The indispensable school nurse
School nurses play a vital role in students’ health and well-being. And without them, it’d be difficult for schools to manage the increasing number of students coming to schools with a myriad of health-related concerns. School nurses have the professional expertise to help children with their health-related concerns and help to restore them back to health. This way, they help build a happier environment at schools that motivates students to show up and learn well. School nursing and student health Health and learning go hand-in-hand, and so does school nursing and student well-being. Students come from various backgrounds. Some face several crisis situations, homelessness, immigration, poverty, and violence which can be detrimental on their physical and mental well-being. In these cases, school nurses help by addressing the major health and mental problems they experience. The areas of intervention include preventive and screening services, health education and assistance with decision-making about health, and immunization against preventable diseases. In fact, for many children living in or near poverty, the school nurse may be the only health care professional they access regularly. It doesn’t end there. The school nurse’s responsibility also extends to providing interventions for acute and chronic illnesses, injuries and medical emergencies, communicable diseases, obesity, substance use and abuse, adolescent pregnancy, mental health, dental disease, nutrition and sexually transmitted infections. Which means, only with the physical presence of a school nurse at the point of care can these issues be addressed appropriately. Improved student outcomes directly co-relate to the presence of a full-time school nurse. However, fact remains that only 40% of schools only budget for a part-time nurse and 25% have no nurse at all. It needs to be recognized that school nursing shortage ultimately affects children. A quarter of all young children suffer from some type of chronic illness like diabetes and asthma. Add to the mix a raging pandemic that’s affecting life as we know it. In this scenario, it helps to have a medically trained professional onboard. It, in fact, is no longer an option. Recognizing the importance of a school nurse It needs to be recognized that if a school nurse is present to meet student needs, parents and school administrators can rest assured that children and youth can focus on learning. So, this school nurse’s day, EduHealth recognizes the vital role school nurses play in bringing up a healthy new generation and salutes our school nurses for being true heroes, serving school communities to ensure students are healthy and able to learn. We recognize how important you are and have your contributions have been critical to ensuring students’ continued learning in safe and healthy environments. Thank you from all of us at EduHealth and wish you happy school nurse day.
