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What the school nurse does...

NURSE'S SCHEDULE: MON - FRI / 7:45 am - 1:30 pm

Provides emergency first aid, and appropriate medical assistance as needed.

Conducts health screenings for vision, hearing, dental, scoliosis, height and weight and other concerns as needed.

Evaluates and monitors communicable and nuisance diseases.

Makes referrals to appropriate community agencies

Evaluates and assesses student health needs, provides health counseling and conducts health-related classroom presentations

Serves as a liaison between home and school regarding health concerns.

Serves as a resource person for faculty and staff and community agencies.

IMPORTANT CLINIC INFORMATION

Inform the nurse of any medical condition that could affect your child while at school.

All medication for students - including all OTC meds (over the counter), such as cough drops- must be brought in by a parent/legal guardian, and the meds must be in the original container; a medication form must also be filled out and signed. The forms are at the front desk or in the nurse's office.

Is my child too sick for school?

Very early in the morning it is often difficult to know whether or not to send a child to school when he or she complains of not feeling well. However, there are several symptoms that definitely indicate that a child needs to remain at home:

Vomiting and/or diarrhea during the past 24 hours

Fever above 100 degrees F during the past 24 hours

Frequent cough

Persistent pain (ear, stomach, etc.)

An unidentified rash

Open sores (minor sores must be covered while the child is in school)

Communicable diseases:

chicken pox

common cold with fever

conjunctivitis (pink eye)

influenza

impetigo

mononucleosis

mumps

pediculosis (lice)

rubella

strep throat

tuberculosis

whooping cough

Though children with colds without fever are not required to stay home, parents are encouraged to keep the child at home if he or she truly does not feel well. Children who do not feel well do not learn well. They are contagious to others and are themselves more susceptible to picking up additional infections. All of these illnesses can be easily spread, both in school and in the family. Keep in mind that hand washing is the single most important thing you can do and teach your child/ren to do to help prevent the spread of infections.

Children who complain of stomach aches and headaches in the morning just before school are more difficult to evaluate. First, take the child's temperature. If the temperature is normal, if the child has not been ill for the past 24 hours, and if no one at home has been ill with similar symptoms, then the child can probably be sent to school.

Avoid telling the child, "Go to school and try it. If you still feel bad later, call me." This statement gives the child permission to feel bad and an excuse to come home. A more positive message would be, "You don't have a fever, and you have been okay for the past 24 hours. Eat some breakfast, then go to school, and I'm sure you will feel fine." This statement lets the child know that you have paid attention to his or her complaints and ends with a positive message about feeling good.

Making sure that children eat a good breakfast will reduce the headaches and stomach aches that children frequently develop at school during the mid-morning. When a child goes without eating from supper in the evening to lunch the next day, he or she is bound to feel tired, irritable, have vague head and stomach complaints, and have problems concentrating.

If your child has chronic stomach aches and the physician has determined that there is no physical reason for the stomach aches, recent studies tell us that there may be other problems. Children with chronic stomach aches can be suffering from anxiety that they have internalized rather than expressed. They also could come from families where stomach ailments are common. The following ideas can be beneficial when dealing with anxiety in children:

Spend extra time with your child listening to and acknowledging his or her thoughts and feelings.
Structure situations to help the child experience feelings of success not failure.
Give your child a feeling of reasonable control over his or her life.
Reinforce your child as lovable and capable.
Model a positive view of yourself to your children.
Model a positive view of school and learning process.

These methods are helpful for building self-esteem in any child. Children need to hear every day that their parent likes, loves, and thinks well of them. Children never get tired of hearing how glad you are that you are the parent of such a special child. Saying. "I'm glad that you are mine," and giving a hug cannot occur too often. Children are a mirror image of what their families say to them and how family members treat them. Children who show their anxiety through physical symptoms have an even greater need for positive reinforcement and encouragement in order to help them deal effectively with their worlds.

Remember always to make sure that your child's school knows how to reach you during the day, and that there is a back-up plan and phone number on file if they cannot reach you.

This general health care information should not be used as a substitute or in place of contacting your child's health care provider.

Sources: Children's Health Care of Atlanta, Developing School Programs and Policies