Wednesday, September 1, 2021

RETIREMENT for SCHOOL NURSES

School Nurse Retirement Quotes!

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It's never too early to start dreaming about and planning for your retirement.

Retirement. It sounds the same to most, but it looks vastly different for many.

Helpful School Nurse Tip: The school days might seem long and never ending but the school years will go by quick. Trust me, before you know it you'll be ready to retire from your school and move onto your next phase of life! Are you ready?

(just a few) RETIREMENT QUOTES

when you stop living at work and start working at living

Seriously though, have you ever thought about the number of hours you spend at your job / school? And then how many hours when you're not physically there, but you are thinking about being at your job / school? Let's not and say we did.

retirement is better at the beach

Retirement at the beach sounds amazing! That is probably because my retirement dream includes being at a beach. We'll see if that dream changes!

What does your retirement dream include?

If you need help understanding the difference between a 403(b), 401 (k), IRA (Traditional or Roth) then contact my licensed husband! He will answer your questions using easy to understand language and he gives honest advice (and I'm not just saying that because we're married)! HERE

goodbye tension, hello pension

There are a wide variety of ways to save and plan financially for retirement. Some school nurses have been contributing to a pension plan. Other school nurses have saved money on their own through a 403(b), 401 (k), IRA (Traditional or Roth), etc...

What does your financial retirement plan look like? If you need help understanding how to plan for your financial future then reach out to my licensed husband! He will help you by explaining all things retirement with easy to understand language and he will give you honest advice (and I'm not just saying that because we're married)! HERE

after climbing the mountain, you can finally enjoy the view

Mentally, I want to climb mountains but physically I'm more of a flat land person! Can you relate?

However, a view like this would be worth a few hills. Once, I went on a mountainside horse ride in Estes Park, Colorado. Soon into the guided ride I realized that the Colorado & Illinois definitions of "some hills" were NOT the same and I wondered why I hadn't selected the meadow view ride!

There were several times I envisioned my horse slipping down the mountainside and me falling down to a vacation injury of some sorts, but thankfully that never happened. So, I decided to take few deep breaths and appreciate the views. I also had this sense that my horse most likely could have successfully finished the tour with it's eyes closed and so I relaxed to took some great pictures!

my reel retirement plan? go fish

I'm not that into fishing, but I know many people love to fish. And, if you are one of those people who love to fish then I hope that fishing is part of your retirement plan! I'd go fishing but mostly just to be surrounded by water and to eat a bag of Cheetos.

retirement- not the end of the road

but the beginning of the highway

I believe Semisonic said it best in their song Closing Time- every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end! Those lyrics ring true to so many aspects of life but especially retirement. I hope you're ready to see where the road of retirement takes you too.

retirement- doing what I want, when I want

last, but (no pun intended!) not least

I'm 100% certain this quote is not referencing "going to the bathroom", but any other school nurse & healthcare worker and/or classroom teacher will 100% relate with me- right?! Most employees do not consider using the restroom whenever they feel like it a luxury, but many other employees have experienced the pain (literally and physically) of having to wait until "after this next med" or "when the bell rings"... Hopefully this photo makes you laugh or at least smile.

STREAM or OCEAN

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Concussions in the School Setting

Concussions and The School Nurse

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip: Each year thousands of student athletes are diagnosed with a concussion. These blog posts were written to help the school nurse help those students.

What is a concussion?

It won't take long before a student enters your school nurse office and notifies you they have been diagnosed with a concussion. It is important that your student understands what this diagnosis means and as a school nurse you have the opportunity to educate your student. A textbook definition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is:

"A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells." (CDC, 2021)

However, that is a very technical and medical definition- will your student understand what that actual means? It is OK to give an actual medical definition, but then follow it up with easy to use words and terms that your student will understand. This will depend on the grade level, age, and compression level of your student.

What are common symptoms of a concussion?

Although school nurses are not allowed to diagnose a concussion, they should be able to recognize and refer for signs and symptoms of a potential concussion caused by a recent head injury. As a school nurse you'll want to know your school district's protocol when dealing with a student who has suffered a head injury at school or comes to school with a concussion diagnosis. Do you know what signs and symptoms to look for? For a review of signs and symptoms related to a concussion read this CDC article titled Concussion Signs and Symptoms.

Are concussions serious?

Although concussions might not be life threatening, the side effects can be serious. Many students recovery within a few weeks, but others might need a few months or even longer to make a complete recovery!

What classroom accommodations can be made to support a student with a concussion?

There are many appropriate and suggested classroom accommodations that can be made when a student is diagnosed with a concussion. Sometimes the physician or athletic trainer might even provide you or the classroom teachers with accommodations when they provide the diagnosis. Other times the school nurse will only receive the written diagnosis. When this happens, what are you accepted to do? Is the school nurse supposed to notify the student's classroom teacher/s or the student's school counselor? Each school or school district should have a written concussion protocol to follow in this situation.

