Distribution of Meds to Children at Overnight Camps (18 years old, student, schools)
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I posted a link showing just how not common it is in the camping industry and how administration of medications is such a complicated issue. I can do the same for schools if you like.https://www.biancopa.com/medication-...y-legal-issue/ for sample California allows it, NH and NJ do not.
And not to be unkind but you as a parent are not privy to the specifics of the training of each and every teacher you have encountered. I have worked in many camps, many schools, and likely taught many more students than you have had children, I have never been required to administer medication nor known a single teacher who has. In fact quite the opposite.
As for the child being harmed, it would need to reach the level of criminal negligence for a parent to be arrested. Teachers are not held to that level. Just look at this thread, these people forgot 4 doses of a medicine. I suspect many parents, including the OP have also forgotten to give their own children medicines. Yet they are not being threatened with law suits. Yet these camp counselor are. It is not the same level of expectation and it is beyond ridiculous that those who care for many children, in a group setting for a short period of time are held to a higher standard than their own parents.
I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had threatened a lawsuit against anyone. Can you please enlighten me as to when I said that?
That link about schools said everything I have been saying. WTH??
In my area, camp outs in schools is common. Usually the teachers manage the kid's medications on these outings. At a small private school my children attended, the secretary and another admin asst gave medications including insulin. When I was a kid, it was our school secretary.
Its just not that complicated...no matter what articles from law offices you post.
And " As a result, medication oversight is no longer something peripheral to camp; it is a core service." is a conclusion sentence in the first link.
Teachers are not trained to give out medication, with a very few exceptions (like epipens). If they do so it is not only illegal in many cases. It could risk their licensure in many if not most states. Counselors are likewise also not medical personnel. I have worked many camps and routinely take preteens and teens on trips abroad. We do not supervise their medications and would not do so.
If your child is not old enough to be responsible enough to manage their own medication, find them a camp that keeps a doctor on staff and is willing to dispense medication. If you have camps that are willing to take on that liability you are very lucky, I would not be willing to do so.
My daughter worked at a Y camp while in college and took the state required med administration course I referenced earlier. One does not have to be an MD to give meds to others.
Let me rephrase my post starting with, "I would not expect camp counselors to be medically trained . . ."
If all of them had been through the training you cite, I would think of that as a high quality camp.
Back in my camping days the counselors got probably two days more time than the campers, just to be sure they didn't get lost on hikes to the dining hall.
I am actually agreeing with you. This "training" is not extensive, no more than a day IIRC. I think it's mainly the "rights" ( the right drug, the right dose, the right route, the right time, and the right patient), stuff like that.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 07-15-2017 at 05:55 PM..
My daughter worked at a Y camp while in college and took the state required med administration course I referenced earlier. One does not have to be an MD to give meds to others.
My children have attended a variety of camps/academic programs/etc. and were never ever allowed to self-administer medications until HS age.
Last edited by strawflower; 07-15-2017 at 06:59 PM..
My daughter worked at a Y camp while in college and took the state required med administration course I referenced earlier. One does not have to be an MD to give meds to others.
True but she had to have some sort of licensure, correct? As the links I posted shows this varies widely from state to state and from setting to setting. Expecting the typical camp counselor who would not be licensed, to be responsible for giving meds, particularly a controlled substance, is unreasonable.
I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had threatened a lawsuit against anyone. Can you please enlighten me as to when I said that?
The email you posted was clearly the first step towards getting litigious. Your child was not harmed, returned home safe and sound and yet you call the situation a "cluster****", made remarks that counselor were deliberately hiding your child's medication etc.
I shared this thread with many of my camp and school colleagues as a warning. Make sure your policies are clear, and think about whether or not it is worth your while to assume the sort of risk these councelors are taking on. It has been quite the interesting email thread in and of itself. So thank you for opening our eyes about the dangers of agreeing to deal with medications at all.
Well, my son has ADHD, which of course results in inattentive and forgetful behavior (why he needs the meds in the first place). But regardless, is it reasonable to expect this universally from 11-14 year olds? My son went to camp with 6 capsules (one per day) and came home with 4, meaning he only received his meds twice.
I would be shocked if that was even allowed, especially with ADHD meds. I would expect the policy to be that a counselor would distribute one pill/day each morning.
If the counselors were supposed to give the child their medicine bag at the appointed time, did they not do this? Or did the child not take the pill out of the bag? It sounds like someone dropped the ball, particularly with the situation with the counselor not being there anymore (which might or might not really be the case... preteens are not always reliable narrators). How would the kids know what time it was? At camp, children don't exactly watch a clock.
OP, next year, if your child goes to camp, you'll need to check on the policies and find out exactly what they mean. If I filled out forms and wrote down times and gave the meds to a camp employee, then of course I'd expect that they'd hand the pill bottle to my kid to take the pills at the right time. My daughter happens to take her meds with her breakfast, so that's a cue for her to remember, but if it was at some random time not associated with a meal, like 7:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 9:00 pm, then the person in charge of the meds should be on top of it.
True but she had to have some sort of licensure, correct? As the links I posted shows this varies widely from state to state and from setting to setting. Expecting the typical camp counselor who would not be licensed, to be responsible for giving meds, particularly a controlled substance, is unreasonable.
No, she was a college student majoring in biology. No license to do anything but drive a car.
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