Where am I?
A Day in the Life of a School Nurse
A Day in the Life of a School Nurse
6:15 a.m The alarm begins to blare. Did I mention my husband is retired and gets to go back to sleep?
7:30 ish Arrival at SHES. Take the farthest spot away from the entrance so I can attain my goal of 10,000 steps a day. Pedometer in place.
7:40 Nurse's Office is ready:
Cabinets are stocked: Ace wraps, splints, slings, bandaides, ice packs, cotton balls, kleenex, gloves (no, they are not latex) cotton tipped applicators, tweezers, scissors, eye glass cleaner, glasses repair kits, nose guards for glasses, treasure chests for teeth, paper cups, soap, water, paper towels and two clean sinks. All purpose non-aerosolized spray germ killer.
In working order: Phone, computer, stethoscope, otoscope, blood pressure cuffs (child, adult & large cuff adult), audiometer, tympanometer, thermometers, flash light, pen light, peak flow meter, nebulizer and wall clock.
Medicine Cabinet: Inhalers, Epi-pens, Benadryl, Accuchek supplies, Glucagon, urine test strips, various over-the-counter and prescription medications.
7:45 Breakfast duty. Almost 500 students ages 3 - 8 years old begin their arrival to SHES. Look at the sea of faces. Precious little faces and personalities ready to start their day.
8:05 Nurse's Office Door is Open. The ill, injured, hungry or upset begin to grace my door. Medication time for some and a listening ear for others. The phone rings and rings with parent and teacher questions. Keep listening. Try to understand each one's need and point of view. Establish priorities.
Don't miss the child in the details of the day:
Handwashing and band-aids have successfully healed many a student.
Ice packs cure a world of hurts.
Grandpa Richard (Foster Grandparent) assists kindergarten students to the nurse's office.
Second graders making sure I'm working.
They all have so much to say,"my stomach hurts, my head hurts, my heart hurts, my throat hurts" "I'm bleeding" "I'm going to throw-up" "I have a bruise" "I have a rash" "I can't breathe" "I can't walk" "My mom said you have to call her" "I wet my pants" "I made a mess in my pants" "Don't tell my teacher (mom) what I did in my pants" "Something bit me" "He bit me" "This is red, this is brown, this feels wrong" "I ache, I itch, I burn" "I broke my arm, I think I broke my arm, I'm afraid I'm going to break my arm" "I need a cough drop" "I need my inhaler" "I need vaseline" "I need my medicine" "I need itch stuff" "I need to go home, I need the doctor, I want my daddy"
11:15 Time to walk in the gym. I need those steps. Pedometer reading 2,492. After walking 5,697 steps. Lunch at my desk.
Healthy salad for one teacher. If I know the other teacher at ALL, she will soon be pouring Pepsi over her ice.
12:50 Recess injuries are all assessed, recorded (yes, on the computer) and reported to teacher, parent or principal as needed.
1:15 Water, I need water!
More Students and now more Teachers: Where is the Tylenol?
2:50 Last chance to assess students before they go home.
How is your wrist, asthma, stomach, temperature, range of motion?
3:05 Door duty. (Yes, this one is self-inflected.) Love to hold the doors open to feel the fresh air as the building is vacated.
3:15 Try to think. What needs to be done? What needs to be recorded that wasn’t? Phone calls? What am I doing tomorrow?
4:00 – 5:00 Home . . . Where is that retired husband, anyway, where’s my dinner? What’s on the news? Do I have my 10,000 steps?
9:30 p.m. In bed with a good book. 10,000 steps accomplished. Relax. It was a great day : ) See you tomorrow, take care of yourself. Sincerely, Nurse Diane