Preparing for a School Medical Emergency

A school nurse’s job may seem routine and simple. But this time of year, with cold and flu season in full swing, many school nurses have their hands full examining sick students and sending them home.

Something else compounds the hectic pace: a lack of basic information from parents about their children. If you’ve got a child in school, there are some things your school nurse or health officer should know in case of an illness or emergency.

At most schools, each student must fill out some kind of emergency card in order to register for class. The card generally lists parents’ names, addresses, and phone numbers, and some other basic information.

Such records are often inaccurate because children are in a hurry to enroll and make mistakes filling out their cards. As a result, it may not be possible to reach a student’s parents in an emergency because their work phone numbers are wrong.

Clearing up such dangerous errors and providing thorough emergency information about your child is easy. And it’s never too late to add this information to your child’s file. Just telephone the school to find out what information is on record.

Make sure several important phone numbers are included. Obviously, your home and work numbers should be among them, but also add the home and work numbers of at least two friends or relatives in case you’re unavailable in an emergency.

If a number corresponds to a beeper or pager, be sure to provide instructions for its use. Not all pager services provide recorded instructions and not all of them work the same way.

Include the name and phone number of your child’s physician or other health care professional and the name, address, and phone number of a preferred hospital. If your child is covered by medical insurance, give the school a photocopy of your policy card.

Your children’s medical history is also important for the school, so make it thorough. Make a note of any vision or hearing problems, as well as any correctional equipment that your child may use at school--such as eye glasses or a hearing aid.

If your child takes any sort of medication, make sure the school health officer knows what the medicine is and how often it is administered. In some cases, particularly if the child is very young, you may prefer to have the staff keep the medicine and administer it, rather than the student.

The medical history should also mention any allergies your child has, whether these are due to food, medicine, or atmospheric conditions. Add to the health file any serious illnesses your child has had, and any surgeries or chronic health problems that may limit activities.

If your child is currently exposed to a contagious illness--such as flu or bronchitis from a family member--notify the school at once.

And, finally, please keep your child out of school there are any symptoms of a contagious illness. Although many parents send sick children to school because they want to avoid missed schoolwork, state laws guarantee that students can make up the work for full credit. There’s no reason to make other students and teachers ill.

For more information on how to ensure that your child’s health records will be adequate in case of emergency, contact the campus nurse or administrator.