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- 14 June 2019
As knowledge and content of our site grows, the number of questions we receive also grow!
The questions below are intended for feedback and commentary, so if you have an answer, solution or comment, please reply! We have numbered each question, so be sure to include that in your response!
4. Mental Health Resources in Schools:
I would like to hear from anyone in the school nurse setting who could recommend the best education re Youth Mental health. What support are school nurses receiving when dealing with youth mental health issues? Is anyone experiencing serious problems? How are the issues being addressed & do you, as a nurse, feel supported? I am nursing in Waikato.
3. School Nurses taking blood samples in schools
A School Nurse writes....I'm looking for any guidelines around school nurses taking blood samples on site at schools that may include such things as self-consent vs parental consent, whether agreement from schools is necessary/required, and any guidelines on venepucnture in adolescents?
Does anyone have anything that might help? Thanks in advance!
2. Non-Nurses Administering OTC medication:
A School Nurse writes.... We have 8 matrons in our boarding houses who are administering paracetamol, ibuprofen and loratidine to students. They don't have any training other than a first aid certificate which of course doesn't cover administration of these meds.
While we are currently (as it's historic practice to do so) supplying the matrons with the medications that are dispensed from the pharmacy, we are trying to find out the legality of them administering these medications.
Are the school clinic nurses ultimately responsible for the administration - even though we are Mon-Fri 8-5?
I can't find anywhere that the matrons have had any training around the medications either (which is suggested for health care assistants administering medications).
The closest I can find is documentation for health care assistants but they have generally received some sort of basic training.
I have finally got some standing orders in place for the nurses to administer the above medications, but of course this doesn't apply to boarding house matrons.
Does anyone have any information or advice that could help in this situation? Thanks in advance!
1. Hearing Screeners:
A School Nurse writes.... 'I am trying to source some hearing muffs, I have tried Bay Audiology where we originally got them from but they no longer have them.
Do you know of any supplier?'
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Comments
- Woody Vahey
- 11 Oct 2019
- 5:02 pm
Regarding working with students around their mental health needs. MH is the 2nd most common reason I see students, so its daily. Yes sometimes it has been really big scary stuff, including having a student sectioned in my office and transferred for admission to Starship due to risk of harm to self and others. My support comes from the pastoral team at my college (Guidance, Senco and dep principle in charge of pastoral). I am lucky that we work closely and collegially so I have a safe place for shared confidentiality and team work. I understand this is not common place in all schools. I also access professional supervision, which all employers should support due to the autonomous nature of our work working with vulnerable youth. Peer support from another school nurses is great after a hard day or where next steps seem unclear.