Honoring school nurses
PSEA joins Pennsylvania and the nation to celebrate National School Nurse Day on May 10.
If you think school nursing is all about flu shots, Band-Aids, and record-keeping, you haven't been inside a school lately.
School nurses and school health professionals juggle a complex array of medical and social issues, seeing thousands of students, and often moving from school to school throughout the district.
A typical schedule can encompass immunizations, health care screenings, hearing and vision testing; dealing with home accidents, diseases such as diabetes and asthma, student obesity, special needs like tube-feeding, preventing the spread of disease through blood exposure; and the fallout from mental, emotional, and social problems, including arranging for disadvantaged students to receive breakfast and clothing, and even helping students cope who are homeless or whose parents are incarcerated.
For some students, the school nurse is the only health care professional they ever see.
National Nurses Week
PSEA honors our state's hardworking nurses on National Nurses Week, May 6-12.
The week is set aside to recognize and thank nurses and health care workers for their extraordinary work and commitment.
Pennsylvania is home to more than 200,000 registered nurses. Nurses serve in emergency rooms, homeless shelters, operating rooms, and other health care sites that directly impact the community every day.
Nurses play an invaluable role in our health care programs, from taking vital signs to providing round-the-clock care.
As members of PSEA and HealthCare-PSEA, school nurses, registered nurses, and health care employees demonstrate the understanding that caring today will result in a healthier tomorrow for all.
Whether advocating for patient safety, counseling a family, or taking care of a sick child, nurses are making our communities healthier and safer places to live. Take a moment this month to thank the nurses and health care workers you know for the valuable work they do.
Find school nurse information and resources at www.psea.org/schoolnurses.
Learn more about HealthCare-PSEA at www.healthcarepsea.org.
