Anyone ever asked their doctor to do a school inservice?

HS teacher of 22 years.
In my experience, In Services are the burden of the Principal. That is who should do the scheduling and decide who goes, when and where. Most physicians would expect either $$$$$ or a donation to their charity. The amount would have to do with where you live.
Arlene

booandbrimom,
I plan to ask our allergist next week about doing an inservice for our school for this coming year. If she agrees, I'll discuss it with the principal to see if he's interested in this approach, or if he'd rather we (parents) just do it ourselves.
I'd like to have the "authority" of the allergist to back us up, but I'm also wondering if she might say something that might give them the wrong idea, meaning that it's not as serious as we *know* it is. She really doesn't know our son all that well, let alone his allergy reactions. Strange, I know, but we've been blessed to not have to see her much!
Let us know how things go with your plan.
Take care,
Tammy

You might want to talk to the curriculum coordinator or the superintendent of your school district as well as the principal. I have not asked them to do an inserice on it yet, but I think that is a great idea. I go and meet with the teacher before the beginning of the school year. I am rather lucky thought that the principal is a long-time best friend of mine and knows all about their allergy. However, all teachers as well as supporting staff need to be trained in the event of an emergency. Good Idea!!

Just updating my info on this thread.
I met with our allergist on Tuesday. I asked about the inservice. The allergist herself probably wouldn't be able to do it, but her nurse most definitely would. She assured me that she and her office would help in any way. She even offered to lend her FAAN school materials for our school's use. She is very pro-504, and is convinced that ANY school can accomodate a PA child... "They have to."
Good luck, All.
Tammy

We got the district to agree in our 504 to an all-staff in-service with our allergist right before school began. It was only about 45 minutes long. She showed the video "It Only Takes One Bite", demonstrated epi-pen trainers, and did some darn good talking about how serious this stuff is, how allergies can develop at any time, and really educated the entire faculty. Several teachers went up to talk with her after the presentation. It made all the difference in the world in how the PA kids in the school are perceived and treated. She said to make a donation somewhere when I asked about remuneration. (If you're in Chicagoland, her name is Renee Lantner, in practice in LaGrange! She's the best!)

SLICE,
A few questions, if you don't mind?
Had you already been meeting with the school (principal) before then?
How do you think the presentation went, being given right before school started (as opposed to being given much earlier than that)?
I ask because we are presently meeting with the principal of our elem. school. I am hoping to get everything straightened out long before my son starts there. I have asked the principal if a meeting will be held before the present school year is over; he feels it would be better to wait until the next school year starts because of staff changes, etc. I have also asked if information could be sent home with the faculty/staff over the summer. Again, he feels it would be better to wait.
I have already decided to push the issue of the information being given out for use over the summer, because, even if someone doesn't return to the school, it will still be useful information. In other words, it can't hurt.
I am worried about not meeting with the faculty/staff until next year (this Fall). I'm afraid my son will either have to attend an unsafe situation for awhile, or will not be able to attend on time, if the meeting is held off until the school year starts. How did your school meeting turn out right before the school year started?
Thanks for any info you can share!
Tammy

Been there, done that. My daughter allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts is in first grade. I found it MUCH easier to go through the school nurse. The principal has a million things to deal with. The school nurse at the beginning of the new year only has to deal with special needs kids, and there probably aren`t that many. Most schools open about a week before school starts and that is when 504 meetings usually are. I strongly believe it is to your advantage to get the Epipen training done the week before school starts (late August). If it is done in June, much of it will be forgotten by September. If I were you, if your child is starting next year, I would call the school nurse a few weeks before school gets out for summer, introduce yourself, tell her about your child`s Epipen, and get a date for a meeting the week before school starts in August.

A School Nurse in our district found a wonderful allergist to speak on food allergies through the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. AAF an active organization in our area (St. Louis) and his 1-hour powerpoint presentation was voluntary (ie free!). You might check the yellow pages to see if there is an AAF chapter in your area.
Gail

CarefulMom and Gail,
Thanks for your suggestions.
The point about the nurse is a good one... except our school nurse is only present in the AM on one day, and the PM on another day (I'd guess 6 hours max all week). Not what I call a great situation - I don't foresee us relying on her too much, sad to say. We'd like to see a nurse there full-time, of course.
I definitely intend to mention to the principal that I feel waiting until the school year starts is too late. I'd be more than happy to give 2 presentations, or more, of course! I just don't want my child to miss "the first day" or worse, to attend in an unsafe situation.
Gail,
Our allergist has offered her office's services.
Thanks again for your suggestions, Ladies!! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Tammy