Parents query how a nurse treats a student with diabetes

Their daughter has diabetes and apparently the college nurse gave her insulin 3 times during episodes of hypoglycemia.

The school denies that such incidents occurred, however the reader says she has logs that confirm it. The reader also says there have been other lapses in care, but she doesn’t provide details. School nurses face day by day challenges, including caring for college kids who’re insulin dependent.

Several federal laws require that students with diabetes receive crucial care in school. These include: Americans with Disabilities Actguidelines and training for the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (now often called the Act on improving the education of individuals with disabilities).

Many states even have specific laws regarding students with diabetes and the care they receive in school. At a minimum, the regulations require that every student have an Individual Education Plan, an Individual Health Plan, and an Emergency Care Plan developed by the college nurse in collaboration with the scholar, family, and management orders and guidance contained within the Diabetes Medical Management Plan.

The reader didn’t share details about what actions he took to rectify the situation, nevertheless it will possibly be assumed that he shared his concerns with the college principal and members of the Student IHP and ECP, but to no avail.

If parents didn’t discuss this issue with the college principal, this may be a crucial step towards resolving the issue because the college may very well be liable if an injury or death results from the nurse’s actions.

Have the nurses received appropriate training?

It is kind of odd that a college nurse would administer insulin when hypoglycemia is present. Since that is so contrary to what any nurse, including a college nurse, would do, one must query whether the nurse is qualified to care for college kids with diabetes. As a result, reporting the situation to the state board of nursing for review would help to treatment the situation.

After investigating what happened, if the state board determines that a college nurse shouldn’t be qualified to care for college kids with diabetes, it might require the nurse to finish a course in an educational setting or through knowledgeable association resembling National Association of School Nurses. The Board will likely keep in mind the position of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, “Dealing with children with diabetes in the college environment”

The Board may determine that the nurse has additional practice issues beyond caring for the scholar with diabetes. In either case, filing a truthful and complete criticism with the Board of Nursing is most certainly the suitable plan of action and can hopefully result in a prompt resolution that protects the scholar’s well-being.

Although the circumstances of administering insulin while the scholar was hypoglycemic weren’t addressed within the parents’ query, there appears to be one other issue to think about: the scholar’s ECP, if any, was not monitored by the college nurse. Or, if it existed, it could have been defective.

Although not the first focus of this example, it will be important to notice that one in every of the roles of the college nurse is to assist the scholar with diabetes turn out to be independent in his or her care. In other words, with the consent of the family, the involvement of the first care provider, and in accordance with school policy, the scholar with diabetes can eventually self-administer insulin based on self-determined blood glucose levels and turn out to be the family’s manager of his or her chronic disease.

The family might need to seek the advice of with a nurse attorney or an attorney who practices education law and focuses on students whose care in the college setting is regulated by state and federal law. If you’re a college nurse or a parent of a baby with diabetes in the college setting, how essential it’s to properly intervene within the event of hypoglycemia. There is little, if any, room for error.