Bye bye, money...

This morning I went to a meeting for my new diabetic to discuss classroom accommodations that must be made for him because of his condition. The meeting included the principal, the school nurse for that site, the psychologist, the teacher (who needed a substitute, of course, during this meeting), the mother of the diabetic, and myself. The purpose of this annual meeting was to determine if appropriate accommodations have been made, are working, and to put a plan in place for the following year. Guess how much changed from last year? That's right, none. We sat around a table for a half hour, nodding our heads that the current plan is working - e.g. student will be allowed bathroom breaks as necessary to check blood glucose level. Um...duh? Anyone with half a brain could have looked at last year's plan, seen its effectiveness, collected the appropriate signatures, and saved everyone some time. This is where your tax dollars are going...And part of my salary. Gross.

In other news, it's warming up and I almost wore sandals today to work. I was very glad I didn't when a girl came in with a severe nosebleed and no clue what to do about it, as she spilled blood everywhere. I also managed to reduce a child to tears when I walked him down to my office for a hearing/vision screen. He sat down and as I reached in my bag for my audiometer, he melted into hysteria screaming, "I don't want to do it." All I could think was, "I don't have time for this, kid" - Nurse Ratched, at the ready here.

Also, it's Teacher Appreciation Week. I'm making sure to take advantage of all the perks that I can, like free breakfast this morning, because I'm pretty sure no one is going to care when it's Nurses Week next week. In fact, on the National Association for School Nurses website, it is suggested not that school nurses should be rewarded on School Nurse Day, but that we should - to mark the grand occasion - "tell someone about the role" of a school nurse.