Why do teachers

Farawyn · Oct 5, 2018

I had one today who was coming a lot of times for vomiting (not witnessed) and pale (looks normal white kid pink color), but he's okay! I swear...

Ahahhahaaaaa! This cracked me up. "White kid pink color"!!!

Amethya · Oct 5, 2018

Ahahhahaaaaa! This cracked me up. "White kid pink color"!!!

Well from the 3 emails from teachers and the student, he looked pale, but he looks like a normal pink white kid. Pale would be he looks green or very bad pale. He's fine, his mom even said he does this because he wants to go home to play with his nerf gun.

kidzcare · Oct 5, 2018

Nope, can't do anything else...school nursing is where you land when you've failed out of every other nursing opportunity and there are no used car sales or telemarketing positions available.

I was actually just walking down the street one day and they asked me to step in to work in the health office. There's no real skill to it so I just volunteer my time and put on about 3 bandages a day while playing Angry Birds on my phone.

Farawyn · Oct 5, 2018

I was actually just walking down the street one day and they asked me to step in to work in the health office. There's no real skill to it so I just volunteer my time and put on about 3 bandages a day while playing Angry Birds on my phone.

I knew it.

rzyzzy · Oct 5, 2018

I like when I get to write "Student presented with no tissues and no evidence of bleeding, advised student to keep fingers out of nose"

I've never had the opportunity to put "epistaxis digitorum " in a nursing note, and I really do feel deprived!

For some reason, I remembered that term from nursing school & there are probably thousands of terms I could have retained in place of it - but that one stuck & I know my opportunities to use it are extremely limited in my current role.

Amethya · Oct 8, 2018

I knew it.

We all got our jobs like this. I was just randomly working at a store and someone just said, hey you come here, kidnapped me and plopped me in the office.

Send help.

Bonstemps, EMT-P · Oct 8, 2018

I imagine some, if not many, people are outside the boundaries of their comfort zones when it comes to an ill, bleeding, or malaised person. As a paramedic, in almost every setting I've worked people would send people to me in various states of illness or injury - even if it wasn't a medical setting.

You are the medical provider on site/campus; thats who I would trust when faced with something outside of my comfort zone. I don't see this as a bad thing, and I don't empathize with the frustration, but I am sure the frequency and paperwork is aggravating.

100kids, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2018

I imagine some, if not many, people are outside the boundaries of their comfort zones when it comes to an ill, bleeding, or malaised person. As a paramedic, in almost every setting I've worked people would send people to me in various states of illness or injury - even if it wasn't a medical setting.
You are the medical provider on site/campus; thats who I would trust when faced with something outside of my comfort zone. I don't see this as a bad thing, and I don't empathize with the frustration, but I am sure the frequency and paperwork is aggravating.

Remember they also send us the kid with gum stuck in their hair or who can't get a knot in their shoelaces untied so the frustration comes from this being one of many ridiculous reasons are sent to our offices. It's a good thing we are all just sitting around, with nothing to do waiting for someone to come in.

BunnyBunnyBSNRN, ASN, BSN · Oct 9, 2018

I knew it.

I wandered into a school when I was lost on the wrong side of town. Since I have RBF and didn't mind telling a kid who was just sitting in the office complaining about a stomachache to go back to class, they took me into the nurse's office and told me to stay. Being too lost and disoriented to figure out how to get home, I stayed. (shrug)

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.

Bonstemps, EMT-P · Oct 9, 2018

I understand. It's the same as how EDs get people with stubbed toes and how the ambulance is sometimes a taxi. My point was maybe it's part of our field? I don't want your time burdened by silliness but I suppose I've accepted it as part of how the job works. Again - full awareness that I am not a school nurse and have only acted as a responder and ER assist.

Amethya · Oct 9, 2018

I imagine some, if not many, people are outside the boundaries of their comfort zones when it comes to an ill, bleeding, or malaised person. As a paramedic, in almost every setting I've worked people would send people to me in various states of illness or injury - even if it wasn't a medical setting.
You are the medical provider on site/campus; thats who I would trust when faced with something outside of my comfort zone. I don't see this as a bad thing, and I don't empathize with the frustration, but I am sure the frequency and paperwork is aggravating.

