tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73320462717909922622024-03-05T12:32:23.318-08:00Tales of a School Zoned NurseYou can't make this stuff up.Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.comBlogger501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-43428521208945848242016-04-19T22:34:00.000-07:002016-04-20T11:35:30.543-07:00
The IEP was finally held for the student whose grandmother is concerned about the fact that he likes “girly” things…Despite my previous
distaste for her clear sexism, I warmed up to her a tad at the IEP meeting. I
know plenty of people have the ability to dismiss all immigrants to this
country (for whatever reasons they think are valid), but when you have a woman
speaking to you through a Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-71138451919812958592016-04-13T15:39:00.000-07:002016-04-13T15:39:01.350-07:00So. Much. Writing
I typically have 10 or less IEPs in progress at a time,
meaning I have received notice I need to do a health assessment on a student but
either have not done the assessment, or finished my report, or tied up any
loose ends.
For the last two weeks I have been holding steady at 25-28 open
IEPs…AGHH!!! I got slammed with requests and just haven’t been able to finish
them up completely. Why? Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-70491113929173259902016-03-31T17:09:00.000-07:002016-03-31T17:09:00.266-07:00Disaster averted
The short version: A parent packed a
PB&J for his kid that is allergic to peanuts and has an Epipen. I kid you
not.
The long version:
The secretary came in a huff to my office today to tell me that a student that
we have an Epipen and care plan for had a PB&J in his lunch. He’s in the
special day class and had an IA watching over him, who noticed the odd sandwich
and called the Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-18638939586102726792016-03-30T14:17:00.000-07:002016-03-30T14:17:39.804-07:00Pink Legos(That's Lego bricks to you, if you're outside North America. We say Legos, you say Lego bricks.)
I was helping with vision screening in a new school, and I’m
not sure what I did differently that morning, but I had more than a few of the
elementary student girls say to me, “You’re pretty.” It was a nice compliment,
but now that I have a daughter of my own, I think about these things more.Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-25206045536582960182016-03-18T19:00:00.000-07:002016-03-18T19:00:20.744-07:00IEPs
I don’t generally go to IEP meetings because I’m not
relevant to most and feel like I have better things to do with my time.
In the last few weeks, though, here’s a smattering of some I’ve had the
privilege of attending:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-
<!--[endif]-->For a student who has absence seizures who frequently
does not take her Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-33063560920511551682016-03-17T11:16:00.001-07:002016-03-17T11:16:25.783-07:00BMI testingOur state does height and weight measurements as part of the physical fitness testing in 5th grade (and maybe other grades, too). I *HATE* doing both. It is incredibly stressful to the kids, particularly the outliers in both height and especially weight. I do it as privately as possible, but it still sucks for them. It never fails that I hear later that someone returned to class crying, no matterMrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-7830967002273378892016-03-09T20:27:00.002-08:002016-03-09T20:33:10.862-08:00Irony:When your work computer craps out on you and when you turn it into Tech Services for repair, they say they'll email you when it's ready to be picked up. Also, they don't provide loaners, you have to go around begging for a spare computer to use to write your reports. Gah.
On another note, join a cool club here! Research is important, these surveys hardly take any time at all (and Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-35300514521806534022016-03-06T20:23:00.000-08:002016-03-06T20:23:29.076-08:00FAQ
There is only one Frequently Asked Question I get, and it’s
this one: Why aren’t you posting as much anymore? The answer is, I don’t see
kids as much anymore. Unless I am covering for an LVN – which, per my contract, I
am not supposed to have to do – I can easily go a day or two, or more without
even seeing a single student. Your next question is probably going to be: what
the heck do you do allMrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-5512354783407591582016-02-05T20:01:00.000-08:002016-02-06T06:07:35.022-08:00Friday Fact
The nationwide poverty rate is about 14%.
California's adjusted poverty rate is about 23%.
The poverty rate in my school district is 52%.
Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-43986726370142798962016-02-02T16:21:00.000-08:002016-02-02T16:21:07.982-08:00Golden Rule, please
I was finishing my lunch at my desk, the only place besides
my car that I ever eat at work, when one of the translators that I share an
office with approached me in a huff. “I see that you’re eating your lunch, so
you can wait until you finish, but there’s a situation in Room D-1 that you
need to check out. A little girl’s breath smells like poop.” Well, thanks for
that description while I eat Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-9987686532268010152016-01-25T16:33:00.000-08:002016-01-25T16:33:10.497-08:00Calm. Down.
I think the vast majority of us on this planet – or perhaps
just those with first world “problems” – need to take a chill pill. Most of the
time, we are not in a life or death emergency, and even if we are, freaking out
about it won’t do anyone any good. I may not be saving the world as a school
nurse, but the least I can do is calm people down.
When a student came into the office sobbing Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-78447015964515651642016-01-21T19:59:00.000-08:002016-01-21T19:59:06.230-08:00Life with a ToddlerBecause my life doesn't revolve around work anymore...We were getting ready for the library one afternoon, and I explained to my daughter she would need to put some pants on so we could go. I helped put her pants on after snack, at which point the tantrum erupted. “NO PANTS!” She dissolved into tears, and as I tried to explain why she needed the pants, she flung herself on the ground in a Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-68890981496480705482016-01-12T15:53:00.000-08:002016-01-12T15:53:05.349-08:00Happy Endings
There was a situation just before break that my LVN called
me about: a student that gets migraines did not have any medication at school,
and “just FYI, you may want to contact the parent about it.” In hindsight, she
clearly knew something I didn’t, because when I emailed the parents, the father
had already been made aware of the situation and was FURIOUS about it.
