Suggestions for dealing with school

[sam_gordon]

I can understand his feeling upset about it. All of us would likely question it if this came up with our own kids, I’d think! And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with questioning it, either. Sometimes complaints reveal problems in the system, or personnel problems, etc. A lot of things could come up. Maybe the nurse would actually appreciate this coming up if they’ve been making complaints there isn’t enough help (as is the case in many areas of healthcare right now). I think it will be very interesting to hear what actually happened. Not sure we actually will, but it gives lots of us food for thought, doesn’t it? It sounded like the OP would’ve probably let this go were it not for the questions about the nosebleeds.

Oh, I understand being upset. But he wasn't looking for a tactful way to address it, he was looking for a tactful way to tell them they messed up...

How do I tactfully suggest to the principal and district administration that maybe they should be contacting the parents in these situations?

And maybe they did. But I still would like to know why a parent would wait two months to complain, or ask questions, which I totally support.

Latchkey kids is a nick name given to my generation who was the first generation where duel incomes were a necessity. Hence when we were old enough we got a latchkey to the door and parents weren't at home until they got off work.

Yup, knew that, but he said something about the child being picked up from "latchkey" which doesn't fit how I understood it.

 

[Sleepy425]

My daughter broke her toe pretty good at gymnastics. Unfortunately it wasn't obvious because she was laughing and having fun....she was limping a little but I thought nothing of it. Wasn't until she woke up bawling in pain that I finally realized there was an actual issue.
My point is....the nurse probably has a dozen kids a day saying something hurts. 99% of the time it is nothing. And that 1% may not be obvious right away.
And the nosebleed....I wouldn't expect to hear about that.

 

[lanejudy]

People who say "the nurse should always call to alert the parents" apparently think the school nurse sits there twiddling her thumbs waiting for a child to come in. The nurse's office is a BUSY place, especially at an elementary school. Kids who are sick, kids who picked a scab and need a band-aid, kids who tripped in the hallway, kids who fell on the playground, kids who have a headache or earache or cramps, kids who wet their pants, kids with food allergies, kids with non-food allergies, kids who take medication, kids with diabetes, kids with mental health needs, kids looking for a break from class, kids who simply need a hug and a cracker. I swore my daughter's elementary school nurse must have some magical crackers because that was their solution to so many kids who came in!

OP is fine to ask about the broken arm incident, though it would have been more appropriate to do so 2 months ago. The nurse may not have even been the adult who "treated" that injury. There may have been a breakdown in communication. The school may have a typo in the contact number for the child. Lots of possibilities without jumping to the conclusion that the school was neglectful. The nosebleeds are a non-issue unless the child has other medical concerns not mentioned by the OP; the boy is old enough to inform his parents.

 

[MrsPete]

For the nosebleed, I wouldn't expect to be called. That's a pretty minor issue.

As for the broken arm, I'd want more information. One of my kids broke her arm twice, and neither time did we know right away:

- First time she was hurt playing on the school playground. She told her teacher she was hurt, and the teacher called my husband, who picked her up right away. We weren't sure how bad it was, and I took her to the doctor the next morning. Yep, broken. I felt badly about that.
- Second time she did it at the skate rink -- hurt herself within minutes of arriving. She knew it was hurt badly, but she didn't want to leave the birthday party, so she purposefully withheld the injury from her hostess (who is a good friend and would have called me immediately). By the time I picked her up -- maybe 2 hours later? -- she was hurting pretty badly, and it was starting to swell. I took her straight to the emergency room. I didn't feel badly about that because she was plenty old enough to know what she should have done.

 

[tvguy]

People who say "the nurse should always call to alert the parents" apparently think the school nurse sits there twiddling her thumbs waiting for a child to come in. The nurse's office is a BUSY place, especially at an elementary school.

I guess it depends on the ratio of students to the nurse. They try to keep the elementary schools around 200 students here, and we did have a nurse when I was in elementary school in the 1960's. It was pretty quiet in the nurse's office in those days. She was a friend of the lady next door who was an RN, as was my mom, and school nurses in those days were RN's looking to a less busy job than working in a hospital.

