Diagnosing the School Nurse Shortage

The symptoms are clear – it’s the cure that’s hard to find. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Frontline Technologies]( [Frontline Blog]( [The latest Frontline Education Blog post]( Diagnosing the School Nurse Shortage As schools across the country grapple with the myriad challenges of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, school nurses and their role in stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus have found themselves in the spotlight. This scrutiny has also served to highlight a problem that long predated the pandemic: the school nurse shortage. Nurses are an integral part of any educational organization — especially given that 1 in 4 students have chronic illnesses such as asthma or diabetes. A shortage of school nurses means that schools may have to ask staff without medical training to dispense students’ medication, manage allergies and asthma, monitor blood glucose levels, and handle medical emergencies. And although educators are trained in CPR and first aid, there simply is no substitute for an experienced, trained medical professional in case of an emergency. COVID has highlighted the many responsibilities carried on school nurses’ shoulders, and in doing so, it has become clear that not every school has nursing staff to rely on. And when schools lack nursing support, students suffer. [Read On →]( In case you missed it: [[Infographic] A Not-Quite-True 2020 Retrospective]( [Continue Reading]( [How DC Public Schools Use Student Data to Support Mental Health]( [Continue Reading]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Instagram]( [Manage Email Preferences]( © 2020 Frontline Education 1400 Atwater Drive Malvern, Pa. 19355