A brief concussion protocol example might be something like this:

School Nurse receives documentation that student has been diagnosed with a concussion
School Nurse notifies classroom teachers and school counselor that the "concussion protocol" has been started
School Nurse asks for or receives updates from students, parents, classroom teachers, and/or school counselor as needed
School Nurse might need to inform athletic trainer or physician of received updates
School Nurse receives documentation the Return To Learn is complete
School Nurse notifies classroom teachers and school counselor that the "return to learn" has been completed
School Nurse asks for or receives updates from students, parents, classroom teachers, and/or school counselor as needed
School Nurse might need to inform athletic trainer or physician of received updates
School Nurse receives documentation the Return To Play is complete
School Nurse notifies classroom teachers and school counselor that the "return to play" has been completed
School Nurse asks for or receives updates from students, parents, classroom teachers, and/or school counselor as needed
School Nurse might need to inform athletic trainer or physician of received updates

The above are only brief suggestions ... as a school nurse you'll want to check on your school district's specific policies and procedures regarding concussion. If your district doesn't have one, then you might want to work on creating one to use at your school when needed.

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NEED HELP CREATING A CONCUSSION PROTOCOL / POLICY / PROCEDURE?

These Google Slides are Available For Purchase and 100% Editable

THREE CONCUSSION PROTOCOL / CLASSROOM SUGGESTION SLIDES

Instant Google drive access. 100% editable.

3 fully editable slides for the following concussion situations:

Concussion Protocol Starting
Return To Learn
Return To Play

Edit to make each slide specific to your school / students
Save as PNG or JPG in order to insert into the body of an email

School Nurse Concussion Resources:

CDC HEADS UP to schools

CDC HEADS UP to schools for School Nurses

Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Contact Sports–Related Traumatic Brain Injuries Among Children — United States, 2001–2018
Weekly / July 10, 2020 / 69(27);870–874

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Digital Student Health History Form

Digital Health History Form for Students

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Helpful School Nurse Tips: Knowing the health conditions of your students will prepare you to be able to provide appropriate care for all of your students. In addition, you can use this information to calculate the % of your students who have chronic health conditions, create Individualized Healthcare Plans, and other health related Action Plans.

Health History Purpose

The purpose of this digital student health history form is to provide an easier, yet formal way, for the school nurse to gather (collect data) on medical conditions for current students. Although this digital form is 100% editable, it currently offers parents a way to inform the nurse of the following:

Current health concerns

Explanation of the health concern

Description of how the health concerns impacts the student's school day

Requested accommodations the might benefit the student throughout the school day

Doctor contact information

As you can see, this digital health history form provides parents a chance to subjectively provide the school nurse with an overview of their child's current health conditions. The school nurse can then ask for needed / required follow up information from the student's parents and/or physician.

How To Collect A Student Health History

Have you ever had a parent call you with an update or have a child give you a verbal update? Those are great, but usually you prefer to have something is writing too. This digital student health history is a great initial data collection tool. Use this form within a follow up email - just make sure your Google settings are set so you receive notification when the form is completed. Follow up emails give you a chance to recap information from the conversation, review discussed accommodations, ask permission to share information with staff on a need to know basis, and ask any questions that you might have thought of since the conversation.

Why A Health History Is Important

Accurate student health histories are great!
Knowing what to do with the information from those health histories is even better!

Digital Health Records- Many schools use some sort of digital school management software; such as Skyward, SASI, PowerSchool etc. What program does your school us? IS there is a way to incorporate health history information into your school management software system? If so, use it :) It might seems time consuming at the moment, but you will save time in the long run.

Health Conditions Lists- Many moons ago, I used to create Excel Health Concern lists- this was my only option at the time and so it worked for me. I would create a column filled spreadsheet and sort and organize as needed! Thankfully now, I can use my school's school management software (Skyward) to organize this same information! Skyward allows the ability to add health concern information as a "Health Condition". Then, "Health Condition" reports can be created by grade level, graduation year, teacher, etc. These reports also provide an overall school summary including the number of students with each health condition. This information is very valuable for your end of the year (EOY) report for your school administration, school board, and/or supervisor.

Healthcare Plans- Use the gathered health history information to create individualized healthcare plans for your students. There are many FREE and paid examples of healthcare plans all over the Internet- just Google what you are looking for. Maybe you don't think you have enough time to create a healthcare plan for every student who might need one- that is OKAY! You can always create a generic plan to put in place for specific health conditions- asthma, seizures, food allergies etc. Then, you can decide which students need their own specific emergency action plans from their private physicians and use your time to encourage parents to provide those completed emergency plans to you.

Emergency Action Plans- Emergency Action Plans (EAP) are needed for students with known acute or chronic health conditions which have the potential to turn into a medical emergency while attending school or a school sponsored even and/or the health condition has the potential to negatively impact the student's learning process. There are many free and paid examples available online- again, just search what you are looking for many examples should appear.

Medication Forms- Knowing what medications a student is prescribed is nice to know. This knowledge can help you see the "bigger" picture. Many times students only take medication at home, but sometimes at school too. If medication is needed during school hours, then most districts require a physician's order and sometimes even have a specific form that needs to be completed. You can view medication form examples HERE. If a specific medication is included on an EAP then a separate medication form is typically not required.

Procedure Forms- As you filter through your student health history forms, you might find that a student requires a nursing procedure completed during school hours. These procedures might consist of: dressing change, g-tube feed, suctioning, catheterization, etc. Just like a doctor's order is required to administer medications in the school setting, a doctor's order should be on file in order for the nurse to complete any sort of nursing procedure in the school setting. Years ago in Illinois there was a "yellow manual" full of nursing procedures that may need to be completed in the school setting. I don't remember who published the manual and I don't have it available at the moment, but I will update this blog post if I find it! In the meantime complete an Internet search and I'm certain many examples will be available.