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Should the Teachers make the decition on when the child needs to see the school nurse
conceredparent November 21, 2008
If a child falls on the playground and skins a knee or gets a bruise, should it be up to the teacher to send the child to the school nurse ? Or should it be a policy to send the child straight to the nurse even if the teacher feels the child is OK? What if a child goes to school with a runny nose or a chronic cough? Should the teacher send the child to the nurse even if the parent hasnt informed the teacher that that child might be getting sick?
laura1967 November 21, 2008
I personally , yes, send them to the school nuse- Let her decided ,if the "parents need notified"---and as far as, sending a "sick" child to school, i have seen parents, do that--just so, they can "clock in, at work- and get a phone call, so as, not to get fired???16912
healthy11 November 21, 2008
Not all schools have full-time nurses in the building, but all schools should have a written policy of how to handle injuries.
I do believe there should be a policy of writing up any and all incidents that occur of an "unexpected" or "accidental" nature...whether it be a child who is pushed by another student, falls on the playground, pinches a finger in a locker, or whatever. The incident reports I've seen spell out what, when, and where it happened, who was involved, and what was done by the school personnel. One copy stays at school, and a copy goes home to the parent. I would leave it up to the judgement of the teacher to decide if it warrants a visit to the nurse, or front office if there is no nurse. Truthfully, if a child is upset, virtually every teacher I know will send a child to the nurse or office and the parent will be contacted.
I don't think runny noses or coughs can or should be handled in the same manner...some kids have allergies, and aren't necessarily sick. Teachers can help prevent spread of germs by reminding kids to cover their mouth/noses when they sneeze, providing plenty of tissues in the classroom, etc. but they can't stop kids from coming to school.16911
MSMomm November 21, 2008
If the child is bleeding and has an open cut, then yes. The injury needs to be cleaned and may need a bandage.
Many kids are sent to school with runny noses and coughs. My son has seasonal allergies, and during the height of the allergy season, he sneezes every morning. I give him an OTC Claritin and send him off to school. His nose may still be a little runny, but it usually stops after a couple of hours.
If the child is continually coughing, then the teacher should send the student to the nurse's office and have the nurse call a parent to inform them of their child's coughing, everyday, if that's what it takes. Yes, this disrupts the coughing child from learning, but it also disrupts the teacher from teaching and the students from listening.16910
Winetuscany November 22, 2008
If your child is injured, when I worked in the school system, it was taken care of by me, if it needed more than was required our school nurse would come to the school as she did to the surrounding schools. If I take your childs temp, school policy stated 100*and you were sent home. Of course meds were administered by the school nurse. Send your child to school sick and you will get a call to come pick he/she up.16908
MJONES December 4, 2008
I agree with Healhty there should be a incident report do on no matter what happen at the school... when my daughter went to day care if an thing happen they willfill-outt this report and file it and give me a copy when i picked her up. if it was something bad like a lump on her head or a bleeding cut they will call me and still do the report.. also runny nose and cold should be treated different. my daughter has allergies and she tends to sneeze a little not all day but this is a constant thing and she know to cover her mouth and she has tissue in her bag and in her pocket if she gets a runny nose and cleans it her self and she tells the teacher she needs to wash her hands if they call me for this all the time i would not have a job.. if they feel its that bad send her to the nurse for a little and i bet she would not send her home so treat the sniffle different...16907
beachcomber January 1, 2009
My child has suffered from Migraine Headaches since age two. When he started Elementary school, he was in the nurses office quite frequently, vomiting, given Ibuprofen, etc. I was never informed at all except by my son at the end of the school day or sometimes not at all. I went into the nurse and had put into place a sheet of paper, for each time my child was seen, time of day, meds given etc and he was sent home with it. A child should be allowed to see the Nurse if they ask the teacher, (he had been denied by different teachers at times) this should not be at the teacher's discretion.
They should also be sent sent to the nurse for all and any injuries and parents should be notified.16906
TeacherParent January 2, 2009
It's a very good question. If we're speaking of playground accidents, it's become more and more common for children to be sent to the nurse - even when they don't want to go - everyone including schools are fearful of lawsuits these days.
A great deal depends on the age of the child - by Middle School, most kids will ask to go to the nurse when they don't feel well. Children come to school all the times with colds and sometimes with coughs - colds usually don't keep anyone at home and if every child with a cold were kept home in the winter, school would be empty.
And teachers will make their own judgments in the classroom - sometimes they will not allow a child to go to the nurse or they will encourage the child to wait until recess or lunch (not me - if a child asked to see the nurse, I didn't second guess that request)
And sometimes teachers will send a student to the nurse that looks sick to them. Children can come to school with nothing but a cold and by midday have a fever - children with fevers should not be in school. A child may come to school with a scratchy throat and by midday have the horribly sore throat that goes with strep. A child well in the morning isn't always well all day long.
In my school, the nurse had written instructions from each family as to what they would allow - aspirin, motrin etc. or nothing.
But I'm not sure I understood the initial question so maybe I didn't answer it. If it's not teachers making the decision to send a child to the nurse when the child is in school, then who?
16905
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