There’s good and bad to Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-40766769007912591932016-01-06T16:58:00.000-08:002016-01-06T16:58:06.085-08:00Welcome, 2016!
The first day back from winter break, I was scheduled to
cover for an LVN’s assignment – part at my school and part at a school foreign
to me. (This was a result of the fact that our work was sponsoring a
conference, unrelated to the medical field, for those interested. I didn’t feel
like it was worth the cost of what they wouldn’t be covering for the trip, so I
passed.) The day was to involve Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-42600110350436829972015-12-29T19:16:00.000-08:002015-12-29T19:16:43.592-08:00I'm still here, thank you.What a nice bunch of comments and emails I've received lately, questioning my whereabouts in the blogosphere.
I'm here, and wanting to get back to writing. I don't think I have enough work stories to feed this blog alone, depending on how many tales of bureaucratic BS anyone wants to read though. I've tried to avoid the magnetic pull I'm feeling into the mommy-blogging category, but I am not Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-66838974338647170942015-10-26T21:03:00.000-07:002015-10-27T11:05:21.301-07:00Your tax dollars at workSixteen million children (21%) live without consistent access to food. That is a staggering number. And yet...there's this: the state's vision screening requirements in California changed recently, requiring both near and far vision screening for Kindergarten, 2nd, 5th, and 8th grades. Once you screen near vision, it is either a problem or not, and it is ineffective and a waste of resourcesMrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-81767225697829843952015-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:002015-10-16T17:16:00.032-07:00Dear Teacher,
I know you really don’t want to have your student with
hemophilia come on the field trip to the pumpkin patch with you but, guess
what, he is. You won’t find support from me for your idea to exclude the kiddo
because of his condition, no matter how many emails you send me. And yes, I
have contacted his parents, and no, they can’t go with him on this field trip.
Deal with it. Love,
Your School Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-28391573034149722532015-10-12T16:06:00.000-07:002015-10-12T16:06:00.215-07:00Dear Parent,Just because you are an MD - which somehow you managed to point out to me despite not being able to return your child's emergency care plan until two months later - does not mean I will sign off on the heavily edited care plan you returned to me.
Perhaps your expertise does not include allergy management, because the new recommendation is that if someone has two or more systems involved in an Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-13820072531474543682015-10-05T21:55:00.000-07:002018-04-30T10:11:37.045-07:00Oops. It's been almost a month since I've written and it's not for a lack of material, it's a time problem. This district is nuts. And I say that coming from a district that I also thought was nuts.
We (the district) are being swamped with refugees from the Middle East. During a screening, I asked what the name "FNU" is that I was seeing all over the place on rosters..."Family Name Unknown." Families Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-52263439238036680632015-09-03T21:03:00.001-07:002015-09-03T21:03:06.288-07:00The Haves and the Have Nots
I am assigned to four schools, but two are on opposite ends
of the spectrum from each other.
One of my elementary schools is located in an incredibly idyllic
neighborhood. It’s like the neighborhood in The
Truman Show. The campus, unlike all the other ones in the district, is wide
open. The school borders a city park, and there is no fence separating the
children from the school and the parkMrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-53987865022021960162015-08-24T21:11:00.000-07:002015-08-24T21:11:05.901-07:00Spitfire 2.0, and, phew. Here I was, concerned about my lack of contact with students at this new job...Hah! I spent three hours this morning dealing with an out of control kindergartner with Type 1 diabetes. His teachers had mentioned he was having some behavior issues, and weren't sure how much of that could be attributed to blood sugar spikes and falls. I kind of rolled my eyes a bit, to myself, when they were tellingMrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-80847765311266013752015-08-20T21:01:00.001-07:002015-08-20T21:01:07.609-07:00Lice in the newsMutant lice! This doesn't surprise me at all; parents have been complaining to me for years that the lice shampoos don't work. Also, if lice-removal companies charge $250/hour, perhaps I should consider getting a summer job working for one...Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-40080326708639793202015-08-17T20:52:00.000-07:002015-08-17T20:52:00.060-07:00I'm not in Kansas anymoreAfter Spitfire's note, I went to work today lamenting a bit that my new position does not involve as much face to face time with students. I got down to business at my middle school, cranking out care plans in a tiny office crammed with student cumulative files and dead printers. (I nearly laughed out loud when the vice principal asked, "Have they told you about this school? We have crazy Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-71920193338090283082015-08-16T16:36:00.000-07:002015-08-17T19:36:58.938-07:00From Spitfire: "my nurse is ok but she can't beat you lol"
The best compliment anyone could ask for from a 7th grader. (For reference: Spitfire is a diabetic I cared for from 3rd-6th grade. I gave her my email address when she and I finally parted ways after 4 crazy years of lunch together.)Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7332046271790992262.post-68369658502977166542015-08-13T21:23:00.001-07:002015-08-13T21:23:23.664-07:00Day OneWell, Day One for the students. I started off my day at my Title 1 school, which was an absolute madhouse. Apparently it has the same number of office staff as another nearby school - in a much better neighborhood - with twice the students. It was a zoo, to say the least. As it turns out, I know the principal - she and I worked together in one of my schools last year. She left to come to this Mrs. Nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00181727120812087585noreply@blogger.com0