As School Nurses Day approaches, I wanted to share with you an adaption I had created based on Taylor Mali's "What Teachers Make". He graciously gave me permission to share the adaptation with others. Taylor was a keynote speaker at NASN this past summer in San Antonio and shared parts of "What School Nurses Make" with attendees. You are welcome to share this. You can find in the NASN School Nurse Net All Member Forum library. Please be mindful of giving credit to Taylor Mali (@TaylorMali) for his genius inspiration and to me (@sicilio_lisa)! As school nurses, we specialize in touching the future- one student at a time!
What School Nurses Make
By Lisa Sicilio, BSN, RN, NCSN
Adapted from “What Teachers Make” by Taylor Mali
Shared with permission from Taylor!
http://www.taylormali.com
She says the problem with school nurses is…
“How's a kid going to be safe and healthy at school with someone who decided that their best option in life was to be a school nurse?”
She reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true what they say about nurses: Those who can, work in hospitals; those who can’t, work in schools.
I have decided to bite my tongue and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests that it’s true what they say about lawyers. Because we are eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.
“I mean, you're a school nurse, Lisa. Be honest, what do you make?”
And I wish she hadn't done that- ask me to be honest-
Because you see I have a policy about honesty and a gluteus maximus kicking: if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make.
I make sure I'm knowledgeable about the ever increasing and changing health needs of hundreds even thousands of students and faculty every year.
I make kids feel safe when they come to school with bruises because they got a beating from talking back at home.
I make sure kids have food to eat when they don’t get to school in time for breakfast. It sure is hard to learn when all you can think about is the emptiness in your stomach. And sometimes school is the only place a kid gets to eat.
I make the time to call each student by name and give an encouraging word. It might be the only time they hear their name in a positive way all day.
I make countless calls and home visits to secure resources parents need to help their child receive needed help to remove barriers to learning. You can’t educate people who are not healthy. You certainly can’t keep them healthy if they’re not educated!
I make do without lunch and sometimes a bathroom break to care for children (your children) who are having a seizure, asthma attack, drug overdose, low or high blood sugar, head injury, the list is endless.
I make teachers practice drills and then practice over and over (and over) again until they are confident in their ability to react without hesitation in a medical emergency.
I make emergency assessments and implement a plan of action based on my professional nursing knowledge that could be the difference between life and death!
I make my hands become the heartbeat for someone whose heart has – s t o p p e d. Call 911!! Push hard and fast!! Get the AED!!
I make parents tremble with fright when I call explaining the medical urgency of their child's headache complaint with sudden unequal pupil size and blurred vision.
I make it look easy to deal with blood, vomit, pee, and poop.
I make the time to have the tough conversation with students and parents about obesity, hygiene, pregnancy, school avoidance. I know this is a difficult conversation. Together we can find a solution that will help your child through this…
I make kids understand how important being truthful is and make them apologize when they are not. It is so important that I trust what they tell me every time they come through the clinic doors!
I make kids take ownership for the choices they make that will affect their health both now and for years to come. I make kids believe that they can be anything they choose to be.
I make them understand this,
then you follow this,
and if someone tries to judge you by what you make, you give them a metaphoric dose of castor oil.
Now, let me make this very clear so you know what I say is true…
School Nurses touch the future; School Nurses make a difference!
Now what do you make?
© Lisa Sicilio 2014