Frequently Asked Question of the Week:
FAQ's of the Week will take a "summer hiatus" and begin again during the first week of September 2008.
Question: Do medications order extend through summer school?
Answer: Physician orders for medications should be renewed annually (page 5 of the Administration of Medication in the School Setting Guidelines). Please check your local district policy regarding medication order renewal and summer school. It may be advantageous to add a statement to your medication permission form that states that a medication order is valid for the school year and summer school as needed (it may be late to add this notation for this year, but it could be added for subsequent years).
The information on this website is for informational purposes only. The New York Statewide School Health Services Center has made every attempt to ensure that the information and resources reflect best practice in the field of school nursing.
While this page contains recommendations that represent best practice, the professional school nurse must be the practitioner to determine the appropriateness of care delivered to each individual student in the unique situation in which they practice and in accordance with guidance from their school health services administration.
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Special Notice - AEDs and CPR -
The American Heart Association (AHA) has changed their recommendations for CPR from the traditional 15 compressions/ 2 breaths to 30 compressions / 2 breaths. They are also recommending one shock from the AED followed by CPR rather than the original 3 shocks form the AED.
I spoke to a representative from the Emergency Cardiovascular Care department at the American Heart Association and they have the following recommendations for school nurses from their national faculty:
§ Follow the prompts on the AED you have during resuscitation. Despite the changes in procedures, follow the instructions on the AED that you have. Trying to readjust to a different procedure while the AED is prompting you may cause confusion and delay resuscitation, so they recommend that you follow the prompts as given from an AED.
§ Each district should collaborate with the manufacturer of their specific AED to try to reprogram the AED. I spoke to Medtronic and they indicated that they will have two options for reprogramming the AED available this summer: 1. A CD and download cable can be purchased (approx. $30 for the CD and $50 - $110 for the cable) for districts to reprogram the AEDs themselves (only one CD necessary for each type of AED that a district has – if they all match, one CD and cable would be appropriate) or 2. A field service representative can come to the district to reprogram the AEDs. Cardiac Science reports that by the end of the summer they will have a CD available or the AED can be sent back to the company for reprogramming. Check with the company that made your district’s AED.
§ The AHA does not recommend replacing an AED if the district would have trouble managing the expense of an upgraded machine. The AED would be used as it is currently programmed and replaced only as needed for mechanical reasons.
