Teachers' Section


When to Send Students to the Health Office

Here are some helpful tips to follow when deciding to send a student to the health office. These tips are recommended to help your students remain in the classroom whenever possible and to encourage children to realize their responsibilities as a "student".  These tips do not discourage a teacher from sending someone they feel is badly injured, or seriously ill no matter how many previous office visits.

Get to Know Your Students -  Sometimes children begin to use the nurse's office as an escape from the classroom. Just knowing a student's normal behavior, grooming habits, personality, or energy level can help you to decide whether or not a child is not feeling their "normal" self. 

Make Notes - Be sure to make a written note when you notice a certain student has been frequenting the health office.  You may find that they are avoiding certain subjects that are difficult for them.  For example, they may be trying to avoid Physical Education class, because they do not feel they can perform as well as other children.  Sometimes lunch/recess is difficult for students who may feel like they do not have friends to play with.  These are all issues that need to be addressed for the well being of the student and it helps to make mental and written notes. 

Hearing & Vision Referrals -  Make notes if a student begins to have headaches each time she/he reads or has a lesson to follow on the board.  Is she/he squinting often? If so, you should rule out any vision problems by contacting your school nurse.  It may be time to have a student's eyes tested.  Is your student sensitive to sounds or is not hearing you each time you are giving instructions?  You may need to contact your nurse for a review of records and a hearing screening as well.

Headaches - Unfortunately your school nurse can't give medication for upset stomachs and headaches unless the student has written orders from a physician to do so.  If your students are complaining of a headache, try to encourage that they hydrate themselves throughout the day and allow them to make water fountain visits.  Ask the child if he/she was up late the night before.  Some teachers recommend that their student rest his/her head on the desk  - which is an excellent tip.  Also, inquiring whether or not the student has had breakfast or lunch and exactly what they have eaten that day helps to see if they are suffering from low blood sugar or little energy stores.  This question is also as important when children are complaining of upset stomachs.  Be aware of a student's activity level, as well as any personality changes or signs of lethargy.  Any helpful notes you can send to the health office when a student is complaining of a headache or stomach ache will greatly help in any further assessment.  

Upset Stomachs - Encourage using the bathroom facilities.  Make sure that the child is emotionally well.  Sometimes nervousness, anxiety, or being emotionally upset leads to upset stomachs. Sharp stomach pains and migraine headaches are definite cause for sending your student.  You can often tell by a child's facial expressions, grimaces, and actions when your student has pains that require an office visit.

Frequent Flyers - Be sure the students know that Crying Wolf can be very dangerous when it comes to their own health/wellness.  Some students go through times when they begin to feel sympathy pains of others, (usually close friends), who are also in the health office. Some students, not all, will be complaining one minute, and suddenly when it is recess time, they are miraculously cured.  Keep your eyes open in the back of your head.  Student's who begin to act in these ways need to be closely watched and instructed on when a health office visit is necessary. Sometimes it helps to conference with a parent to collaborate on whether their child has the same ailments out of school as in school.

Cuts/Scrapes - Ask your parents to donate a stash of Band-Aids.  Unfortunately the health office has a limited budget that does not provide for extra supplies for every classroom.  It does help to keep some Band-Aids for minor cuts that do not require more than washing and a small Band-Aid i.e.; papercuts, minor scrape or old wounds in which a child's Band-Aid has been removed.  Do not hesitate to send a student who has a cut/scrape that you feel needs further evaluation and treatment.

Handwashing and Infection Control

There is a Wonderful site for handwashing.
http://education.gojo.com - It has some fee downloadable lesson plans which are
for pre-k through 6 grades.

Advice from a school nurse for teaching about air borne germs
I use bubbles to blow out into the room as an example of air borne germs.

Get a spray bottle and a sheet.  Fill the bottle with water and some food coloring (green is good).  Put up the sheet and stand back and spray making a loud "AH-COO."  This shows how germs from a sneeze spray and spread out.

You can draw a face on the sheet to show the germs going into someone's face. I never teach kids to "cover their mouths."  I teach them to cough and sneeze into their elbows and shoulders.  Then they can take the germs home and let Mom wash them away in the laundry.

If you can't get a glow germ kit, then you can make fake germs from powder, corn meal or some people use glitter.  You need to use something that washes off well for the hand washing demonstration.

Just remember that with the really young kids you can't really "lecture them." Try to keep it as visual as possible, you know "a picture is worth a thousand words."  Let them do most of the talking and see what they know. Back up the correct notions they have and correct the wrong ones.

Hearing Screening

Please take the time to see how one nurse describes a way to prepare students for the hearing screening.  The following is especially useful for Kindergarten teachers.

"I'll share with you a game I used to prepare the younger kids for the hearing test.  I did this with my Head Start preschoolers.  I had the teachers play a song.  She turns it off and on at different intervals.  The kids raise their hand when the music stops.  This accustoms them to signaling when they perceive a change.  I had the teachers play this game once a day, for about 5 min, the week before I did the hearing tests.  I could see a big difference between the classes that did this exercise and those that did not. Basically it gets them use to following directions and making the signal when they hear a change."

Vision and Hearing Screening Preparation

If you are a teacher of a Kindergarten, 2nd, 5th, 8th, or 10th grade level, you can help prepare your students for the hearing and vision screenings.  It helps if you take class time to prepare students for what to expect, especially at the primary grade levels.  Many students who know in advance, what the screenings are, and why they are performed, feel much more at ease, have less anxiety, the procedures are done in a quicker time frame, and there is less room for false responses.

It is often nice to consult with your school nurse who will provide you with equipment for the children to see, and give you procedure information ahead of time for you to share with your students the week of the hearing and vision screenings.  If time allows, many nurses enjoy making classroom visits and providing a quick presentation for your students.  Explaining that these tests are not scary, but are very serious and reminding children to be respectful to one another throughout the screenings is especially helpful.  One way to save time and keep students on their best behavior, is to ask a parent volunteer from your classroom to be available on the screening date and accompany the students to and from the classroom to the testing site. Please see your school nurse for any further helpful hints.