Wait for info or make the call?

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

What do you do when you get 2nd or 3rd hand information that a student is being worked up for something? This week I have gotten a note that was given to the teacher to keep student out of sun because student had bloodwork to r/o diabetes(student exhibits NO sings of diabetes i.e. thirst, frequent bathroom visits) and another note to send work because another student will be home for 3 days having an ambulatory EEG. If the teachers didn't send me copies of these note i'd have no idea of anything going on with these kids. Should i wait a little while then call to follow up or should i wait until the parent informs the school or should i call now and tell them to follow up with me once they have more info?

ffrn

[Gampopa]

Why would te student need to be kept out of the sun? Doesn't make sense to me. When I get wind of things going on with my kids I either ask the teacher and if they don't know give a call home to find out what's going on.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

the parents are a bit odd... for the record, this is the same parent that wanted me to rifle through her kid's poop after he swallowed the quarter.

https://allnurses.com/school-nursing/ridiculous-request-456085.html

[nurse_tate]

I usually wait until the student comes in with s/s especially if the parents seem a bit odd. I have had students have surgery and return to school without any information for me. If I know a student has on going issues and hear something I will call to check on him/her. I will also call if I notice they are out for extended periods of time.

[Jolie, BSN]

If the parents are asking for any kind of accomodation or monitoring at school, then I'll call and ask if they are willing to share information with me. I've never had a parent unwilling to fill me in.

The teachers appreciate it. Most of our teachers have limited knowledge of medical conditions. Couple that with information from a parent who is not able to offer a clear explanation of their child's possible condition, and they get nervous. I can often clear up misunderstandings and unnecessary fears.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

I usually just call. I'm just nosy that way. I got word that one of my kids has mono and strep throat--I bet he feels pretty wretched. So I just called his mom and chatted her up for a few minutes. Found out he has indeed been to the doctor, got the abx, and the doctor note. Everything in order, so I told her I hope he can come back to school on Monday--in other words, don't send him back until he feels a little better.

One of my diabetics has been having a lot of highs this week. She uses a pump and was almost 400 yesterday. 30 min later she was 300, but she felt bad so I called mom and she went home. Today she was absent. Being the nosy-pants that i am, I called her mom. Turns out that after the child went home yesterday she has had about 4 extreme lows! So mom was on her way to the clinic to have that checked out. Glad I asked!

On the other hand, my other little diabetic girl(6yo) told me that she couldn't wait to go home because they were flying to Mexico tonight. Hmmm...not out of the realm of possibility, the parents are both from Mexico...She had all the details, how dad would take them to the airport and drop them off to catch their flight...So Nurse Nosy, you know I *had* to call. Mom was confused--she had no idea what this girl was talking about! Glad I called!

Always ready to dig up "the rest of the story"...

[SchoolNurseBSN]

I always call and ask. I don't like suprises! I think when parents write medical info on notes, they assume everything is taken care of. It never crosses their mind to let the nurse know directly. Sometimes, I feel other staff know more medical info about the kids than I do!

[Nurse_Ziba]

Same here. I prefer to call and ask. :)