Maggie Nechvatal
I am very concerned about the legislative session and potential budget cuts that will affect the students I serve. I have heard about the 65 percent solution. This is a plan to cut the bureaucracy from public education and move dollars into the classroom. I see this as a plan to cut services for kids.
As a school nurse, not a classroom teacher, I suspect there are some legislators who consider me, and others providing support services, expendable. Perhaps this is because they have no idea how I directly impact a student’s ability to succeed in school.
I know that the legislators need data and numbers to make good decisions. I hope to help them understand my work by gathering some data from August to December 2010.
I am a full time school nurse working at an elementary school with approximately 550 students. Ten percent of these students come to school with a medically diagnosed condition that requires treatment during the school day. I serve students with asthma, allergies, cancer, diabetes, seizures and psychiatric diseases. I provide daily direct care to these students so they can access their education.
I also provide instruction to the educational staff so they are able to make accommodations to instruction specific for each student’s needs. Five students on my campus require emergency, life-saving medication available at all times. I am responsible for training and monitoring the staff in proper administration of medication in the event of an emergency occurring during the school day.
Two students on campus have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and require blood sugar monitoring and insulin administration throughout the day. The interventions I implement make my school a safe, nurturing place for all the students to access learning.
Minimizing missed classroom instruction time
I provide health screening for the students I serve so that I can identify medical conditions that may negatively impact learning. I have completed health screening on over 70 percent of the students. Fifteen percent of the children I screened required referral for vision, hearing, dental and other medical conditions.
One student underwent surgery to remove a cataract that was causing blindness in one eye. Early identification led to intervention and treatment that will most assuredly impact her education.
During the first semester this year, there were more than 2,000 student visits to the health office. Each student is evaluated and treated for injury and illness, and the parent is notified. Happily, most students were able to return to class after receiving appropriate treatment. When a child is sent home, the parent is given instruction on proper care and follow-up so that the child is able to return to school quickly and appropriately.
My training helps minimize the time a child misses from classroom instruction. There have been two incidents when 911 emergency services have been called to my school to transport a student. These students received quick and appropriate triage to definitive care because the school nurse was on campus.
In addition to providing direct care to students, I am also part of a team of professionals who address the mental health of the students, excessive absenteeism and suicide prevention. I work with other district personnel to create and implement the safety plan for our school site.
I am not a teacher, but I am one of the professionals who help kids access their instruction. I understand the importance of having trained professional nurses at every school. I impact student achievement.
Maggie Nechvatal, RN, BSN, NCSN, is a nurse at Chelwood Elementry School in Albuquerque.