowgirlBSN · Mar 5, 2009

I get this a ton as well. Everyone thinks they need an ice pack for every tiny injury. I "educate" on when an icepack is needed and have them hang out for less than 5 minutes to cool down. They come in immediately after they have gotten hurt instead of waiting a couple minutes to see if the pain goes away. I do get a lot of "my teacher told me I need an ice pack" just after I explained they don't need one. It's one of those things I guess....

SchoolNurseBSN · Mar 5, 2009

I do get a lot of "my teacher told me I need an ice pack" just after I explained they don't need one. It's one of those things I guess....

I hate those words "my teacher told me_____________________" Then, you are the bad guy when you tell them no!

My absolute favorite is "my teacher told me I have a fever." My first question is "Does your teacher have a thermometer in her room?" 9 times out 10 the kid is a cool 98.6!!!

pugmomrn · Mar 6, 2009

i'll hop onto the ice pack bandwagon with you!!!

i am sick and tired of handing out ice packs!

or, having kids walk right up to my freezer to grab an ice pack for themselves.

or, having teachers grab the ice pack for a kid--- do we think we don't need to assess or log injuries?

a lot of the time, i say "do you get ice packs everytime you bump your ___ at home? just rub it and it'll feel better in a minute!"

we use sponges inside of baggies. i love it when you get 2 or 3 girls in at a time, requesting pink ice packs. (i give them green).

they also look at me funny when i hand them 1/2 of a sponge in a baggie-- i say "it was just a little owie, you get a little ice pack!"

then, not 5 minutes after the kid leaves with his ice pack, you see him running full-speed down the hall or at recess!

as i write this, i have a kid on the couch resting after lunch and recess with a "tummy ache". how many people walked by and said "oh- are you sick??" :banghead:

yesterday, i had a teacher send not one, not two, but five students down all at once feeling "hot". they fed off of each others' symptoms till they all had headaches and stomach aches and sore throats. this was at 2:30pm. i triaged them and sent them off to recess. boy was she upset when i told them that they were all well enough to last through the day!

ps- i came to allnurses today to ask you what you use for ice packs-- it's time to make out the classroom supply lists for next year. i do not have real ice available to me. the sponges are bulky and hard. i'm thinking of freezing paper towels in a baggie. not very fashionable, is it??

whew. it's friday.

morte, LPN, LVN · Mar 6, 2009

I am so tired of teachers demanding that I give ice packs. I know it seems minor but not every injury needs ice! The other day a teacher went to the principal. He walked in here while I was on the phone with a parent, went to my freezer and got a pack. I went to him later, thinking someone was hurt. He said "No, I took care of it." I found out later it was for a child who just left my office. No red marks, no bruising, no swelling. I just get so tired of it. I stay very consistent as to when I give ice. This cuts way down on another excuse to get out of class.
That's all, just needed to get that off my chest to someone who can understand!! Thank you.

you might try explaining to the principal, that he is not entitled to make that decision for any child but his own....and if he sticks to "principaling", you will stick to nursing....

bergren · Mar 7, 2009

Can you go back and account for the number of "ice packs" you gave out or were asked to give out since the beginning of the year? Can you tell which were legit and which were not? Can you make a nice pie or bar chart and send to the prinicpal or staff, and frame it as XX% of students who were sent for ice packs missed XX minutes of class apeice, amounting to XXXX mintues of missed instruction time since September? Also as a nurse, you are quite concerned that the XXX otherwise well children were unnecessarily exposed to children in the office being seen for infectious disease. And the cost of the uncecceary ice packs = $$$.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Mar 13, 2009

I'm so sick of making Ice packs ! I through so many in just one day ! No more giving ice packs for minor things ! no more !

The worse is when I go to lunch and I find that 10 ice packs are missing, because teachers went in my freezer and handed out ice packs.