Day 34: CPR and First Aid for Teachers?

I've been thinking about this since yesterday.  It's not something I experienced in my class, but something my daughter was a witness to in her class.  The whole incident got me thinking about CPR and first aid training for teachers and other school staff.

Here's the thing: My daughter was in class yesterday morning doing a review for an upcoming quiz.  A classmate began acting strangely, as if he were falling asleep (and moving as if in slow motion).  All of a sudden, he went rigid, then began to shake and convulse at his desk. (You guessed it: seizure.)  The teacher sent a student to the nurse's office because she wasn't sure of what to do.  (FYI: You don't move a person having a seizure unless you are trying to get them onto the ground to lessen the risk of injury from a fall, don't put anything in the person's mouth, move all surrounding furniture and objects away from the person, put something under the person's head to lessen injury, don't try to hold them still, and be sure to time the length of the episode.) In the meantime, before the nurse got to the room, the seizure passed and the student came out of it.  He didn't know what happened and couldn't understand why everyone was looking so worried.  The teacher put a student in charge and walked the affected student down to the nurse as a precaution; they actually met the nurse in the hallway.  When the teacher returned, she told the class what happened, as some of them hadn't figured it out.  She also told the students the child was going home and to use tact if they spoke about it.

My daughter was still quite upset about it once she got home and was retelling us (my husband and me) about what happened.  After she recounted the events and we calmed her a bit, I kept wondering to myself about the teacher's response that she didn't know what to do.  Could it have been a momentary spasm of panic?  Or did she truly not know what to do?  Which got me thinking:  Why aren't teachers trained in CPR and First Aid? 

Think about it.  We oversee many students in a day's time: in class, on the playground, on field trips, during field day.  Not to mention all of the evening events for parents.  I know most schools have a nurse; some have a nurse practitioner.  And I dare say there are a few schools that have no medical personnel.  That one nurse or other medical professional (if you have one) is on call for all students in the building. What happens if that person is tending to another crisis? Or out of the building (with no sub)?  Or your building has no such person?  Shouldn't we as other school staff be trained so we know what to do in these instances? 

Most schools do give the Epipen training, as well as what to look for if you have a diabetic or asthmatic student, or a student with severe allergies.  But what about those students who are under the radar and don't know they have a particular medical condition or have a medical emergency happen to them for the first time (as in the case of the student in my daughter's class)?  As a parent of a child with asthma and a child with severe allergies, that concerns me. 

I know most districts are cash-strapped and cannot pay for their entire school staff to be trained.  But there are some facilities that offer the course over a weekend.  Check your local fire department, nursing school, hospital, or local branch of the American Heart Association. Certification lasts for two years.

I actually had my CPR and first aid training as part of the employment requirement to work in the student home for underprivileged children.  (For those of you that aren't aware, it's a part-time job I have outside of teaching.  Check the post "I'm So Ashamed" on my other blog.) Since it is a live-in position for the weekends I am there, I am the first point of emergency contact for those children, much like being the first point of contact for an injured student.

What do you think?  Should teachers and other school staff be trained in CPR and first aid?  Does your district offer any incentives for staff that have been trained?  Does your school keep a list of people on staff who have been trained?

Day 5: "I didn't know..."

It's the fifth day of school.  Long enough for students to have a basic idea of what the safety rules are on the playground. 

Most of the children who are in second grade this year have been at this school since kindergarten.  Even if that isn't the case, they were here last year in first grade.  Even if THAT isn't the case, and they are new this year, there are still basic safety rules that we have been reviewing since Monday.

My school has two playgrounds, the "little" playground, used by kindergarten and first grade, and the "big" playground, used by first grade through fifth grade.  (First grade uses both playgrounds; the little one for one recess and the big one for the other recess to get them transitioned for second grade.)

On the first day of school, first recess (15 minutes) and the beginning of second recess (30 minutes), was spent going over the playground safety rules.  The same rules that have been in effect for years.  The same rules that every grade level uses. We covered how to use the equipment, how many people are allowed on a particular piece of equipment at a time, what the safety rules for each piece of equipment are, where the tag areas are, where to find the recess balls for four-square and basketball, and where to walk if time off recess is owed. 

One of the rules we enforce has to do with safety around the gymnast rings.  The jungle gym has a section where the children can use gymnast-type rings to swing across a small area.  Under no circumstances are children allowed to run or walk under the rings.  We don't want anyone getting knocked down, or worse, getting kicked in the head.  Every time someone walks under, we blow the whistle and send them to walk; a violation is an automatic five minutes of walking.

Today I had afternoon recess duty (long recess, 30 minutes).  I kid you not, in the last 15 minutes, I sent nine or so kids to walk because they were running or walking under the rings.  Some of them knew they did it and started toward the walking area when they saw me looking at them after I blew the whistle.  I had one or two who weren't paying attention, but I had them walk anyway as a reminder to pay attention in that area because it could be the difference between having an accident and avoiding one.  And then I actually had one tell me she "didn't know."  Really?  After we spent half an hour on the rules on the first day of school?  After we have been sending children to walk left and right for the last four days and reminding children every time we line up to go inside?  After I've already blown the whistle countless times and sent others on their way?

I wish I could explain the behavior, but I just don't know...