National School Nurse Day takes place May 6

Osseo Area Schools has a team of over 50 nursing staff, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed school nurses and regular substitutes that support absences and leaves. While caring for students experiencing acute illness or injury during the school day is an important part of their job, this only scratches the surface of all the things school nurses do in their roles.  

In addition, school nurses provide case management for students with chronic health needs, create care plans, give medications, respond to emergency health needs, prepare for field trips, train staff to recognize signs and symptoms of common health concerns and how to respond, delegate medication administration for field trips, track and follow up on student immunizations, monitor for infectious disease in the community, support student mental health and work with the school interdisciplinary team. Some nursing staff collaborate with special education teams to identify students who receive special education services that also need nursing as a related service. 

“Nurses in schools play an important role in public health,” said Melissa Sennes, health services coordinator for Osseo Area Schools. “We help to prevent the spread of infectious disease by monitoring and reporting the spread of illness in classrooms and in our schools. In a true emergency, nurses have the skills to activate emergency services, remain calm, provide comfort, stabilize a critical situation, and provide information to staff and emergency medical personnel to transfer care.”

I see our nurses go above and beyond every day, providing a listening ear and reassurance, offering community resources to families, providing referrals, helping families understand next steps to care when students are ill or injured and much more,” Sennes added. “Our nurses are heroes everyday.”