Recently an 8th grade boy, a reasonably capable young teen, found himself stuck in a bathroom stall. The stall door jammed closed and he couldn’t force it open. Being a reasonably capable young teen, he realized that he better find a way out, ’cause hanging out in locked stall isn’t all that great of a time. However, he didn’t want to crawl on the floor underneath the door. This is where his judgement gets questionable. Instead, he attempted to climb over the door. That’s right- attempted. Somehow (or by someone), the door lurched open as he tried to hurdle it. His leg caught the metal edge of door and the point gashed open his thigh. He ended up with a deep cut several inches long gushing blood everywhere.
By the time he hit the ground and the other boys in the bathroom ran for help, he was hysterical. Luckily two teachers ran in and carried him out and down the hall, holding his red leg up in the air. They took him to the office where help was called and the boy was taken to the hospital for stitches.
I believe most schools require Bloodborne Pathogen training, like what is offered by OSHA. This is usually completed by watching a short video online and filling out a super easy multiple choice test all of 15 questions. Afterward you can proudly state yourself an OSHA-approved safety expert. Or something like that.
In reality, that doesn’t do much for you. More importantly, be up for anything and if you aren’t good at thinking on your toes, then think ahead of time about what you would do in a bloody situation. It can be as simple as knowing, “Well, I’d page the office for help and I know where I store some handy latex gloves.”
Oh, and hopefully you aren’t squeamish. You will at least see a lotta puke as a teacher.
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