 

[Blondie58]

It's an elementary school nurse's office and they have kids going in and out all day with skinned knees, sore throats, nosebleeds, nausea, lost teeth, etc. It's not unusual for one nurse to be attending 2 or 3 kids at once. The vast majority of school nurse's offices aren't going to do an online look-up for every healthy child who presents to the nurse's office, nor should they be expected to.

The expectation should be for a school to actually have a registered nurse full time (shocking how many don't), and that injuries that could potentially be more serious than they look (head bumps, sprains, etc.) should be reported to parents via a phone call.

The couple of posters on this thread who have suggested, "Contact the school and tell them that they have to do X whenever your child visits the nurse", are suggesting that the OP should act entitled to special treatment. The nurse's office knows which students are medically fragile and need special care. That care shouldn't be diverted to spend extra time on healthy students whose parents' egos just need extra care.

I was an elementary school principal for 13 years. 550 kids and no nurse. My secretary and I were in charge of all "medical" including dispensing medications. (Teacher's aide covered for one hour each day when secretary went to lunch.) I welcomed parents who who gave medical specifics especially at grade K until we got to know the family and child. As you noted: skinned knees - no need to access info. A little TLC and a band aide. Sore throats - Always took a temperature. No temp - usually get a drink and back to class. Temp = call to home. Nosebleeds - parent contact depended on severity and special instructions. Nausea - questions had to be asked and as professionals (and moms ourselves) we made decisions. Throwing -up - always called. Lost teeth - a celebration and a "lost your tooth baggie" and certificate and then back to class. Head lice - always a call and sent home. Falls where a significant lump on the head or any possibility of a broken bone - immediate call home. And, although rare, we did call an ambulance. This worked well for us although the luxury of a nurse would have been great. Student information cards went with every teacher for every student for every fieldtrip along with signed permission. We did our very best to show parents we were going to do the very best by and for their children. I had 13 wonderful years in the same school before moving to Central Office administration.

 

[CdnCarrie]

So are school nurse’s offices kind of like a medical clinic? Do you have to give them insurance information?

We don’t have school nurses here so finding these comments interesting. I guess public health sometimes come in for things like vaccinations but no permanent nurse.

 

[Southernmiss]

So are school nurses offices kind of like a medical clinic? Do you have to given them insurance information?

We don’t have school nurses here so finding these comments interesting. I guess public health sometimes come in for things like vaccinations.

Not in my area.

School nurse is just another school worker who sees kids for their ailments while at school. The nurse's salary is paid by the district like teachers with no cost to students.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So are school nurses offices kind of like a medical clinic? Do you have to given them insurance information?

We don’t have school nurses here so finding these comments interesting. I guess public health sometimes come in for things like vaccinations.

In the entire country of Canada there's no person in any school that a kid who has a headache, period cramps, skins their knees, gets hit by a ball during gym, or anything like that can go to?

 

[Lilsia]

Your wife probably tries to avoid conflict because of your history of responses to conflict? Also, the term "latchkey" was meant for kids who went home to an empty house and let themselves in with their key to the latch. It was the reason why many schools started after school programs. If your child was in an after school program, then there was no latchkey involved

I know that schools in our area started calling the after school childcare latchkey, because they took in the latchkey kids. So that is why they were called that. Maybe it is reginal, but it was called latchkey here during the 90s and 2000s. OP, a regular nosebleed is not that big of a deal, IMO. They are common in the winter. My oldest would get them and she would just go to the nurse until it stopped and they never called me, she just told me when she got home. Now the broken arm would have been something that they would have heard from me about the very next day.

 

[tvguy]

I was an elementary school principal for 13 years. 550 kids and no nurse. My secretary and I were in charge of all "medical" including dispensing medications. (Teacher's aide covered for one hour each day when secretary went to lunch.) I welcomed parents who who gave medical specifics especially at grade K until we got to know the family and child. As you noted: skinned knees - no need to access info. A little TLC and a band aide. Sore throats - Always took a temperature. No temp - usually get a drink and back to class. Temp = call to home. Nosebleeds - parent contact depended on severity and special instructions. Nausea - questions had to be asked and as professionals (and moms ourselves) we made decisions. Throwing -up - always called. Lost teeth - a celebration and a "lost your tooth baggie" and certificate and then back to class. Head lice - always a call and sent home. Falls where a significant lump on the head or any possibility of a broken bone - immediate call home. And, although rare, we did call an ambulance. This worked well for us although the luxury of a nurse would have been great. Student information cards went with every teacher for every student for every fieldtrip along with signed permission. We did our very best to show parents we were going to do the very best by and for their children. I had 13 wonderful years in the same school before moving to Central Office administration.

