I thought this was worth providing a link…
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/30/BAG71FMCVG.DTL
Here is a news article that discusses “who can inject insulin at school” (in California)
Check it out.
opinions? What does your state allow or restrict for school kids?
I really don’t understand the nurses union objection to allowing trained personnel who are not doctors or nurses to inject insulin with the budget cuts and shortages of medical personnel on school campuses. I would understand if it were actually possible to have a nurse or doctor standing by just to inject insulin every school kid with diabetes and if people who injected insulin for school kids were taking a livlihood away from nurses. It seems to me that putting that kind of responsibility in the hands of nurses alone just overburdens them even more. It seems really counterproductive.
For better or worse, I think it means that parents and caregivers have to be more diligent in making sure there are enough designated friends on campus to insure that their own child is taken care of.
I am a CA resident. I am not only speaking as a diabetic but also as a long time health care worker. I hope the nurses lose! What a crock to put a child’s life in danger. If a parent can be taught how to give insulin and children can learn then why not someone else? I can see maybe having the parent’s sign a waiver of some sort to protect the person who would do the injection but I would be more upset if my child suffered from a lack of an insulin injection. Calling an ambulance doesn’t always help either. Where I live there is one ambulance and if it is on another run then you are kinda out of luck.
Nursing is a noble profession. This position is not. The kids come first. Always. I’m going to keep my eye on that wannabe justice. She’s some bad mojo.
The quote
Here are a few quotes from the California Nurse Assoc in response to a letter I sent to them shortly after the perceived victory. It kind of sums up the attitude or territorial protection of the organization that will result in damage to T1D children the California schools.
From:
Vicki Bermudez R.N.
Regulatory Policy Specialist
California Nurses Association / National Nurseses Organizing Committee
“…We see a great deal of difference between the fact that non-medical adults can learn to administer medication to themselves or to their children and the idea that non-medical adults can administer high risk medications to others and especially to children who cannot manage their own disease in the school setting. We know that there are children in the school setting who successfully manage their own diabetes including the administration of needed insulin. Would you also suggest that these children should be administering insulin to other children because of their clinical experience in managing their own disease?..”
“…We hope that you will join us in making the provision of safe healthcare services in the classroom setting a reality for California school children.” (in other words, hire nurses or else…!)
The attitude in other exchanges was even worse with then declaring that no one can take care of an insulin dependent diabetic in the school better than a nurse, which there is a shortage on in California.
It really sucks to see the CNA take a stance that can prohibit care being given to T1D in schools who do not have access to nurses…the have even been quoted as stating "If we cannot get there in time to treat the T1D who needs medical assistance, just call 911. Of course as all too many of us know, we would much rather have a parent, friend or trained non-professional show up to help rapidly, instead of have the paramedics do their thing.
This, unfortunately, isn’t only in California.
As a Type 1 teacher, I’ve made it very clear to my administration that I’m more than willing to help any students in my school to inject, test their blood sugar, etc. as needed - with parent permission. I’ve been explicitly told I cannot - I can only give Glucagon, if I go through an annual training class. Nurses have to be the adults to do the shots.
I live in Wisconsin.
Wow. I am curious how each state deals with this.
Its pretty good in Virginia. While the schools prefer to have a nurse do it, if no nurse is available (with parent’s permission) an administrator or teacher can give injections.
The nurses do not have an objection to allowing nondoctor/nurses to inject insulin. The existing laws on the books prohibit anyone w/o a medical license or nursing license to perform activities already delineated as medical or nursing activities. The judges’ ruling was that the Diabetes Act was invalidated because of pre-existing laws that say you can’t have just anyone going around injecting insulin, no matter how good they think they are at it…in a hospital… in a school, etc. The judges are not in the business of writing laws. They interpret laws. Legislators write laws- except they have to write new laws that are in accordance with laws that they already wrote. It may be worthwhile to re-examine who in the whole US can go around injecting insulin…but the Nurse Practice Act in California, written some time ago BY LEGISLATORS and recently reviewed by LEGISLATORS, already decided only nurses should give insulin.