Would you have called?

Specialties School

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Third grader has c/o earache which started less than 1 hour previously, afebrile, no crying or apparent distress and bilateral tympanic membranes are pearly gray. Tympanic membrane on side that is painful might have slight amount of fluid. Student states she takes allergy medicine but did not take it that day.

Would you have called home?

Kids don't know the difference between being uncomfortable and being in pain.

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I am upset that my BSN and 15 years of experience still gets me micromanaged by lay people.

Yes!! This is what is infuriating! It is a reality for every professional that works with the public in some capacity.

I try to explain this to SM and he does not understand. He works in IT and when he is fixing an issue, he can tell the people waiting on him "Sit back and let me do my job so then you will be able to do your job." And when they ask him "Well, what's wrong with it??" he asks "Do you really want to know what the problem is? Because I can tell you- in detail. Or do you want to know that I can fix it and that I can fix it faster without explaining it?"

I'd love to say something like that to some of my coworkers and parents ie: "Do you want a full explanation or do you want to trust my assessment skills enough to accept that this child is well enough to be in class?"

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Specializes in School nurse.
I want to teach all of them that minor discomforts are part of life and that they are strong resilient young people but I feel like their teachers also feel that each complaint is a genuine concern--which is great that they are so caring, but where will the children learn to tough through it? By the time they get to me their complaint is legitimized and it's hard to reverse the sense that they needed the visit!

QUOTE]

YES!YES!YES!

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Snowflakes. The lot of them. Teachers and kids alike.

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
I got a call from an upset snowflake daddy.

He said she was getting a "fever" and reported a temp in the "low 99's".

:wtf:

Yup. But nothing happened at school, sir. Hang in there.

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

I am truly scared of where our world is taking us. Such entitlement. Can we not teach our kids to "shake it off", "rub some dirt on it", or "dry it up" like our parents used to? I know that's what I tell my own babies. (Sometimes it will come back to bite me...like a concussion, but hey, I gave my sweet boy an ice pack ;))

This is a soap box I could bring a blanket, a good book, and camp-out on all day.

OP, you did nothing wrong. The third grader is obviously capable of talking and letting her parents know that her ear hurts. 9 times out of 10 even if you had called they either wouldn't have answered, or told you that she would be okay and to call if she returns.

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I am truly scared of where our world is taking us. Such entitlement. Can we not teach our kids to "shake it off", "rub some dirt on it", or "dry it up" like our parents used to? I know that's what I tell my own babies. (Sometimes it will come back to bite me...like a concussion, but hey, I gave my sweet boy an ice pack ;))

Oh Sully, I totally agree with you on this!!

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
Kids don't know the difference between being uncomfortable and being in pain.

Adults don't! Most under 70 have done some sort of drug and therefore are in need of bigger, better pharmacologics. Appropriate for 4/20 I guess. My OHS teaching always involved the difference between pain and discomfort, not that it helped. When I started they gave Codeine 30 for pain, the equivalent of 2 Darvocet. That wouldn't touch anyone today.

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Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.

Probably not, because I trust that a third grader should be reliable enough to tell their parent that their ear is bothering them. I'm going to guess snowflake's parent was upset at you? Off to read comments!

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I've always thought it was best to keep parents informed, even if staff are busy, even if the exam is unremarkable.

And before someone duns me for not being a school nurse, I have worked as a SN via agency and have been a summer camp nurse for multiple seasons.

It's just easier to keep parents informed about their children. I go by how I would feel. Call me a snowflake, but at the end of the day,

I want to know what's going on with my kids.

It isn't personal about your degree or your experience, it's about their children. And we all

know that mistakes are sometimes made by medical/nursing personnel. Better safe than

sorry.

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Adults don't! Most under 70 have done some sort of drug and therefore are in need of bigger, better pharmacologics. Appropriate for 4/20 I guess. My OHS teaching always involved the difference between pain and discomfort, not that it helped. When I started they gave Codeine 30 for pain, the equivalent of 2 Darvocet. That wouldn't touch anyone today.

Most?

Really?

Hmmm.

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Adults don't! Most under 70 have done some sort of drug and therefore are in need of bigger, better pharmacologics. Appropriate for 4/20 I guess. My OHS teaching always involved the difference between pain and discomfort, not that it helped. When I started they gave Codeine 30 for pain, the equivalent of 2 Darvocet. That wouldn't touch anyone today.

That's quite a generalization.

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