Anyone else work in a school medical room?

[ItsRainingKids]

Specifically secondary?

We have seen a huge upsurge in footfall over the course of the year. I'm just wondering if this is an 'us' thing or other schools are seeing the same phenomena.

We're a fairly big school but don't have a sixth form and I'm often recording 100+ visits a day. Even accounting for colds and the time of year, it's a 36% increase for the same time period in 2023 and a 23% rise from last year.

Everything I can think of to mitigate what's going on has a contradictory side. I'm at a loss.

What kind of things are they coming to you for?

Headaches/migraines
Feeling sick
Minor injuries
Plasters
Are probably the most common

Lots of lightheaded/dizzy spells
Stomach aches
Period cramps
Antihistamines

Lack of resilience is a big problem, as is the number of kids who use medical room as a route of class...but what to do to manage it all is the tricky thing.

Where I worked pupils were not allowed out of class and we had to go to them...as well as do our jobs. This was an attempt to cut down on the footfall.

Medical room? Is this a UK state secondary? I didn’t know anywhere still have medical rooms!

Can I ask how migraines, sickness and period issues are a "lack of resilience"?

Because a lot of them aren't actually true. Some are - and headaches, nausea and stomach pain can also be down to anxiety - but a significant number are not (the Lazarene-style recoveries the moment they walk out the door with a parent aren't urban myths) and they're used as a pretext for getting out of lessons and going home for a couple of days.

Immediately post covid, my work medical room would be inundated with students convinced they were about to die of heart attacks because they'd just had a PE lesson or complaining that their legs were in agony and they needed to go home straight away after walking up the stairs twice. There were also extreme reactions to the odd papercut or tiny scratch on the arm from three days ago and nothing but 25 minutes out of class and a plaster that would then 'fall off' and necessitate another 25 minutes in the next lesson to get another one.

It's the school version of the small child doing more curtain calls than Laurence Olivier at bedtime.

My son’s school assumed, I believe, that his migraines (diagnosed by a consultant) were a method of getting out of class. That was until he filled ten sick bowls with them or the time he had to get an older boy to fetch help as he couldn’t leave a toilet or the time he simply had no choice but to lie on the floor. They respond slightly appropriately now, but there are periods where he has to come home once a week due to them.

Teachers need to know who has a diagnosis and a medical “pass”, who can be relied upon to not being pulling the wool and a policy of refusal for the majority of requests. These kids (ok mine did) didn’t for the most part do this in primary.

A lot of schools have rigid policies and yours is not defending your time appropriately.

When I worked at a private school a few years ago the school nurse commented on these exact conditions. It is an attempt to get out of games, French, maths whatever. All girls school. The head put a stop to it by introducing some fairly strict criteria. It is a lack of resilience - these students need to deal with their subject aversion.

@NeverDropYourMooncup
Well.
As a governor of many, many years standing, if I was on a panel that got a complaint from a parent about your attitude towards their ill child, we'd have to give you a written warning.
It's basic safeguarding.
You aren't the childs parent, their gp, or consultant.
You don't get to decide if they are "faking".
As a parent of children with chronic illnesses (including migraine and asthma..) attitudes like yours are at best, arrogant, and at worst, potentially very harmful.
It wasn't until my eldest was blue lighted to A&E with an asthma attack, and my youngest projectile vomited all over the food tech room (the so- called first aider hadn't followed the detailed instructions and given the provided migraine prevention medications) that their health issues were taken seriously.

So a private school Headteacher knows better than a neurologist?
🙄

I collapsed at school when I was 15.
I had horrendous periods. The pe teacher didnt believe me, either.
He felt differently after I haemorrhage on his previous crash mats 😀
He actually tried to tell me I had to clean my blood and clots off the mats/floor!
Sad to see times haven't changed.

precious
Not previous!

I'd also suggest providing regular data to the DSL regarding frequent visitors.
Again - this is basic safeguarding

No, the qualified trained nurse, who saw the same students on the same day/timetabled lesson repeatedly with no medical support letters from parents or medical staff. I knew all about this because as Data Manager and the introduction of GDPR we needed to be clear how we were recording sensitive personal data. The Head, quite rightly stepped in, when it was clear that a number of students were faking illness. Genuine cases were recorded appropriately and consultant letters added to medical records. HTH.

