"The Nurse doesn't really DO anything" -Middle school students

Specialties School

Published

  • Specializes in Telemetry, Orthopedic, M Surg, School RN.

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My littles think I can fix anything, the middle schoolers are annoyed I won't send them home every day/give them cough syrup/let them go on a field trip when their temp is 101F, and the high schoolers already know the rules and just pop in to ask for very specific things (meds and the form was submitted first day of school, ice for swelling, temp check) or trust me when I check something out for them. It's that age. You couldn't pay me to go back to middle school!

ihavealltheice

198 Posts

I don't work in the same district as my kids' school, but we're in the same conference. This past fall, we were facing each other at a cross country meet. One of my 8th grade students told my daughter that I do nothing for them. That stung, but then my 6th grade son annihilated him in the race, so that made me feel better ?

"nursy", RN

289 Posts

Specializes in ICU, ER, Home Health, Corrections, School Nurse.

Don't feel bad, I had a student ask me how come I wasn't a REAL nurse, you know like the ones in the hospital???? ? But since I've been there and done that.....don't really care, I'll gladly hand out band aids and ice paks, and occasionally save a life like when I have to call 911 for the asthmatic who can't breathe but parents can't be bothered to provide inhaler! It's all good!

kidzcare

3,393 Posts

3 hours ago, Cas1in72 said:

Middle school students are beyond description. . They believe you" dont do anything" because you arent doing what they want you to. IE: sending them home.

Yep.

I have this conversation every year with the camp counselors in the summer. Most of the counselors are former campers and every year, one of them will say something like "I love the nurses this year! When I was a camper, the nurses were mean!"

I always ask them "Were they really mean or were they just not giving you what you wanted?" and every time, they've had a light bulb moment.

Flare, ASN, BSN

4,431 Posts

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

Spot on everyone. To me "the nurse doesn't do anything" translates directly to "the nurse didn't send me home for my malingering". I have even taken to asking the students what their expectation was that i'd do for them when they come in for certain c/o and i usually get a blank stare and a shrug.

tining, BSN, RN

1,071 Posts

Specializes in School Nurse.
5 minutes ago, Flare said:

Spot on everyone. To me "the nurse doesn't do anything" translates directly to "the nurse didn't send me home for my malingering". I have even taken to asking the students what their expectation was that i'd do for them when they come in for certain c/o and i usually get a blank stare and a shrug.

Exactly.

"nursy", RN

289 Posts

Specializes in ICU, ER, Home Health, Corrections, School Nurse.
1 hour ago, Flare said:

i usually get a blank stare and a shrug.

Don't you just love "the shrug" ...

kunaspud

76 Posts

Someone on here somewhere said they asked kids what they do at home for this. (whatever "this" is) I had a kiddo in who said they were doing nothing for it at home. I told him we would continue the course of treatment.

I laughed, he didn't.

RNTadaaaa

98 Posts

Specializes in Telemetry, Orthopedic, M Surg, School RN.

My fellow Nurses, Thank you so much.

I don't know why I let that statement get under my skin when I heard it. I have tweens living in my house, surely I know how irrational they can be!. ?

Thank you for the experiences shared and encouragement. It really helps to see that we experience a lot of the same things.

Specializes in School nursing.

Middle school students: love and dislike them all at once ;).

I once told a MS frequent flier was was upset at me not sending them home that I got my job because I was the meanest nurse that applied. (This was a student that understands and appreciates sarcasm and she laughed and then went back to class.).

I did have one student ask me if I'd been a real nurse before I worked here. I stared at them and said I'm a real nurse now and they apologized, saying "I didn't mean it that way." Meh.

MS students are of the "I need you to help me. Now." Their patience is non-existent. When I blink at them at tell them their body knows what to do, they are not pleased. But somehow, I still get all the waves in the hallway.

And for every middle student student on their period I am a rock-star.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Some school nurses DONT do much. As part of RN school I had to get school nursing experience and some of them take the job because they can get away with doing very little. The nurses I followed excitedly told me “school nursing is where it’s at!” Because “we can slip out early and get a long lunch break” etc. they didn’t seem very knowledgeable.

KCLSEA

59 Posts

Currently I am a teacher who is wanting to switch to the nursing profession. I hear comments like these ALL the time. I remind students that the school nurses are doing EVERYTHING that they can for the students. You also have to understand their ages...they are not very observant at this age, and they often comment on issues that they do not truly understand yet.

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