School Nursing in Canada

School nursing is a branch of nursing dedicated to promoting and maintaining the health and well-being of school-age children through collaboration with families, school staff, and the community.

Now, as the school nurse your role is multifaceted, meaning there are a variety of functions you’ll perform, and they can vary based on your location and specific institution.

Functions can include promoting wellness, preventing illness, managing acute and chronic conditions, and providing emergency care.

Let’s look at some examples. To promote wellness, you can provide health education for students by identifying their learning needs and delivering relevant information.

For instance, you can provide information on ways to remain physically active or how to respond to peer pressure about substance use. Be sure to tailor the education to be age appropriate; so, when teaching about physical activity, younger children can benefit from education about playing on the playground, whereas teenagers are more likely to benefit from encouraging participation in team sports.

Next, to prevent illness, you’ll aim to reduce the risk of disease. To do this, you can ensure students are up to date on required immunizations; conduct health screenings; and encourage frequent hand hygiene.

You’ll also identify and address acute and chronic conditions in the student population. These might include acute conditions like lice or a sore throat; and chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes. Caring for acute and chronic conditions can include developing a care plan, like an asthma action plan for a student with asthma; administering medications, like insulin for a student with diabetes; or administering paracetamol for a student with a fever.

Be sure to collaborate closely with the student, their family, and their healthcare provider to ensure the student’s plan of care is comprehensive, clear, and up to date.