Keeping Teachers Informed About Children's Health

By Author: Janice Smith
Total Articles: 3
Comment this article

Many children have serious health problems, and quite often the teachers know little or nothing about them. This can be a dangerous situation for the children, and scary for the teachers.
Few things are more frightening for a substitute teacher than to have a student lift his shirt to expose a scar in the middle of his chest and say: This is where I had open-heart surgery as a baby. This actually happened to me. People may think that the primary responsibility of a teacher is to teach. Actually, educating children is second to keeping them healthy. As a substitute teacher I've been responsible for the well-being of children with heart problems, epilepsy, diabetes, asthma, kidney ailments, and several other medical conditions. Most were minor, but some were literally life-threatening. Modern medicine is performing miracles that were impossible just a few years ago, and more children are surviving. As a result, there are more children with fragile health who need special care. What I find most alarming is that I usually learn about a student's health problem it is after there has been some difficulty. ...
... One day I had a conversation with the teacher in the classroom next to mine because the regular teacher I was subbing for had asked his neighbor to share some confidential information about the health of one of his students with me. The regular teacher didn't want to write it down in the instructions he left for me because he didn't want to risk one of the other students reading this private information. I thanked this woman and told her how much I appreciated being informed about the situation, and that I wished more teachers would let me know about their students' ailments. I was shocked when she told me that most of the time the regular teachers don't even know. School nurses are wonderful, caring professionals who work hard to keep students healthy. But they can get sick themselves from time to time. It also takes time to get from the classroom to the clinic and vice versa, so it's important that teachers be aware of any serious health problems their students have and what they can do to help if something should happen. It would be a great help to teachers if the parents of children with serious medical conditions would write down the information about their child and his/her condition and make copies for each teacher, the administrators, and the school nurse. The child could even carry an extra copy or two in their book bag or backpack. When the child has a substitute teacher he or she could discreetly hand the information to the substitute and say: My parents would like for you to read this, please. The information should include the child's name, date of birth, the condition, medication and/or other treatments, instructions about what to do if a problem arises, and phone numbers where parents and doctors can be reached, and any other information that would be useful to a responsible adult should the need arise. Once when I was subbing for a first-grade teacher I had a student who was in a wheelchair because of severe arthritis. She was a sweet little girl, and I enjoyed working with her. While we were in the computer lab in the library, I noticed that she didn't look quite right. I went over to her and talked to her, but she didn't answer me. When I touched her lightly on the shoulder she didn't respond. I was worried and alerted the aide that something wasn't right. The aide came over and called the little girl's name. She rubbed and patted her hands and patted her cheeks until she began to respond. It turns out that the little girl had skipped breakfast that morning and taken her medication on an empty stomach. The mother was notified about what happened and came to get her daughter. As fond as I was of that sweet little girl, I was relieved that her mother took her home. I would have done the same thing in her position. I was also deeply grateful that I had an aide who was familiar with the child and her situation, and was able to help her. And I felt frustrated and scared because I didn't know what was happening or how to help. Thank goodness the aide didn't call in sick that day. In spite of the fact that there were a few students on that campus with serious health problems, there was no school nurse assigned to it. If I had been by myself I would have called the office, but who knows if the principal would have known how to handle the situation, or if she was even on campus at the time. Teachers care about their students very much, and want them to be safe and healthy. Having a child in your care with a serious medical condition can be frightening and intimidating, and ignorance just makes you feel helpless. Knowing what to do in case a problem does arise can make a difficult situation much easier, help the teacher feel more confident, and keep the students safer and healthier. About the Author Janice L. Smith has BA and MA degrees in Psychology. She was a popular substitute teacher before and after graduate school, and also worked as a Museum Educator. Her novel, Daddy's Little Secret is available at www.booksurge.com, and will soon be available at Amazon.com.