Sure for you it's small, but when you have so much paperwork and deadlines to hit before Christmas break, you get a bit upset that they send you things that are not emergent. Yes, Pink Eye, that's something I worry about, but send me a kid because they "threw up" but it was just phlegm they spit out, and I'll be like, why?

I have 159 immunizations to input by November 1st (It was more last year... trust me), and I barely got some of them because my secretary left and I have to do things manually, by going through each file, one by one. I have screenings to do on 560 students by February, but my audiometer is used by another MA, so my screenings have to wait. All while I have 10 or so kids (it was more before, trust me....) come in during my day for meds and other rando stuff.

Don't get us wrong, we ALL love our jobs. It's super fun and the kids are amazing, it's a bit stressful at times, but it's a fun job. It just can be stressful.

I'm not being rude or anything, but I don't also understand why the Gen nursing people come here and comment? I'm not a SN, I know but I work at a school like one, and for us this is the only place we feel we can vent and talk about our issues and ask for help, because we don't have anyone. We don't have a nurse's station or anyone we can ask for help.

And some of the comments you guys leave, it makes us feel like we don't do anything or we are less than what we do. You don't understand our issues or problems because you don't experience it, like the same I wouldn't understand your job either, but you don't see me going to the other section commenting your job is less.

So please next time think before you post. If you aren't going to post anything that can help us, relate to us or encourage us, then don't post.

If you didn't mean this on your post, I'm sorry for exaggerating or getting upset. It just it happens a lot here, and it's bothers me a bit.

Bonstemps, EMT-P · Oct 9, 2018

Sure for you it's small, but when you have so much paperwork and deadlines to hit before Christmas break, you get a bit upset that they send you things that are not emergent. Yes, Pink Eye, that's something I worry about, but send me a kid because they "threw up" but it was just phlegm they spit out, and I'll be like, why?
I have 159 immunizations to input by November 1st (It was more last year... trust me), and I barely got some of them because my secretary left and I have to do things manually, by going through each file, one by one. I have screenings to do on 560 students by February, but my audiometer is used by another MA, so my screenings have to wait. All while I have 10 or so kids (it was more before, trust me....) come in during my day for meds and other rando stuff.
Don't get us wrong, we ALL love our jobs. It's super fun and the kids are amazing, it's a bit stressful at times, but it's a fun job. It just can be stressful.
I'm not being rude or anything, but I don't also understand why the Gen nursing people come here and comment? I'm not a SN, I know but I work at a school like one, and for us this is the only place we feel we can vent and talk about our issues and ask for help, because we don't have anyone. We don't have a nurse's station or anyone we can ask for help.
And some of the comments you guys leave, it makes us feel like we don't do anything or we are less than what we do. You don't understand our issues or problems because you don't experience it, like the same I wouldn't understand your job either, but you don't see me going to the other section commenting your job is less.
So please next time think before you post.
If you didn't mean this on your post, I'm sorry for exaggerating or getting upset. It just it happens a lot here, and it's bothers me a bit.

I'm sorry if I made it seem like I think you don't love your jobs. I didn't get that sense at all. And I didn't mean anything harsh by it. I am a practitioner thats been in the medical field in different manners - conflict zones and populations suffering from conflict, disaster recovery, emergency, etc., - and in my personal practice I desperately appreciate collaboration and opinions from other practitioners. I see a lot of room, in my practice at least, to elicit advice from other areas because sometimes I feel as though I am in a vacuum, or that I am talking too much with conflict folks or too much with disaster folks.

I saw the title - why do teachers - and I thought at first it would be about nursing school (which I attended in 2009, so I thought maybe I could help) and then saw it go in another direction and it made me think.

I didn't realize interest and advice wasn't wanted from non-school nurses. As someone who values other people's experiences, and would never want to make anyone feel as though they are being berated or judged, I apologize. I am also sorry that seems to happen here a bit. I imagine, based on your response, that you have felt unheard and under-appreciated. As someone who appreciates your work, I am also sorry for that.

That's all I suppose - I assumed a desire to collaborate and share thoughts without judgment (though, it is clear that we didn't direct or write our messages well enough as judgment was felt); I will leave this to the school nurses out there fighting the good fight.

Best of luck ya'll, and I hope it gets better!