My ASD DD is a frequent visitor to the medical room, it’s usually code for something else is going on in school that she is upset / anxious about. I haven’t worked out fully if she genuinely feels the symptoms which is actually anxiety or if she makes the symptoms up to go see someone. Either way she needs some extra support and not the first aider rolling their eyes at her.

"Qualified trained nurse..."
One of those terms is redundant, surely?
HTH

By law of averages, 100 pupils in a school of say 1500 cannot be genuinely ill every day. Of course there will be a lot of genuine cases, but there will also be a number of children who are either purposely fabricating and illness or might be a little under the weather but well enough to be in class.

This ^
Pupils semh need is sky high, which, can, of course, cause physical issues.
But let's just ignore the issues caused by the covid lockdowns, SM, cyber bullying...
And as for those pesky ND kids...
🙄

...agree.
But some of that behaviour can be a safeguarding issue.

@Almost2026
...although during covid, of 150 of my dd2s year group, 40 tested positive over one weekend...
Noro can decimate attendance.
A couple of years ago it was strep A..

Some genuinely struggle and need to check in for support, but I bet plenty are taking the mick then heading to class (late), happily saying "But i had to go to the medical.room sir". At my school (not secondary) lots of children want to go in to the medical room during playtime to ice a bumped head/knee/ankle, or for headache, sore throat, feel sick etc. Obviously some are genuine but many just want to go indoors or are avoiding friendship issues. The ones that like being outside suddenly have their issues at the end of playtime and take a detour back to class via the medical room, very happy to miss part of lesson time. I can imagine the secondary school.version of this leads to what you're describing. Do you keep a record of visits? A certain number over a month could trigger a call home perhaps?

Are you feeling a bit burnt out OP ?
i am sure working in school medical room can be really stressful but the kids still deserve care, support and compassion

children snd young people’s mental health is notoriously bad and has been declining for some time, this is why f course having a massive impact of how kids are coping / not coping in schools

many genuinely need more support than kids did say 10 years ago …

you can call it a lack of resilience ….. or you could call a nation crisis of kids not coping with day to day pressures and rising levels f anxiety and depression-

these are issues you should be talking about at length in the workplace, engaging with the national strategies aimed at supporting kids in schools -

your footfall is going to get worse
kids are coming to medical room due to not feeling well physically and mentally - it should be a place of sanctuary not where they are seen as hassle

Right, I appreciate people taking the time to reply but really take exception to some of the comments.

I'm not for one moment suggesting the students are a 'hassle' or accusing ones with genuine health needs of malingering.

I know which ones are inclined to try it on, who has genuine medical needs, and am very aware of which kids are presenting due to an element of mental health, SEN or safeguarding stuff going on.

But...I am one person. I have a part-time assistant and it's taking the two of us every minute just to keep on tops of visits and recording and there is a lot more to running a school medical room than dishing out painkillers and plasters.

When I started the job a couple of years ago there was time to spend time doing some welfare and nurture work with the kids that needed it, and no concerns that we'd drop a ball because of students like those mentioned by @socialdilemmawhattodo and not be able to properly support a student who really needs it.

Myself and my assistant are good at what we do and are managing the juggling but I desperately want to be doing a better job for those kids with genuine support needs rather than just dishing out paracetamol all day.

In my school they can’t come directly to you. They have to come to lesson and we call on call who act as triage for time wasters. Then if you are needed you would be radioed.
We call it first aid. So it’s not medical; not interested i in headache, got a cold, banged my toe last Tuesday. Can’t give out any medication that isn’t prescribed so no paracetamol etc.

@Itdoesntmatteranyway that sounds sensible although maybe a bit hard core!

I'm actually Student Welfare, based in the Medical Room and primary first aider.

We're thinking of limiting times for paracetamol for students without a logged medical problem but tbh I just thing we're going to end up with even worse bottlenecks.

I'll make the students go and sign in to their lessons (especially if they turn up with ailments as the bell goes that they could have come to me with in break)...and the teachers immediately send them back.

We get several every day with 'my mum said I had to come in for a bit but then I could come to medical and you'd send me home...'

There are a dozen or so who just don't want to be in class and are getting behaviour support around that but their teachers will send them to medical almost daily at the drop of a hat.