May 16, 2024

“What makes a good nurse?”  

These are the questions that, almost a year ago, we asked random strangers, friends, and family during one of our first nursing courses. We collected information on what the common perception of a nurse was and many of those answers revolved around someone that is kind, caring, helpful, and honest.  

One thing that I did not realize, at that time, was that many people’s first personal encounter with a nurse is with their school nurse. Sure, they may encounter a nurse in the doctor’s office while growing up, but they are often accompanied by a parent or guardian. A school nurse, however, is a safe space within a school; a space where children can go for medicine, diabetes management throughout the school day, a band aid, or a place to rest when not feeling well; a space where children learn to vocalize their needs, their ailments, and their concerns confidently to an adult; and a space where a young child begins to form their perception of a nurse.  

Ultimately, there is far more to being a school nurse than I had assumed, and on May 16, I witnessed the New Albany Primary School nurse in action.  

The entrance of the New Albany Primary School!

But not without caffeine and a sweet treat to prepare for the energy of the young ones we would encounter throughout the day. New Albany sits in the northeast corner of Columbus and is home to one of Fox in the Snow’s location (some of the best coffee and pastries in town). We (Myrna, Jenni, and I) stopped for a morning cup of coffee and set off to get settled before the school day commenced at 9:05.  

A sweet treat from Fox in the Snow to start the day!

The morning consisted of routine medication distribution, including pills and inhalers, and monitoring the blood sugar of the 4 diabetics within the building. The day was busy as the school year was coming to an end, particularly with concern to the diabetic patients. Increased activity levels of second recess and fields days, coupled by class snacks of popsicles and cookies, had the school nurse chase the sugars of some diabetic students for most of the day.  

To my surprise, these young students were given much of the responsibility of their diabetes management. Among this student population, each student had a Dexcom monitor synced with their own device and the nurse’s iPad. When the student trended low, the nurse called the teacher and requested that the student be allowed to eat a snack. When the student trended too high, the student was requested to come to the clinic for management (insulin or encouraged to drink water).  

Overall, the school nurse encouraged the students to understand their illness and manage it accordingly while being a liaison between teacher, parent, and child. In addition to diabetes management, the office was full of tummy aches, scraped knees, bumped heads, and runny noses.  

The children in this school, first through third grade, are very young and many of them are managing illness with the assistance of the school nurse. As expected, understanding the many pillars of health is essential in addressing a young person’s health. Many of the complaints that were made by students regarding ‘not feeling well’ were followed by questions regarding what the child had eaten that day and if they had any water. Nutrition, sleep, and hydration are essential for a child’s health and wellness (and adults, too) and ensuring that these needs are met is a key focus of the school nurse.  

The promotion of independence and self-management of diabetes, even among the young children, aligns with the United Nations SDG Goal 4.6 which states “By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy”. Literacy and numeracy, and promotion of such, translates to health literacy and health numeracy, in my perspective. Managing chronic illness warrants a certain degree of education and understanding to promote compliance.  

In conclusion, I not only have an increased appreciation for teachers but an immensely increased appreciation for nurses, specifically working with school nurses, and all of those that work together to promote the health of young children and support their education!  

May 9, 2024

Many woke up this morning and started their days with a cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast and headed off to work. While I did start my morning with a hearty breakfast, and I hope you did too, I did not head off to work. I headed off to meet my classmates at North Broadway United Methodist Church.

We arrived at the church in our red scrubs (Go Bucks!), bright eyes (thank you caffeine and a 9 am start time), and big smiles (again, thank you 9 am start time). We were eager to help and were put to work preparing food for the guests that were soon to arrive.

          Prepping fruit salad (yummy, yummy!)

Entrusted with sharp utensils, we prepared salads (fruit, spinach, romaine) and chopped vegetables for roasting. We washed dishes and busied ourselves by continuously asking “How can we help?”. When the food was prepped, we made our way to the hallway to join our fellow volunteers, the Clinton Elementary fifth grade class, in welcoming our guests: senior citizens of the Clintonville and Beechwold neighborhoods. Today’s special event: brunch (yum!).

We joined a crew of fifth graders in greeting each guest as the entered. The warm welcome consisted of saying “Welcome to Sunday Brunch” with enthusiastic jazz hands queued by the word “brunch”. Many giggles were shared during the welcome process.

Greeting guests *jazz hands*

Following the warm welcome, we made our way to the main room and took our positions to serve food to the beautiful guests. Many of us served meat, rice, vegetables, salads, and fruit while the fifth graders served dessert and assisted guests with carrying their plates. Our guests enjoyed their meals, listening to a performance by the Dominion Middle School orchestra, while we took time to chat with the other volunteers and event organizers about the event and its importance. From this we learned about the wonderful goals and mission of the organization hosting this event.

              Brunch is served!

Hosted by the Clintonville Community Resource Center (CRC), the monthly senior brunch provides an opportunity for socialization and community for senior citizens in the local area. In addition to the monthly brunch, the CRC provides transportation for seniors to/from the event. The CRC’s involvement in the community does not stop with brunch. Senior citizens are also welcome to utilize the CRC for its range of services: weekly grocery trips, transportation for medical appointments, monthly breakfast club, home visits and personal assistance, and health-related or safety-related maintenance.

The CRC is addressing a public health concern regarding the effects of isolation and inaccessibility to resources for senior citizens. Sustainable Development Goal 10.2 states that “By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status”. The CRC serves the senior community regardless of social, economic, and political affiliations and aims to reduce the rapidity of dying by promoting socialization of people of various ages.

Today’s event was such a beautiful representation of inclusion of all: the fifth graders serving, the middle school orchestra performance, the volunteers, the coordinators, and the lovely guests. People left with full bellies and large smiles, and it was such a beautiful “aha moment” to witness the blend of people of all ages, working together to care for one another and sharing kindness and smiles. It was a beautiful event to be a part of and I believe that many of us are eager to return and continue to serve our community in this manner!