Tired of being "the bad guy"...

[caretakerofkids]

I am tired of being the "bad guy" and I just want to keep our kids safe!  Are the rest of you getting negative feedback from parents when you have to call to tell them their child needs to quarantine due to being a close contact of a positive student?  A lot of the parents are great and understanding, but I have just as many lately that complain about how their child "is hardly ever around that kid" (the one that is positive) or that they have to work and this is hurting their job, and "this is just stupid!  My child is fine!  You all are over-reacting!"  

I have heard every excuse in the book as to why their child shouldn't have to quarantine, and I've been lied to and cursed at over this.  I try to patiently explain that we are following Department of Health and CDC guidelines, and I am very sorry, but we have to follow those rules for everyone's safety.  I would rather have a bunch of parents mad at me for "overreacting" than to not do enough and someone get critically sick with COVID!  I am in a very small town and there is so much drama!  My co-workers and I do our best in identifying close contacts.  We interview teachers, students to the best of our ability (keeping the name of the positive COVID person out of it) and even watch the security camera videos to see what happened in certain situations in order to identify those close contacts.

I've had parents try to talk us into letting their child return from quarantine early with a negative test, though we've been told by the health department that a negative test doesn't get a close contact out of quarantine!  10 days is our district's minimum quarantine for close contacts.  I DO feel for the parents and I DO know it's taking a toll on everyone!  I am sympathetic and I DO care, some days just take the wind out of my sails.  I'm trying not to take it personally.  I'm not the only one getting backlash - all of administration is!   Here's hoping we can put this COVID mess behind us as soon as possible!  

Thank you for letting me vent!!  I knew you all could probably understand my frustration!!

[KeeperOfTheIceRN, ADN]

55 minutes ago, BrisketRN said:

This is so frustrating.  I had a teacher who wasn't wearing a mask.  A student snuck a photo and sent to their mom.  Mom emailed it to me.  I ran up there ENRAGED.  Have you discussed with admin?

Yes, and honestly, my admin is extremely supportive and has had no problems discussing things with the teachers. I'm just so tired of them doing their own thing "when no one is around". I move around a lot this year to minimize unnecessary visits so I'm popping into classrooms more frequently than my admin is so I see it more. 

[CrazySchoolNurse, LPN]

1 hour ago, BrisketRN said:

This is so frustrating.  I had a teacher who wasn't wearing a mask.  A student snuck a photo and sent to their mom.  Mom emailed it to me.  I ran up there ENRAGED.  Have you discussed with admin?

It sounds like we all are experiencing the same symptoms.  "Stupidity and ignorance of others"   

I recently received an email from a student regarding on of their classes, students won't wear masks and teacher does not enforce the mask wearing policy because he doesn't wear one either.  In the email she also tells me that he is telling the kids that he is going to add more desks to the room because he has students that rotate in and out of a flex space due to not being enough room in the classroom.  Because I am the first person in the building daily prior to opening up I went to the said classroom to count the desks to ensure that none were added.  No desks were added, but what I did find was the desk were not in their marked out spots.  Instead of the desks all facing the front of the room he had taken it upon himself to rearrange his room without permission and regardless of policy.  There were desks right next to each other, facing each other, some went one direction and some were the opposite in the center of the room was a small circle of desks.  Normally I would be the one who approaches the teachers, but this time I left it up my principal.  Needless to say by the end of homeroom the desk were all put back in proper order.  He was given a verbal and written reprimand since he is a repeat offender.  

When I worked at the hospital the saying was "You can't fix stupid, but we can sedate it" Unfortunately that doesn't go over well with being a School nurse!! 

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

On 4/27/2021 at 10:56 AM, CrazySchoolNurse said:

 

When I worked at the hospital the saying was "You can't fix stupid, but we can sedate it" Unfortunately that doesn't go over well with being a School nurse!! 

Yup!