This is pretty much how things are handled now. An Administrator handles minor incidents, and makes the decision whether to call 9-1-1 for a paramedic. Like I think I said earlier, the Paramedics made it very clear there are NO injuries that are too minor for them to respond. So a lump on the head, for example, I would think would be an automatic call to 9-1-1 for a more thorough exam that can be offered by an Administrator.

 

[tvguy]

So are school nurse’s offices kind of like a medical clinic? Do you have to give them insurance information?

We don’t have school nurses here so finding these comments interesting. I guess public health sometimes come in for things like vaccinations but no permanent nurse.

It appears they have school nurses in Ontario. At least according to the CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toro...ly-all-625-public-health-nurse-jobs-1.5919562

 

[Donald13]

As others have said, often times breaks are not obvious. Many times a break isn't even suspected by Urgent Care or a doctor, but then x-rays show a break.

My first chair violin player hurt her wrist playing hockey. Her mom took her for x-rays the next day just to be safe. The doctor on call did not see a break. Two days later, mom walks into my room and tells her daughter to grab her stuff because the radiologist saw a break that the doctor did not. Of course this was a few days before a concert and she had a huge solo, but id digress...

My point is that the child may not have been in a lot of pain with the broken arm and the break wasn't obvious. As the day went on, the arm began to swell and the pain began. How many of us broke a bone as a child and our parents waited a bit to have us seen? I walked on a broken fibula for a few weeks before my mom decided I should be seen. Threatening legal action is not the way to go in all cases.

Can i ask why her being a “first chair violin player” is relevant?

 

[CdnCarrie]

It appears they have school nurses in Ontario. At least according to the CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toro...ly-all-625-public-health-nurse-jobs-1.5919562

I wouldn’t know. I have never lived there.
Healthcare is provincial. As is Education.
That means each province runs things their own way.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Can i ask why her being a “first chair violin player” is relevant?

Because she had a solo, and you need your wrist to play the violin. Also, Monsterkitty isn't a bragging mom--she's a music teacher. So, she's identifying the student who was hurt. I'm sure Monsterkitty had to scramble to recover for the concert. It would be like the choreographer losing a solo dancer, days before a performance. Frequently, the second choice/understudy isn't ready for the challenge.

 

[monsterkitty]

Can i ask why her being a “first chair violin player” is relevant?

Because she had a solo, and you need your wrist to play the violin. Also, Monsterkitty isn't a bragging mom--she's a music teacher. So, she's identifying the student who was hurt. I'm sure Monsterkitty had to scramble to recover for the concert. It would be like the choreographer losing a solo dancer, days before a performance. Frequently, the second choice/understudy isn't ready for the challenge.

Exactly what QueenIsabella said. And the comment was tongue in cheek. The former student is now a math teacher at our school and we still laugh about it. "Remember the time?"

 

[tvguy]

I wouldn’t know. I have never lived there.
Healthcare is provincial. As is Education.
That means each province runs things their own way.

LOL. I have a cousin who was a school nurse in Alberta and Saskatchewan. HOWEVER, she only worked in First Nation schools, so that may have been a program unique to those schools.

 

[CdnCarrie]

LOL. I have a cousin who was a school nurse in Alberta and Saskatchewan. HOWEVER, she only worked in First Nation schools, so that may have been a program unique to those schools.

My understanding there were school nurses in my province until maybe early 70s so when I was a kindergartner lol.

First Nations schools back in the day were federally run.

 

[tvguy]

My understanding their were school nurses in my province until maybe early 70s so when I was a kindergartner lol.

First Nations schools back in the day were federally run.

Kids. I was in High School in the early 1970s.

 

[DisneyHardin]

So are school nurse’s offices kind of like a medical clinic? Do you have to give them insurance information?

The school where I teach has a nurse for the first time ever this year, but she doesn't have a clinic of any kind. She has a desk in the front office. She assesses issues, gives out bandaids and ice packs, calls parents as needed and does all of our COVID quarantine/testing/etc stuff.