Bullying & Physical Complaints of Students

BULLYING in SHOOLS

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip:  Do you think some of  your student's complaints can be related to a bullying issue? Sometimes students have psychosomatic issues and they don't realize why. Pay attention- this might be happening to one of your students too.

As a school nurse, you might be one of the first school employees to suspect or learn about an act of bullying.

Bullying which results in physical injuries can be some of the most obvious attacks.  

However, many forms of bullying cause emotional  and other health related complaints. The health related symptoms (psychosomatic symptoms) can go unrecognized for a long period of time until they are related to a bullying situation.

Health related complaints caused from bullying include, but are not limited to:

• stomach aches
• fatigue
• nausea
• sore muscles
• headaches
• depression
• anxiety
• shortness of breath
• dizziness
• tiredness
• drug/alcohol use/abuse
• back pain
• abdominal pain
• loss of appetite

Many times it is easier for students to ask to see the school nurse for these or similar complaints. If  you are the school nurse who realizes one of your students is being bullied then read on to see how you can help.

As a school nurse YOU CAN HELP!

1. Gather Information or Get School Admin to Gather Info:  Collaborate with other school employees (administration) to determine if the situation qualifies as a form of bullying (physical, verbal, cyber, social).

2. Be Supportive: Support the student being bullied and support all bystanders while the school administrators properly address the student bully according to school policy.

3. Educate: Help educate students and staff on bullying, prevention, and responding.

These steps are outlined in greater detail on the Stop Bullying website!.

List of online (anti)bullying resources:

PBS

Education

Stop Bullying

Stop Bullying Now DVD

Bullying

Kids Health

CDC

STRYVE

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How can school nurse properly dispose of full sharps containers?

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip: Every school nurse should have a budget to run their office, although the amount can vary significantly between school districts. To make the most of your resources, consider establishing community collaborations to save money.

Looks like our sharps container is FULL!

When I first started at this school, the district spent hundreds of dollars each year on proper sharps container disposal. To save money and increase my school nurse supply budget, I sought a cost-effective solution.

About seven years ago, I approached our local fire department, including firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, to see if they could dispose of one full sharps container for free each year. Thankfully, they agreed, and have continued to provide this invaluable service ever since.

Having a great working relationship with your local fire department and EMT service is good-

Saving your school district money is even better!

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