For two of the days in Alaska, we had clinical at two different school sites. We got to learn about what school nurses do in a rural setting. The two schools I got to be apart of was Kenai Middle School and West Homer Elementary. My interpretation of school nursing going into these experiences was that the nurses see around 5-10 students a day for having the cold or the flu.
My first experience as a school nurse, which was at the middle school, was nothing less but overwhelming. My nurse Dixie had a minimum of 60 students come in throughout the day. While many students came in for ice, ibuprofen, and tylenol for head aches, stomach aches, and different body pains, to my surprise, many of the middle school students came in for psychosocial issues. These kids have many family issues and are dabbling into drugs and sex at a very young age. Dixie has average 60 kids come in a day because she is someone that they can trust. She said that the kids come to her for counseling rather than the counselor because of the relationships she has worked hard to build. While kids coming into her office just to socialize makes her day busy and puts her behind, she would not take it back. Because she is so lenient with the students, this has allowed them to open up and explain what is really going on. I was so inspired by the work and effort she puts in a day and realized how emotionally and physically draining it is. I also realized that a lot of the kids do not eat breakfast or drink enough water at this age. This issue was causing majority of the headaches and stomach pains the students were facing. She had saltines, peanut butter, and apple sauce that she would hand out to the kids who did not eat. There was constant teaching throughout the day, ranging from personal hygiene, bullying, healthy eating, and coping strategies.
My experience at the elementary was a totally different ball field. My nurse only saw about 20 students and her two main ones were diabetics (a kindergartner and a 4th grader). The entire day at the elementary school, we spent teaching 3-4 graders about hand hygiene and 5-6 about nutrition. I really enjoyed this experience even though I was nervous coming into it. I was afraid the kids were not going to enjoy or respect what I had to say. I planned a fun enough lesson where the kids were engaged, had fun with the activities, and were learning. While it got rowdy at times, I loved "seeing" the light bulbs go off in the kids heads. I loved the education part of the experience and learning how to teach children about their health.
Overall, I absolutely loved my school nursing experiences and it was definitely not what I was expecting. The amount of emotional support these kids need is enormous and difficult to figure out how to provide at times. These nurses are constantly teaching kids how to grow and become healthy young adults. If it was not for these experiences, I would have never of known how important these nurses are in many of these students lives. Thank you so much school nurses for all you do!
My first experience as a school nurse, which was at the middle school, was nothing less but overwhelming. My nurse Dixie had a minimum of 60 students come in throughout the day. While many students came in for ice, ibuprofen, and tylenol for head aches, stomach aches, and different body pains, to my surprise, many of the middle school students came in for psychosocial issues. These kids have many family issues and are dabbling into drugs and sex at a very young age. Dixie has average 60 kids come in a day because she is someone that they can trust. She said that the kids come to her for counseling rather than the counselor because of the relationships she has worked hard to build. While kids coming into her office just to socialize makes her day busy and puts her behind, she would not take it back. Because she is so lenient with the students, this has allowed them to open up and explain what is really going on. I was so inspired by the work and effort she puts in a day and realized how emotionally and physically draining it is. I also realized that a lot of the kids do not eat breakfast or drink enough water at this age. This issue was causing majority of the headaches and stomach pains the students were facing. She had saltines, peanut butter, and apple sauce that she would hand out to the kids who did not eat. There was constant teaching throughout the day, ranging from personal hygiene, bullying, healthy eating, and coping strategies.
My experience at the elementary was a totally different ball field. My nurse only saw about 20 students and her two main ones were diabetics (a kindergartner and a 4th grader). The entire day at the elementary school, we spent teaching 3-4 graders about hand hygiene and 5-6 about nutrition. I really enjoyed this experience even though I was nervous coming into it. I was afraid the kids were not going to enjoy or respect what I had to say. I planned a fun enough lesson where the kids were engaged, had fun with the activities, and were learning. While it got rowdy at times, I loved "seeing" the light bulbs go off in the kids heads. I loved the education part of the experience and learning how to teach children about their health.
Overall, I absolutely loved my school nursing experiences and it was definitely not what I was expecting. The amount of emotional support these kids need is enormous and difficult to figure out how to provide at times. These nurses are constantly teaching kids how to grow and become healthy young adults. If it was not for these experiences, I would have never of known how important these nurses are in many of these students lives. Thank you so much school nurses for all you do!