Reference no: EM133849852

Case Study: Field Trip

Activity 

Who is on the field trip:

· All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students from Lupash Elementary (about 100 students)

· Classroom teachers (six teachers)

· Paraprofessionals (two)

· Parent chaperones (six parents)

· School nurse: Charlene Bertrand

· Gym/PE teacher: Jerry Harlan

Background:

Students, school personnel, and parent chaperones ride on school buses to Knight's Hollow Regional Park for a nature hike. Jerry, the gym/PE teacher, travels in a car in case anyone needs to be transported back to the school earlier than expected. They are away from school from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The students are collecting leaves, bugs, small soil and water samples, and small rocks to bring back to the classroom to study in science class and to use in art projects. The students bring along sketch pads so they can do drawings and tracings of bark, leaves, and other objects they find during the nature hike. Everyone is very excited about the day.

Students bring lunches from home or bag lunches provided by the school cafeteria. Milk from the school cafeteria is available in coolers for all the students. Bottled water and snacks for an afternoon break are also available.

Charlene, the school nurse, has a file with student medical histories, medications, and individual health plans (IHPs). Among the medical problems in the student population are Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHC), asthma, bee sting allergies, food allergies, developmental delays, autism, and Type I Diabetes Mellitus (that student has an insulin pump). All students are ambulatory. Each teacher and each parent is assigned to chaperone a group of 8 students. Charlene and Jerry are assigned to first-aid duty and will remain in a designated area in the park throughout the day. The paraprofessionals are assigned to float between chaperone groups who have students with individual education plans (IEPs).

Even though away from the school grounds, the field trip day is considered a regular school day and school policies must be followed. Medications that are administered on a field trip must have a medication administration form indicating the drug name, reason for the drug, and dose/route/timing; the forms must be dated and signed by both the prescriber and the parent. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen also require signed medication administration forms; OTC drugs are not routinely administered to children due to school policy.

Case Study Part I

1. Given the information available, what preparations does the school nurse need to make to meet the health needs of the students going on the field trip?

2. What supplies should be in the first-aid kit?

3. Propose a means for Charlene, the school nurse, to maintain communication with the teacher and parent chaperones during the day. While most of the adults have cellphones, cell service is not always reliable in the regional park. Therefore, cellphones are not a good choice during this field trip.

4. What is a short statement that Charlene will give to brief the chaperones about what to do in case of a medical emergency.

5. Students with chronic medical problems often need to take medications or have emergency/rescue medications on hand while on field trips. In addition to obtaining signed medication administration forms, how should Charlene, as school nurse, plan to store and dispense the medications?

6. Who will carry EpiPens and albuterol inhalers during the field trip? Provide rationale. What kind of instructions should be provided to the chaperones about access to and use of EpiPens and albuterol inhalers?