Hello fellow school nurse! Your school situation sounds very exciting. I am curious to know how your district is able to fund so many types of nurses within the school. The trauma nurse is something I would like to know more about. The district I work for subcontracts their school nurses, and we are only in each school building one day a week.
You also mentioned working more with the 504 coordinators. We are moving towards offering a 504 to each student with a medical condition (seizure, asthma, severe allergy, etc), and we are all a little concerned about the increased time involved in writing a 504 for each student meeting that criteria. Do you offer this? How much time is spent facilitating?
The ‘trauma’ nurse position is a new position that will hopefully help facilitate transitions for some of our most challenging students. The plan is to create a ‘step down’ space with extra Social Workers, Psychologists, Counselors and Nurses … and specifically trained teachers and support staff.
We are fortunate to have a great leader in our Health Services department that continually illustrates to administration about how nurses improve attendance, keep kids in class and is a STRONG advocate for our school nurses. I think the “trick” is to point to more class time equals better test scores. I have worked in other districts where I did not participate so much in Child Study Teams… Nurses in our district are expected to be active participants in IEP planning as well as the 504 coordinator (team lead) for the school.
Last year was my first year – and although we are not supposed to be the 504 lead in our first year – many on the team had no experience with the process (paperwork), so I worked closely with our district 504 support team (Department Head of Health Services and a Social Worker that specializes in 504s). In my limited view – it is akin to writing a care plan – and once you gather info from teachers and family – it’s condensing and creating appropriate accommodations that can be applied in any classroom or school activity. My first couple plans took forever, but my confidence in the process improved and with ‘practice’ — it’s pretty straightforward. I still have colleagues check in on wording… particularly with those transitioning to middle school. Pick my brain anytime!
Hello fellow school nurse! Your school situation sounds very exciting. I am curious to know how your district is able to fund so many types of nurses within the school. The trauma nurse is something I would like to know more about. The district I work for subcontracts their school nurses, and we are only in each school building one day a week.
You also mentioned working more with the 504 coordinators. We are moving towards offering a 504 to each student with a medical condition (seizure, asthma, severe allergy, etc), and we are all a little concerned about the increased time involved in writing a 504 for each student meeting that criteria. Do you offer this? How much time is spent facilitating?
Thanks for sharing your intro.
Erin
The ‘trauma’ nurse position is a new position that will hopefully help facilitate transitions for some of our most challenging students. The plan is to create a ‘step down’ space with extra Social Workers, Psychologists, Counselors and Nurses … and specifically trained teachers and support staff.
http://kmuw.org/post/wichita-public-schools-new-trauma-team-help-students-behavioral-needs
We are fortunate to have a great leader in our Health Services department that continually illustrates to administration about how nurses improve attendance, keep kids in class and is a STRONG advocate for our school nurses. I think the “trick” is to point to more class time equals better test scores. I have worked in other districts where I did not participate so much in Child Study Teams… Nurses in our district are expected to be active participants in IEP planning as well as the 504 coordinator (team lead) for the school.
Last year was my first year – and although we are not supposed to be the 504 lead in our first year – many on the team had no experience with the process (paperwork), so I worked closely with our district 504 support team (Department Head of Health Services and a Social Worker that specializes in 504s). In my limited view – it is akin to writing a care plan – and once you gather info from teachers and family – it’s condensing and creating appropriate accommodations that can be applied in any classroom or school activity. My first couple plans took forever, but my confidence in the process improved and with ‘practice’ — it’s pretty straightforward. I still have colleagues check in on wording… particularly with those transitioning to middle school. Pick my brain anytime!