Communicating with School Nursing Staff
Practical questions to discuss with school health staff to keep your child safe
Back-to-school season can be stressful for allergy parents, but building a strong relationship with your school nurse can make all the difference.. In this post, I’m sharing how we talk with school nurses and staff to build a safe and trusting partnership around our child’s food allergies.
At the end of each school year, our nurse sends home all medication along with the required forms for the upcoming school year. These same forms are also listed (and linked) from our school website. We then fill out all pertinent information for our child on the form and then drop them off to our allergist, in a folder that has our child’s name, date of birth (DOB) and the date by which we want to have the completed forms back. Once all forms are completed, we take them with us to the back to school open house and hand deliver them to our nurse, along with a labeled Ziplock bag that includes all the medications. During this delivery, we discuss the following:
Where are the EpiPens stored during school hours?
- Our school policy is that all medication, regardless of the age of the child, is stored in the nurses office. However, I still like to ask each year, just in case. If anything changes, I will then ask follow up questions.
For field trips, are all teachers trained on using them?
- We are a private school, and all administration and staff are required to have up to date MAT certifications. This gives us peace of mind, especially when our daughter is away from the school (nurse).
What is the typical response time for the nurse to respond to an (allergy) emergency?
- Currently, based on how our school is designed, our daughters grade level classes is two doors down from the nurse so the response time is less than a full minute (typically). All staff also utilize walkie talkies and a centralize intercom system which may cut down on alert/response time.
How are snacks, birthdays, and cafeteria food monitored?
- At our school, all classrooms are nut free and the teachers read all labels for snack time. In the cafeteria, there is a dedicated nut free table, and staff only read labels through 2nd grade. After that, the student is expected to either sit at the allergy table or read well enough to avoid their allergens. There is a cafeteria monitor each day, so there is still that added layer of visibility and lower response times in the event of an emergency.
Will I be contacted after minor reactions or only emergencies?
- Our school is small, so most staff and our nurses know most of the children (and families) by face and name. Our nurse has also memorized our daughters allergies. We have not had an allergic reaction (thank goodness) but we have had a loose tooth that got knocked on the playground and also use of our inhaler once, during a season shift. Both of those times, our nurse not only called, but she texted me and FaceTime called (for the tooth incident to calm our daughter). This is not likely to happen at a public school given the size and protocols, but it’s still important to know what the norm is.
These are some general questions that we ask every year, even though we already know the answers. I think it’s a good refresher and a verbal reminder of the protocols and policies. What’s your top question for your school nurse? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from each other.
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Andronica