The teachers are losing it!

[UpliftingRN, BSN, RN]

Hi all, hope everyone is doing the best they can during these unique times!  I have a question regarding an observation I have noticed in my school since we returned from pandemic closure.  The teachers in my school have been frequenting the nurse's office with self reported "panic attacks", "something feels off", "I think my pressure is low/high", the list goes on.  I of course under normal circumstances try to accommodate everyone however these visits have shot up drastically and have been adding even more to my plate amidst all the already overwhelming new normal we are all trying to navigate with our school nursing roles/responsibilities.  Because of this I sent out a flyer saying our responsibility as school nurses is first and foremost for the students and teachers should only visit our office for emergent symptoms only.  Apparently this caused some ruffled feathers as the previous school nurse had given free reign to the teachers to come down whenever and for whatever they wanted.  NOw I am being asked to attend a meeting with the principals and our Chief of Academics (I'm in a private school).  

My question is if any of you know any legal/RN practice act/scope of practice statement I could use to fortify my position regarding our teacher problem.  This is my first year as a school nurse so my scope has been so different here versus the hospital but it seems like I would need to be working under/reporting to a doctor in order to be assessing these teachers.  I'm under the impress that in public schools the nurses don't even take a blood pressure or anything for faculty for that very reason.  Any input/suggestions are much appreciated!!

 

[Cattz, ADN]

I am so sorry you are going through this. Especially since this is your first year. I would hope that teachers and your admin would take this into consideration. Yes, first and foremost you are there for the kids. Does your school have anything specific in their regs. or did they give you a job description?

 In my practice, I do take an occasional blood pressure. Thankfully, the teachers listen when I tell them to call the Dr. for their blood pressure. But, I have seen it discussed that if they won't- that comes with a certain amount of liability. Unfortunately, I am guessing what you are experiencing with your teachers is because of the overall stress level that we are all under. 

 I hope you can get your admins to see that you are handling so much already with COVID and your students/ staff for this specifically, and that being said. Your School Nurse Office, is that- a school nurse office. Not, a primary care clinic.

 

Good luck- Please let us know how you are doing.

Cattz

[BrisketRN, BSN, RN]

I would reach out to human resources and see if they can provide staff with any sort of mental health support through your school.  At the end of the day, the purpose of a school nurse is to serve the health needs of the children.  At times you may need to provide some first aid or emergency care for staff, but if you have a health office full of adults having panic attacks it will be much harder for you to address the necessary issues (which are increased during a pandemic).  I'd flip this around and say that admin needs to offer some sort of mental health support for staff. 

National Association of School Nurses has some great resources for the role of the school nurse.  NASN.org

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

You're in a private school so I think they (management) can shape the nursing role to an extent. It's too bad that it's interfering with your duties, especially since my experience has been that those little acts of nursing kindness can foster good relationships with the staff. (When it goes overboard, it's a disaster.)

Re: public schools and staff- I've certainly checked b/ps, and also have ended up being the occupational health triage nurse if staff get injured on the job. That was a definite expectation.