Every day a child came into the school nurse’s office with vague compl

Every day a child came into the school nurse’s office with vague complaints, but sometimes it seemed to the nurse that the child just wanted to talk and be listened to for a while.

Every day a child came into the school nurse’s office with vague complaints, but sometimes it seemed to the nurse that the child just wanted to talk and be listened to for a while. Unfortunately, the child took up almost 15 minutes of the nurse’s very busy day. Which of the following actions should be taken by the nurse?
a.
Ask a staff person to talk with the child so the nurse could complete required tasks
b.
Continue to listen while assessing for possible underlying problems
c.
Refer the child to a private physician for follow-up on the constant physical symptoms the child presented
d.
Talk to the teacher about not letting the child leave the classroom unless obvious symptoms (fever, vomiting) of illness were present

ESSAYBID ANSWER

ANS: B
The nurse or teacher may be the only stable adult in the child’s life who will listen without being judgmental. Therefore, one of the most important roles of the school nurse is to act as counselor and confidante. Children may come to the school nurse with various vague complaints, such as recurrent stomachaches, headaches, or sexually promiscuous behavior, and the nurse must look beyond the initial complaint to identify underlying problems.