Kearney students teach parents what to do for sick child

It’s hard enough being a parent, but when your child is sick, it’s even tougher. Should I call the doctor? Should I take him to the emergency room? What should I give her to bring down the fever?

Nursing students at the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division recently helped parents answer these questions as they took part in the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson “I Can” Help My Child Stay Healthy program.

Education that works In a study published in 2004, Health Care Institute researchers demonstrated the impact of such training. Children of Head Start parents who received such education visited emergency rooms and missed school at much lower rates than those who hadn’t received such training. These parents also missed significantly fewer days of work because of sick children.

The program — organized by Head Start – recently trained 100 Head Start parents in the Kearney area to enable them to make better health decisions for their children.

Nursing students helped teach parents how to use a manual, titled “What to Do When Your Child Gets Sick,” an easy-to-use overview of childhood illnesses.

Nursing student, Autumn Trimble, said she and her fellow colleagues learned a lot.

“We learned that if parents have the right tools and if we as nurses perform necessary teaching, children will miss less school, parents will miss less work, and emergency room visits will be drastically reduced,” Trimble said.

The event was an opportunity for students to see the challenges and appreciate what parents face when their children are sick, said Stephanie Burge, instructor and nurse practitioner at the Kearney Division.

“Making a decision for your child’s health is complicated,” she said. “It was an excellent experience for students to work with parents, which is part of the art of pediatrics.”