Considerations:
- Provide the student with as much privacy as possible
- Encourage the student to assist in the procedure as much as he/she is able to help student learn self-care skills
- Ensure strips are contained in a tightly sealed container and show no signs of discoloration
- Prolonged exposure of test strips to air may lead to inaccurate results
- Discolored test strips should be discarded
- Review manufacturer’s instructions regarding how long to keep an opened bottle of test strips before needing to discard
- Be sure to inform school staff that a student with diabetes should never be sent anywhere alone if feeling hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic
Supplies:
- Blood glucose monitor
- Testing strips
- Sterile disposable lancet
- Automatic lancet or lancet pen
- Cotton ball
- Sharps container
- Student’s Individualized Healthcare Plan (IHCP)
- Healthcare provider’s order
- Diabetes Medical Management Plan
- Parent/Guardian authorization form
Procedure:
- Review student’s Diabetes Medical Management Plan and healthcare provider’s order
- Ensure proper documentation of parent/guardian authorization to perform this procedure
- Position student to provide as much privacy as possible
- Explain the procedure to the student at his/her level of understanding
- Encourage the student to assist in the procedure as much as he/she is able to help student learn self-care skills
- Gather supplies and place on a clean surface
- Check expiration date on testing strips
- Ensure strips are contained in a tightly sealed container and show no signs of discoloration
- Discolored test strips should be discarded
- Review manufacturer’s instructions regarding how long to keep opened bottle of test strips before needing to discard
- Perform quality control on equipment per manufacturer’s instructions
- Or verify that appropriate quality control has been completed
- Wash hands
- Put on gloves
- Have student wash hands or clean the student’s fingertip with warm wet cloth, let it dry
- Insert the monitor specific test strip into meter
- Calibrate meter by matching test strip code to code on the meter (if required)
- Insert new lancet into lancing device (per lancet devise manufacturer’s instructions)
- Hold the lancet device perpendicular to the student’s fingertip or other specified location and pierce the skin with the lancet (per meter specific or Diabetes Medical Management Plan/health care provider’s order), to get a drop of blood
- Do not use pads of fingers
- Gently squeeze or massage finger until a drop of blood forms
- Touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood, and wait for the result
- Blood glucose level will appear on the meter’s display
- Meters do not only display numbers
- Some display “Lo” or “Hi” for results outside of the meter’s parameters
- Some display error messages
- Consult with the meter manual to determine the meaning of messages
- Hold cotton ball on student’s finger until bleeding stops
- Place used lancet in sharps container
- Once blood glucose level was displayed, remove test strip and throw away per school policy
- Remove gloves
- Wash hands
- Have student wash their hands
- Document blood glucose reading in student’s healthcare record
- Follow health care provider’s orders for snacks, hyper or hypoglycemia, or insulin coverage
- Update parent’s and healthcare provider as needed
References:
America Diabetes Association. (2021). The big picture: Checking your blood sugar. Accessed on September 15, 2021 from https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/medication-treatments/blood-glucose-testing-and-control/checking-your-blood-sugar
Mayo Clinic. (2021). Blood sugar testing: Why, when and how. Accessed on September 15, 2021 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/blood-sugar/art-20046628
Page last reviewed: February 25, 2025
Page last updated: February 25, 2025
The information and materials presented in this Website are intended for informational purposes only and are not designed to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, or assist in diagnosis or treatment of the same. The information is not intended to substitute for, supplement or replace clinical judgment. If there are any concerns or questions about or relating to a nursing or medical procedure, contact the individual’s healthcare provider. The information provided on this Website is not intended to be a substitute for medical orders and persons without the proper education, training, supervision and/or licensure should not perform the procedures.