Nurse refuses student inhaler during asthma attack

[gremcint]

His mom forgot to fill out a form so the dean and nurse refused to give him his inhaler, they just stood and watched him suffocate.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Nur...z/-/index.html

[Andara Bledin]

O. M. G.

I can, kind of, sort of, maybe if I shut down half my brain, understand not allowing him to have his inhaler (even if I think it's the most asinine thing in the world, considering that it was still packaged with the doctor's instructions to him as the patient when it was found in his locker). But not calling 911 is inexcusable.

I hope the mom uses the legal system to roast those involved.

And what is the deal with the nurse locking the door after he collapsed from asphyxia? Did she want him to die? There is something seriously messed up going on in her head. Regardless of what it is, she should not be in a position where other people's, children's, lives are in her care.

^-.-^

[Duelist925]

The everloving fuck? Ok. I can get not giving him the inhaler--ASININE as I think this kind of zero tolerance, zero thought shit is, there are reasons to ban inhalers without a signature. (Tho not letting him use one that is still packaged with doctors instructions, WHILE hes dieing, is a level of zero thought I haven't seen in awhile)

But I can understand that. Sort of.

But, to paraphrase the mom....why the fuck wasn't 911 called?

For that matter, what possible reason did the nurse have for closing and locking the damned door?

[gremcint]

First off locking the door = attempted murder in my opinion


Next in the comments people are defending the nurse and blaming the school system and other crap.

NO, NO, NO, The child's life was in danger, the NURSE knew exactly why and what was going on. The NURSE was holding medication she knew belonged to the child, was prescribed to the child and knew he took it regularly, She chose to withhold it. It is her job to ensure the health of the school children first and foremost the paperworK does not matter at all when someone is dying in front of you YOU HELP THEM, YOU DON'T LOCK THEM IN A ROOM TO DIE, YOU DON'T GET TO BLAME THE SYSTEM OR BUREAUCRACY you are outright making the decision to kill them not the paperwork not the school board not anyone else, you made the decision to kill them PERIOD.

[ngc_7331]

Of course it's in Florida. It's always Florida. I swear all the nuts roll down here. I can't wait to get the hell outta here.

And because it bears repeating FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THINGS HOLY, WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T SOMEONE CALL 911?

[Nekojin]

First off locking the door = attempted murder in my opinion


Next in the comments people are defending the nurse and blaming the school system and other crap.

NO, NO, NO, The child's life was in danger, the NURSE knew exactly why and what was going on. The NURSE was holding medication she knew belonged to the child, was prescribed to the child and knew he took it regularly, She chose to withhold it. It is her job to ensure the health of the school children first and foremost the paperworK does not matter at all when someone is dying in front of you YOU HELP THEM, YOU DON'T LOCK THEM IN A ROOM TO DIE, YOU DON'T GET TO BLAME THE SYSTEM OR BUREAUCRACY you are outright making the decision to kill them not the paperwork not the school board not anyone else, you made the decision to kill them PERIOD.

That depends. If she was following the school's instructions strictly, then she DOES get off the hook, because she was caught in a moral dilemma with no "good" answer - if she disobeyed school rules, she could lose her job (and I don't think that she thought the kid was actually dying at the time - hindsight being 20/20, and all).

So, it depends on what the school's policies were, and how strictly she followed them.

For a civil trial, both her and the school are absolutely valid targets, and the school system (and the state itself) have much deeper pockets than a lowly school nurse.

[Andara Bledin]

That depends. If she was following the school's instructions strictly, then she DOES get off the hook, because she was caught in a moral dilemma with no "good" answer - if she disobeyed school rules, she could lose her job (and I don't think that she thought the kid was actually dying at the time - hindsight being 20/20, and all).

Except for two things that stand out as complete things:

She never called 911. Part of following the school's instructions is to do so in the case of a medical emergency. So, regardless of whether giving the kid his medication was prohibited or not, she still wasn't going by the book.

But again we come back to the fact that she locked him out of the office and watched him collapse in the hallway.

And, to add to the entire of the situation, his mother told reporters that she told the nurse to call 911 and that she was on her way there, and that the nurse responded with, "I'm leaving at 2 p.m."

Article at WESH Orlando
The mother of the teen is very active in the comments section of this and quite a number of other news sites.

^-.-^

[Jaden]

She absolutely should've called 911. She absolutely shouldn't have locked him out of the office. I don't know if she's a psychopath or just stupid, or both.

As for not giving him an inhaler due to the mother not signing a medical release form, that part I understand. My mom is a teacher, and I know that doing absolutely anything without direct parental consent is a huge no-no. The tiniest mistake there can get you tangled up in litigation and lawsuits like crazy. So, fine, I could give her a pass there, but what she did afterwards is appalling.

[Nekojin]

Except for two things that stand out as complete things:

She never called 911. Part of following the school's instructions is to do so in the case of a medical emergency. So, regardless of whether giving the kid his medication was prohibited or not, she still wasn't going by the book.

But again we come back to the fact that she locked him out of the office and watched him collapse in the hallway.

And, to add to the entire of the situation, his mother told reporters that she told the nurse to call 911 and that she was on her way there, and that the nurse responded with, "I'm leaving at 2 p.m."

Article at WESH Orlando
The mother of the teen is very active in the comments section of this and quite a number of other news sites.

If all of that is accurate, then the school system has a very solid shield against liability in a civil suit, and the nurse is well and truly boned.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

I don't care if she was following rules or not, that nurse should never be let near a patient again.

COMMON SENSE MAN! Who locks the door on someone having an asthma attack?

[Rageaholic]

She absolutely should've called 911. She absolutely shouldn't have locked him out of the office. I don't know if she's a psychopath or just stupid, or both.

As for not giving him an inhaler due to the mother not signing a medical release form, that part I understand. My mom is a teacher, and I know that doing absolutely anything without direct parental consent is a huge no-no. The tiniest mistake there can get you tangled up in litigation and lawsuits like crazy. So, fine, I could give her a pass there, but what she did afterwards is appalling.

I understand the fear of litigation too, but I think the fact that we are so worried about stupid paperwork and policies that we'd let someone die because of a technicality says a lot. It's sad because I know there are some parents who would throw a huge fit over them getting the inhaler. People (including myself!) are afraid to act without fear of some by the book asshole or SC going after us. But even then, I'd hope the fear of someone dying would be enough to get someone into action.

But locking the door and refusing to call 9/11? That's not just stupid, that's pure evil.

[Andara Bledin]

As for not giving him an inhaler due to the mother not signing a medical release form, that part I understand.

But even if you give her that pass, what excuse was there for not informing the parent, on the day the inhaler was confiscated, that there was no paperwork on hand and that it would need to be corrected?

^-.-^

[Jaden]

But even if you give her that pass, what excuse was there for not informing the parent, on the day the inhaler was confiscated, that there was no paperwork on hand and that it would need to be corrected?

^-.-^

There isn't any. I'm certainly not defending this woman to any great extent - just that initial reaction. She clearly has some other major issues considering all of her other reactions.

[firecat88]

Yeeeaaaah...the nurse will be lucky if she's allowed to keep her job (and her license). Luckier still if she avoids jail time. Same with the dean.

[Kelmon]

Is it a normal thing for a school in the US to have any say over student's prescription medication? This alone seems wrong on so many levels.

I do get that the nurse was not allowed to give the student his medication if a signature is required, but certainly not why 911 was not called.