Archive for April, 2007

National School Nurse Day

Posted by skhc on April 30th, 2007. Published in Health Room. 3 Comments »

School Kids Healthcare would like to take the opportunity to recognize and thank all the school nurses on this National School Nurse Day for their continuous dedication.  The National Association of School Nurses has chosen “Healthy Children Learn Better” as this year’s theme.  Although this year’s theme is put together with four simple words achieving this goal is an ongoing process that is not always simple.  Everyday a school nurse is faced with the unexpected, the routine and the challenge of creating time in order to educate in the classroom all while on a limited budget. 

The first North American school nurse was Lina Rogers Struthers who was hired by the New York City Board of Education back in 1902.  Within one month her incredible efforts were not only seen but proved and now there are approximately 50,000 school nurses in the United States.  It only took 70 years to establish National School Nurse Day!  This celebratory day recognizing school nurses was long overdue in School Kids Healthcare’s opinion however we’re glad to have the honor of celebrating it with you now.

We would like to ask all of you school nurses how your school or district is celebrating National School Nurse Day this May 9, 2007.  Is your school, district or state government planning anything special?  We understand all of you are very busy and constantly on the go whether within one school or within a whole district but we’d love to hear from you!  If you want to share letters, cards or pictures that you’ve received or post a comment all your thoughts are welcome here.

Happy National School Nurse Day!

Sincerely,

School Kids Healthcare

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Vision Screening in Schools

Posted by Twyla Lato on April 24th, 2007. Published in Health Room. No Comments »

The equipment possibilities read like a compendium of brand names - TITMUS, SureSight, GOOD - LITE, Photoscreener, Snellen, Lea Symbols, HOTV, Ishihara, RDE.  By now, all school nurses know the topic - its vision screening.  We also know that children are unable be successful in learning if problems with vision get in the way.
 
When deciding to screen, there are so many factors to consider.  Is it mandated in your state, or not?  In this time of shrinking resources, both human and financial, what avenues have you explored just to get the job done - Lions International, local optometrists, Prevent Blindness, trained volunteers?  What equipment will screen the greatest number of students in the least amount of time, but will do so with reliability and accuracy?  And once the screening is accomplished, how detailed does the follow-up become?  To what lengths does the school nurse go to get parents to realize the importance of the results, especially if they don’t have the resources to pay for a thorough eye exam, frames and lenses?  What have you found helpful in diminishing the impact of this barrier to learning on students that are referred? 
 
What do you do with your screening data?  Have you used it to convince the decision-makers in your district of the value of screening for students and of the value in having school nurses to do it?
 
There are as many answers as there are questions.  In all likelihood, the veterans among us have been doing screening “forever” and may be reluctant to try the newer technologies because “That’s the way we’ve always done it” and change is difficult, for some of us.  Sounds to me like a great subject for a school nursing research project - “The Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness of the Various Methods of Vision Screening in Schools” - anyone interested?
 
Enough questions to ponder!  I’ll bet that you have questions of your own.  Your thoughts and ideas are welcome here.


Twyla Lato, RN, BSN, NCSN is a School District Nurse for a suburban community in southeast Wisconsin, and a past president of the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses. 

 

 

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