Things that make me grumpy

Specialties School

Published

A line up of things that should have been addressed at home (bumped arm at soccer, of course never iced it. Cut finger last night -not bleeding now) that need to be addressed before I even walk in the door.

Kids that walk in interrupting and yelling loudly about minor complaints while I'm on the phone - i simply assume that they are allowed to do this at home all the time.

Student's coming for minor complaint type things (lip balm, Lumbiderm) 5 minutes before lunch) - really. you couldn't wait?

Parents that never return paperwork, vaccines, whatever then get mad at you when you all them out on it.

Students rushing in 5 minutes past the dismissal bell with sports forms that they had ALL DAY to turn in.

What makes you grumpy???:cautious:

Teachers that don't pass along important medical information!!! I have a kid with a PICC line, mom told the teacher, teacher didn't think I needed to know this. Teacher asserted that medical information is private, F.F.S.

Fear mongering articles about head lice. I can think of a whole host of things that your special snowflake can pick up during childhood, head lice is the least of my concerns.

Classroom aides who overstep their bounds: Friday had one refuse to let a 5th grade girl come to my office until the aide called me. Aide called to ask "Do you really think that she is on her period because I don't think she is and I don't want to send her." It took everything in me to not jump through the phone. I told her that I don't make a point to track all of the 5th grades menstrual cycles and if the girl says she needs to come, you need to send her.

Sending kids to my office for a bandaid when I provide you with bandaids to avoid these frequent trips.

Sending kids to me in groups. For the love of all that is holy, do not send 7 kids over to my office all together. On a similar note, no one, expect kinders and recent transfers, need a friend to bring them to the nurse's office, please stop.

Parents sending kids with unlabeled meds in a baggie to be kept in their backpack or pocket. Obviously meds that have NO ORDER and NO reason to be at the school-in the past week I've had: tylenol, zyrtec, ritalin, adderall, citalopram, and some unknown white oval tablet that was in a pocket and the markings were rubbed off. I can see the tyenol, if you didn't know the rules, but seriously people, you would get arrested if you carried adderall and ritalin around in baggie in your pocket!

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Specializes in Sub-Acute, School Nursing, Dialysis.

Seriously could not have said it better myself!!!! The parents not cooperating about sending in physical forms, vaccine records, med orders, etc. Some will go on and on, "I've sent those in already!" Well, I've checked a thousand times and don't have them in front of me.

Teachers sending down kids for such minor or non-existing boo-boos. The preschool teacher wants me to send home every kid with a runny nose or cough. Teachers who say a student has a nosebleed and I'm thinking it's pouring out everywhere but it's really a tiny, microscopic drop.

Parents who don't think it is necessary for their child to have an inhaler or epipen at the school. Several of these students had asthma attacks last year and were actually annoyed when I said they need to leave school now or I will call EMS. I don't get this one at all.

The students who come in five minutes before school ends with an injury or illness that was actually serious, knew about it all day but waited last minute. But those paper cuts and minor boo-boos are sent to me all day long!

I know I have more but with all of that said, I do love being a school nurse!

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..
Teachers that don't pass along important medical information!!! I have a kid with a PICC line, mom told the teacher, teacher didn't think I needed to know this. Teacher asserted that medical information is private, F.F.S.

Fear mongering articles about head lice. I can think of a whole host of things that your special snowflake can pick up during childhood, head lice is the least of my concerns.

Classroom aides who overstep their bounds: Friday had one refuse to let a 5th grade girl come to my office until the aide called me. Aide called to ask "Do you really think that she is on her period because I don't think she is and I don't want to send her." It took everything in me to not jump through the phone. I told her that I don't make a point to track all of the 5th grades menstrual cycles and if the girl says she needs to come, you need to send her.

Sending kids to my office for a bandaid when I provide you with bandaids to avoid these frequent trips.

Sending kids to me in groups. For the love of all that is holy, do not send 7 kids over to my office all together. On a similar note, no one, expect kinders and recent transfers, need a friend to bring them to the nurse's office, please stop.

Parents sending kids with unlabeled meds in a baggie to be kept in their backpack or pocket. Obviously meds that have NO ORDER and NO reason to be at the school-in the past week I've had: tylenol, zyrtec, ritalin, adderall, citalopram, and some unknown white oval tablet that was in a pocket and the markings were rubbed off. I can see the tyenol, if you didn't know the rules, but seriously people, you would get arrested if you carried adderall and ritalin around in baggie in your pocket!

