Would you want this responsibility?

[Lanshark]

I have had the responsibility and it was not a problem. Our whole staff was trained

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

No, absolutely not. It must be prescribed. They often come in packs of two, so one can be left at school while the other stays with the child. (if the patient is an adult, one can be left at their work, or where ever they want it)

The school can't just have a random epipen - it must be prescribed for a specific child, just like an inhaler is prescribed for a specific child (usually kids with severe asthma have an inhaler at school plus one on their person). Actually, I have a friend whose DD has asthma, and she has them everywhere - lol. In her purse, her car, her house, the DD13 carries one, and the school has one.

That's what I thought. I didn't think it would be possible to just keep one on hand at the school just in case for any student.

I have had asthma since I was in first grade so I have had my stash of inhalers everywhere too! Now I just keep one in my purse and one at home because either I'm at home or I have my purse with me!

Thank you for answering my question.

 

[lajones81]

Next year a student coming into my grade level has a severe allergy that means there is a possibility that an epi-pen might need to be used. Apparently there is another student in another grade as well. The nurse is looking for teachers that are willing to get trained on how to administer the epi-pen, if needed, if she is out of the building or can't get there fast enough. I'm sure none of my team is going to volunteer and being the lead teacher, I will be asked. I understand the need, but I'm thinking that there is a serious liability surrounding this as well.

Our entire school staff receives Epi-Pen training at the beginning of each school year from our school nurse.

 

[mom2of2]

The way it was presented to us at our faculty meeting was that they were looking for volunteers. We have 5 teachers in each grade level. So no, I don't have to volunteer and it would not have any effect on my job. After speaking to the nurse at my school, I am the only one on my grade level that agreed to do the training, so the child will be put into my class. I have a teaching partner that is out on maternity leave, and she will need to be trained as well because we are departmentalized. The other 3 teachers will not be trained.

I have been teaching for 9 years now and I this is the first time that this has come up.

OP what state do you live in if I may ask?

 

[DVC_Princess]

I also agree with the others who say that all the teachers should be trained. Using an EPI-pen is very simple and if you're responsible for a child with an allergy, you should feel responsible to take care of that child should an emergency situation arise.

You should also be familiar with any precautions that need to put put in place such as making sure the other children wash their hands after eating food that may cause an allergic reaction in this student. I can't imagine how scary it must be for that child (and her parents) to know that the child could suddenly be in a dangerous situation and not know whether or not the adult caring for the child would be able to help.

I had a roommate in college with a severe allergy to peanuts. She trained all of us to make sure that we could use the EPI-pen if she ever needed it and she kept 1 on her at all times and extra in the dorm. To me, I'd much rather know how to help her if need-be than stand there not knowing what to do if an emergency occurred.

 

[mickeylove2]

Yes, I would definitely learn how to use and be familiar with an epi pen. A few years ago, my 8 year old cousin died in the school cafeteria due to a severe peanut allergy and no teacher having access to his epi pen (it was kept in the nurses' office at the other end of the school) By the time teachers got him to the office, the nurse used his epi pen and EMTs got there but he was already gone. Minutes count in this type of situation, you do not have time to debate who will administer the epi pen.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Yes, I would definitely learn how to use and be familiar with an epi pen. A few years ago, my 8 year old cousin died in the school cafeteria due to a severe peanut allergy and no teacher having access to his epi pen (it was kept in the nurses' office at the other end of the school) By the time teachers got him to the office, the nurse used his epi pen and EMTs got there but he was already gone. Minutes count in this type of situation, you do not have time to debate who will administer the epi pen.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your cousin.

 

[luvmy3]

Yes, I would definitely learn how to use and be familiar with an epi pen. A few years ago, my 8 year old cousin died in the school cafeteria due to a severe peanut allergy and no teacher having access to his epi pen (it was kept in the nurses' office at the other end of the school) By the time teachers got him to the office, the nurse used his epi pen and EMTs got there but he was already gone. Minutes count in this type of situation, you do not have time to debate who will administer the epi pen.

I am so sorry for yor family's loss

Your story is the reason why every student should be allowed to carry their epi-pen on their person. There are still States that have no laws to protect the child's right to carry their life saving medication on them at all times.

 

[PlainJane]

I just remembered that at my recent CPR/first aid re-cert the trainer had a pen that didn't have a needle. We were able to practice taking the cap off and slamming it on our own legs and other people's as well. Perhaps this might be able to be arranged for the teachers. It did help me understand how it would feel if I had to do it.

