Teachers undermining your decision/going behind your back and sending kids home

lovely07 · Feb 23, 2017

Thank you, I will do that. I am also starting to address each teacher directly about what they are doing.. so we'll see how that works. I have made some enemies. What can i do? Oh well...

MrNurse(x2), ADN · Feb 23, 2017

i tried to get admin involved and basically the only advice i got was that i need to address the teachers one by one myself.

That is not administration assistance, this is passing the buck. I am amazed this is a thing, my teachers had to do this before I was their first nurse and they NEVER do this. How rude and condescending. Those teachers are being selfish, they "don't want to get sick" and feel that they come before those children's education. Sorry you have to deal with this.

tining, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2017

Principal's advice is a hard pill to swallow, and also one that will make you stronger. I had a nurse manager that handled inter-employee issues this way. If the meeting did not go well between colleagues then she would mediate.

You can emphasize their liability, share resources on how not to get sick, and finally if this does not stop 'we will need to meet with administration.' Be good cop first. We are a team blah, blah, blah.

cooties_are_real · Feb 23, 2017

Here at my high school, I have not had much of this. Only a handful of time do I remember. The nurse that trained me was a tough cookie and had most of the campus lined out. My issue is the students calling/texting someone to pick them up. Most of the time after they have been told they were being picked up, the parent will then tell them to come to my office. At this point, I tell the student there is nothing I can do since they have taken care of the issue themselves. No excused absence for you.

Amethya · Feb 23, 2017

Do you have a school nurse manager for the nurses in your district? I had some issues in the beginning of the year and while we are not nurses, but medical assistants, we have this school manager for our district that if we have an issue or anything, you can call her and she will do anything in her power to help you. And the school does listen to her. If you do not, then you need to get a meeting with the Admin and tell them straight up that this is not acceptable and that they need to help you in this situation and you need to emphasis completely about the liability issue this can happen if the students do not come to you. If they are not willing to help, then you can try to go higher up and ask the superintendent for help.

allnurses Guide · Feb 24, 2017

Hi all,
I am at the moment very frustrated with the teachers in my school. Just a little background, I am the sole nurse with no help or aid, to a school of 801 elementary school students (Grades 1-6).
I understand that we are in flu season at this moment, but I can not send every kid home! Teachers have gone behind my back to send kids home during my lunch. I have had kids sent up, packed up and ready to go, with a note from the teacher saying "send them home." They have gotten nasty with me.
For example, today a student and his father came in. The student had a toothache with some mild swelling to his face. He said that the student had a dentist appointment today but he would like him to try and stay in school today since he missed so much school this year. The student agreed to try but also that he would come if it was uncomfortable.
Well, the teacher called me, screaming that this was ridiculous. How could a parent possibly send their kid to school with a toothache! And I said listen, if he's in pain and wants to go home send him down. I hear nothing from that teacher for the next 1.5 hours, only to find out that the school psychologist and teacher are calling the parent with her cell phone! She comes down to me saying that the dad is not answering the phone call and asks if I have a different number to call. I call the parent, dad picks up, and I ask him to pick the student up. The school psychologist then takes the phone and proceeds to give him advice about why he can not be in school.
I'm just thinking...what am I? Some joke? Am I just being insecure about this?? These are just one of many instances where some teachers have gone behind my back to get the kid home! Any advice??
I've also gotten requests from teachers to send letters home because the one student won't stop wearing his favorite jeans every day. They thought it was gross and unhygienic so the nurse should get involved. Not for nothing, but we do work in a district where a lot of these students get reduced or free lunches... what if the parents just can't afford nice new pants?! The pants looked perfectly fine to me and did not smell!
Having a really tough first year......

So True story when my son was in 2nd grade we stopped at a Star bucks to get warm drinks on a chilly morning (Said Star Bucks located inside a grocery store) Getting out of the car my son slammed his finger in the door. So here I am with in the grocery store with a kids with a rapidly swelling finger and only 20 minutes to get him to school and me to my nursing job. I bought Ice, Band aids and children's ibuprophen. took him to school and signed permission for the motrin Q 6. Asked the school to call me if there were any problems. _ I actually called them to see how he was mid day and they said he was fine asked for Motrin at lunch time which they gave him. Of course this is the kid who is now 15, 5'8" and 185lbs and Champion Wrestler.

Hppy

Windchaser22 · Feb 24, 2017

Attendance is also tied to funding. Like Dude said, document your discussion with admin. If funding is lost due to attendance, that's not your circus.

BunnyBunnyBSNRN, ASN, BSN · Feb 24, 2017

This is the email I sent to my principal, assistant principal, and nurse manager: (nothing has changed, and in fact, I think it's gotten worse)

First, I would like to say that I know how much our teachers care about our kids. It is obvious in their passion for teaching them and taking care of them.

With that being said, I would like to address what seems to be a growing issue â€“ teachers calling/texting/emailing parents when the child is not feeling well. I understand they are concerned about the child being at school while they are sick and want what is best for everybody however, bypassing the nurse is a disservice to everybody. When the parent arrives at school and says they are picking up a sick child, the front office contacts me; if I haven't seen that child then there is minor confusion. On the part of the parent, they may believe the absence will be excused because the child was sentâ€ home however, it shouldn't be coded as a NRâ€ (nurse referral).

The solution is to have the child sent to the clinic to be seen. If, in my opinion, the student should not be at school, I am more than happy to call the parent and have the child picked up â€“ in the case of fever, vomiting (case-by-case â€“ we have some kids who can vomit on command), and/or diarrhea, not only will the absence that day be excused (NRâ€), but also the day after without a parent note since the nurse sent the child home.

Thank you for your assistance with this.

Supernrse01, BSN · Feb 24, 2017

I've said on other similar posts that, if you, the school nurse, are not involved in any incident associated with student health, your principal and associated staff are professionally and personally responsible for any negative outcomes. My principal is aware of this and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. This problem does not exist on my campus. If, after you inform your principal of this liability, he/she is ok with it, then you can't do anything about it; not your problem or concern after that.

This exactly! I had to tell a teacher, one year, that since she felt it was totally fine to continue going against my judgment call then she could continue to be the nurse for this particular student. I told her I would begin delegating the care of this particular student to her, which included answering to the parents, admin, powers that be, if something went wrong. She quickly stopped second-guessing my decisions.