School Nurse Time Saving Tips
Some of these tips are mine but most came from a variety of school nurses who responded to a survey I posted on my website a month or so ago. Others have been emailed to me at various times from generous readers.
I have purchased those round sticky labels from the office supply store and I put last names on the lids of medication containers, which are kept in a medication drawer. I keep them in alphabetical order. Although I always look at the label before dispensing, this makes it easy to quickly find each child's medication bottle quickly.
Have you ever tried the alcohol based hand sanitizer to remove gum or stickiness left by labels? It works like a charm.
Do not feel guilty if you cannot get everything done, if you have a brilliant idea which takes 4 years to get implemented, at least it is done, if you never get to do it, it is just one of those things. Get rid of the guilt, you're only human.
I have found a cheaper way to make "fun" Band-Aids. The character ones are so expensive. Someone may have done this before but I just thought of it one day as I had a crying 5 year old in my office from a scraped knee. I took out a pad of stickers I usually give them to wear on the shirt, etc., but this time thought why not put it on the Band-Aid before I place it on the knee. it was a smiling yellow face. It looked just like a real Band-aid and adhered very well...stickers are cheap compared to fancy Band-Aids...just a thought if no one has thought of it before me!
I have 6 students with Epi Pens this year. I was concerned about being able to quickly get my hands on the correct one in an emergency. Solution: I purchased 2 rubber organizer drawers
for silverware. I labeled the ends with the names of the students and put one Epi-Pen in each slot. Now, at a quick glance I can grab and go. I keep glucagon for my diabetic students in the same arrangement.
When a student comes to my Elementary office and I find headlice, I screen (family members if able)and 4-5 of the student'sclosest friends/playmates. If I find nothing on those heads, I do
no further screenings, unless the need arises. I do send home, at the beginning of each school year, a note toparents...suggesting they check for H.L. on a weekly basis. Students with live lice are not excluded from school.
To untie shoelaces, use a staple remover!
I work with kindergarten and first graders and give out many ice packs for headaches and boo boos. I have a cooler filled with ice in my office, and I find I save a little time by making up ice packs ahead of time and keeping them in the cooler. I use the zipper type snack size bags for this.
I set aside a few minutes each Friday (or whatever the last day of the school week is),no matter how hectic the day has been, to make a "To-do" list for the next week. It really helps me
focus on what I need to get done in the upcoming week. Waiting til Monday doesn't seem to work as well. I include everything that MUST get done as well as a couple of long-term items. I
check things off as they are completed and I am always amazed at how much I accomplish each week--especially those weeks when I feel that I'm just spinning in circles. It also helps me
keep track of those long term reports, screenings, rescreens,etc. that tend to get pushed to the back burner until they're due. I may not get everything checked off but most are, and those that aren't get moved to the next week's to-do list:)
I work in a middle school. I have numerous students with severe allergies ,diabetes, medications etc. I run a schedule for all of my students with a health need and keep it in a binder with their care plans. You would be surprised how many times you need to locate these students through out the day. It saves time from going to the computer to look up the schedule. Also good idea to put a copy in the emergency care box in case of an emergency
evacuation. You know exactly what class they are in at the time. Hope this can be of help to someone.
Self serve health office. Have students do as much as they can for themselves therefore creating a responsible child.
At the begining of each new school year I always give the teachers a baggie full of band aids, gloves and clinic passes.This get's them started for the new year. I always tell them to
just request more if they need it. I like to encourage the students to do for themselves as much as possible in the classroom. Of course if it is anything worse than a paper cut, I will certainly see them in the clinic, but in reality....a 4th grader most likely cleans and bandaid's their own minor cuts at home, so they should be empowered to do it here at school also.
A big time saver for me is having a master list of all my kids
that have allergies and significant health issues such as asthma, diabetes, bladder urgency, etc. with emergency contact numbers and meds child is on. It helps to have that instead of
having to look through many health history forms. Also I keep a list of the prn meds at each school so that i can glance at it before calling a parent if tylenol or something else minor is
needed.( The meds are kept in the office not the clinic b/c I am only here every other day).
I have so many kids with sore throats, I pre-load small cups with a teaspoon of salt for them to mix with water and gargle. I have a stack all the time. I don't have to find the cups and the
salt, they are ready.
Our first grade students have already been pulled from class for vision acuity testing and will be pulled out again for the optometrist visit. I decided instead of pulling them out a third time for health promotion on handwashing that while they were waiting for their turn with the optometrist, we would use that time to do our handwash teaching. I have a book to read to them, a color page for them to work on, and some discussion material about germs and the spreading of germs. This should make waiting less anxious and will give them the information they need.