My friend has an EPI pen, and she taught me how to use it with a trainer. It was nice to be able to practice on my own leg to feel how much pressure was needed, before I tried on hers. It took me all of 5 minutes to learn how to use it.

 

[Cool-Beans]

OMG, giving the shot is no harder than starting a car - not driving the car, just starting it.

So easy.

A trained monkey could do it.

If the kid goes into (or starts going into) shock, you get the thing out, give the shot and call 911. The medics will come and take it from there and you can go back to whatever you were doing.

Easy peasy.

Just don't wig out about it.

The panic crap is all in your head. Make up your mind that you aren't going to panic and lose your senses and you won't.

Get it out, give the shot, call 911. Bing, bang, boom.

Or you can say, "OMG, I simply can't deal with this. It is all too hard and scary and I simply can't be counted on in any sort of crisis because I'm too emotionally unstable." Is that really the way you think of yourself? Didn't think so.

Get it out, give the shot, call 911.

 

[sajetto]

I'm really surprised your school is even giving you an option of being trained. We are all trained in my school every single year and we don't pick and choose our students. I had a student who had an epi-pen this year. I always took it with me on field trips or if we ever went outside because his allergy is to bee stings. Another teacher in my grade level also had to keep an epi-pen in her room because of a student with a peanut allergy.

 

[bumbershoot]

I work in HR for an educational nonprofit. This summer we have our first severely peanut/treenut allergic child. As soon as the health form came in, I gathered up our head of summer programs and our operations lead. In less than an half-hour we had:

1) A list liability questions from the realistic (What happens if we give the epi-pen and it isn't needed?) to the absurd (What happens if I smash the epi-pen into his artery and he starts to bleed out all over the floor?)

2) A plan for what we were telling various people involved
a) Everyone involved in the workshop will know how to administer an epi-pen, including the high-school interns helping out and where it is kept. We treated this -exactly- like we do firedrills/evacuation procedures "There's a kid who might need an epi-pen in your workshop - we're teaching you all to do it on date X at time Y.
b) workshop participants and non-involved interns will be told there's a severe peanut/treenut allergy, but not who it is, just that they can't bring nut-based snacks that week
c) non-involved staff will know there's a student with severe peanut/treenut allergies and will have the student discreetly pointed out to them. No nut-based snacks for staff, no opening the jar of PB you keep in your desk that week
d) every staff person knows the plan if there is a need to administer the epi-pen, and roles were assigned to keep the mass of interested bystanders under control and out of the way/make things run more smoothly - primary and backup

3) A list of questions for the parents to clarify if we needed to be more paranoid about our classroom prep (potential nut oils on the keyboard keys, mostly)

10 minutes on the phone with our liability carrier clarified that as long as we were employing the people involved in administering an epi-pen; -any- act they took and the potential negative affects thereof were covered. If we dropped him on his head while hauling him into the elevator and he developed swelling in his brain and died (we're a through lot!) then it was covered. And they were happy to fax me that clarification in writing.

The whole thing, including notifications/training people to use the epi-pen took less than an hour and was kind of a non-event.

I just love that! Very prepared.


If I, when I was a teenager, could give myself 3 (allergy) shots a day, two days a week, in the deltoid muscle, you can give a kid that epi-pen.

 

[MM27]

I don't know why they aren't training everyone, but they are not. They are training the specials teachers and the classroom teachers that the child will come into contact with. I would expect that someone in the cafeteria would be trained as well. We take our own students out to recess, so that would be the teacher in charge as well.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I have an epi pen and have never had any training! My allergist just wrote me the prescription and sent me on my way. The pharmacist handed it over. I read the instructions at home--open cap, slam against thigh, call 911. Simple.

My concern for the OP's current situation is now what happens when YOU are absent? If you are the one trained and the other teachers are being "fraidy cats" who will help this child if a Substitute is in the room and doesn't know what to do?

I have to agree with others that everyone should know what to do. I think calling it "training" seems scary. Really they just all need to be familiar with the symptoms and the epi pen. And I really don't think that any teacher is going to stand there and watch a child struggling to breath, turning blue and swelling up and not grab that epi pen and slam it in their leg.

 

[MM27]

that's sort of why I posted here. I know nothing about epi-pens. I didn't realize how easy it was to administer. When they mentioned it at our meeting they said "training" which to me means that it's not something that anyone can just pick up and use. Who knew?

My main issue was, what if it was used and not needed, but someone has already answered that for me.