Section 071-40-4 - PROCEDURE FOR MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION ON SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS/OFF-CAMPUS EVENTSA.Training. Any unlicensed personnel administering medications, both prescription and over the counter must have training documentation on file at the school.B.Orders/Permissions. There must be written permission from the parent/guardian providing consent to administer the medication in school and a written physician's order and/or an appropriately labeled original medication container.C.Packaging. Duplicate medication containers shall be obtained from the pharmacy to be used for field trips as this is considered best practice. The school nurse will provide a review of the medication and its administration to the trained personnel on an as needed basis. All trained personnel administering medication must understand what to do in an emergency.
D.Transportation/Storage. The medication will be transported and stored in compliance with any special directions for the medication and will be secured as safely as possible.E.Administration. The administration of medication on a field trip will duplicate as much as possible, the guidelines found in the Medication Administration Handbook for Unlicensed School Personnel. This will include consideration of student privacy and cleanliness of area where medications are administered. Medication will be administered to the student to assure that the right student receives the right medication, with the right dose, at the right time, by the right route. The trained personnel administering the medication will double check the student with the medication label and will double check the dose. The medication will be administered within 30 minutes either side of the prescribed time.
Each school district will develop a method of documenting medications administered on the field trip, recording any unexpected occurrences, and a method of returning any medication not administered.
F.Special Considerationsi.Out of State Field Trips. Schools must consider other states' laws when administering medications. It is advisable that the school nurse contact the Board of Nursing in the state of the school trip regarding questions about unlicensed school personnel administering medications. Some states do not allow unlicensed school personnel to administer medications, for example. If the school nurse is attending the out of state field trip, he/she should determine if it is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows a nurse to have one multistate license with the ability to practice in the home state and other compact states. If the state is not a compact state, then the school nurse should contact that state's office that regulates nursing practice.
ii.Self-administration of medication. School administrative units have the discretion to create procedures to allow for self-administration of medication by students on overnight trips or in unique situations where there may not be authorized adults to hold/administer medication. This procedure must include the consent of both the student's parent/guardian and medical provider in cooperation with the school nurse. The student should be knowledgeable about their condition/medication and sufficiently responsible to possess and capable of self-administration. The arrangements must be done in advance to allow for the communication between medical provider and school nurse. iii.Medical Marijuana. It is the duty of the school unit to know what the applicable state law is with respect to medical marijuana for any out of state trip. Reasonable accommodations must be made for students who hold written certification for the medical use of marijuana in a non-smokeable form. [Title 20-A MRSA § 6306 ] 05-071 C.M.R. ch. 40, § 4