SO.MUCH.YES.

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When the sub sends the ENTIRE 4th grade class down to my office with stomach aches....15 minutes before lunch. COULD YOU USE SOME COMMON SENSE PLEASE?! Or the parent who gets super pissed that their child's immunization record is incomplete but it's MY fault that the original record is at the pedi they saw when they lived in Florida earlier this year, but didn't bring with them when they moved. Have you heard of a fax machine? Because we accept faxed immunization records...just sayin'....and the one that really sent me through the roof....the new teacher that sent 2 students to my office with 2 ancient first aid kits (literally, they had to have been there for years. No clue where she found them...) and had THE STUDENTS tell ME "These suck. We need new ones." Excuse me, what? I'm pretty sure Florence Nightingale herself put those first aid kits in that room, not me. Secondly, you're in 5th grade, you don't speak to me that way. And finally, what kind of first aid is this teacher expecting to do? Because the few bandaids and gauze that were in these kits are all that I will be bringing back to you in a new one...:mad:

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Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.

Playground injury:

5 kids come rushing in.

#1 kid limping, covered in leaves, tears, obviously hurt themselves somehow

#2 kid "She got hurt"

#3 kid "she fell off the slide"

#4 kid "no, johnnhy pushed her,

#5 kid "It was an accident"

Me: "I want to talk with #1 now. Where are you hurt?"

#2 "she hurt her leg"

#3 "no she landed on her head"

#4 "but then johnny stepped on her hand"

Now I'm Grumpy!! Everyone OUT!!

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Mine is teachers and parents who try to tell me how to do my job. "You should really..." or "Maybe they just need..." or "When that happened to me when I was a kid..." or "I wouldn't do that, I would...", Seriously? This is my job, I went to school for this fancy degree and they even pay me to do this. I got it. Now, could you just turn around and leave the same way you came in? It's just been one of those kid of weeks here! UGH.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

Parents sending kids with unlabeled meds in a baggie to be kept in their backpack or pocket. Obviously meds that have NO ORDER and NO reason to be at the school-in the past week I've had: tylenol, zyrtec, ritalin, adderall, citalopram, and some unknown white oval tablet that was in a pocket and the markings were rubbed off. I can see the tyenol, if you didn't know the rules, but seriously people, you would get arrested if you carried adderall and ritalin around in baggie in your pocket!

I think i'm seriously going to stitch this on to a throw pillow. I get this scenario about every other month. I have often thought to myself that if one person got arrested just one time as an example for "bringing CDS into school" - would it send a message or just land us on the front page on the Times under scrutiny??

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Specializes in School nurse.

ALL OF THIS! Plus the numbskull teacher who has the 504 and DMMP who can't be bothered to send a buddy with a 9 YO DM 1 student who ended up having a BG of 42 but will send a buddy with a student for an invisible paper cut 10 seconds before dismissal.

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Specializes in Sub-Acute, School Nursing, Dialysis.

Thought of one more but all of the above has happened to me as well. So glad I'm not alone on any of this. But I have some issues with other parents who are also nurses and will say things to me when I call that their child is sick and needs to go home, "well can't you just give them something and send them back!" No, no I can't. This is not a pharmacy, I don't have stock meds, I need a doctor's order which you should know being a nurse since you can't just give anything you want to your patients, and lastly even if I could give something that isn't fair to your child who feels miserable and to the other students who might catch what they have.

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Specializes in Psychiatric / Forensic Nursing.

Outpatient Psych, therapeutic classroom, 1st thru 5th. I send the notes home for meds and consents. They never come back so the med never starts. Then, without reading my documentation or asking me, increases the dose BECAUSE THE CHILD IS NOT RESPONDING !!!

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

I was at another school yesterday helping out a new nurse. Kiddo in the office with temp of 100.5 and vomiting.

Mom comes and see's the kid "I gave her medicine before we left the house, she should be fine."

-Well obviously not, she has a fever and is vomiting-

"Can't you just give her something here?"

-No, take your kid and go home-

Took all I had to keep my mouth shut while the nice new nurse handled it, very sweetly, I might add.

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Specializes in School Nurse.
Kids who come in with their "nurse pass" and when asked what's going on they just hand me the note. Apparently the note makes them lose their ability to speak, and activates my ability to read minds.

All the time! I have middle school kids and they need to advocate for themselves. I usually just fold my hands, put a big goofy smile on my face and stare at them. :woot:

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