industry & reform
COVID ’ s really shone that spotlight onto school nurses , and who we are and the role we play .
More than just band-aids
The important role of school nurses during COVID-19 .
By Eleanor Campbell
Before it had hit nine o ’ clock on a Monday morning , school nurse Lisa Chalmers had already been greeted with a raft of changes made to COVID-19 protocols and a student returning home from South Africa .
“ That involves then working through the timeline of that arrival , speaking to the dad , and ascertaining what our plans were , and speaking to New South Wales health of course ,” said Lisa , who manages the health clinic at Barker College in Sydney ’ s north .
“ I also had a new Year 7 diabetic who spent last week at Royal North Shore Hospital returning this morning , so I had a parent meeting to work through his plan for this week .”
This has been the daily life of a school nurse for the past two years , and it ’ s more than just ice packs and monitoring sickbay . “ It ’ s been crazy , actually ,” says Lisa . “ My job was very busy anyway , and I think COVID has just layered on top of that a whole new level of responsibility and a role to play .”
Since the beginning of the pandemic , school nurses have had to juggle their dayto-day duties with contact tracing , tracking quarantines , administering virus tests and overseeing vaccinations .
They must also interpret the tsunami of changing health protocols for the school community .
When the virus first hit , Lisa and Barker ’ s five other nurses were tasked with overseeing infection control for the over 2,000 young people who stepped through the school gates each morning . “ I ’ ve never worked so hard ,” she says . “ There were months there in 2020 where we were standing out at seven o ’ clock in the morning with thermometers doing temp testing on the students when they came to school .
Since the return from remote learning , schools have made up the bulk of COVID-19 clusters in Australia .
While Lisa ’ s school has yet to report an infection , the threat of an outbreak is always looming .
“ I come to work every week and think , is this going to be the week ?” she says .
“ But I think we are lucky , and I put that down to our community . We ’ ve got an incredible director of communications and we ’ ve got an amazing COVID safety team .
“ We ’ re a well-resourced school , and not all schools have that available .” According to a survey by The Sunday
Age , 83 per cent of parents support having their younger children vaccinated once it ’ s made available .
Nonetheless , dealing with vaccine hesitancy and misinformation has long been part of a school nurse ’ s resume , says Lisa .
“ I really believe that the best way to address those people is to try to get beside them and understand where they ’ re coming from ,” she said .
“ We do not want to alienate them and it ’ s important that they have all of the information .”
Even before COVID-19 , the duties of a school nurse reached far beyond handing out band aids and fixing playground injuries .
School nurses respond to medical emergencies , oversee immunisations , and help students to manage their chronic conditions such as diabetes , seizures and allergies .
They also assist students to manage their mental health and wellbeing and provide vital health education to the wider community .
Lisa , who started her career as a paediatric nurse , says that the pandemic has reaffirmed a great sense of pride in her work .
“ It ’ s funny , you can sit down at a dinner party sometimes and people say , ‘ You ’ re a school nurse ?’ And there ’ ll be some joke about a band-aid or panadol or something ,” she says .
“ I think it ’ s actually one of the best jobs in the world . You wake up in the morning and you think , what ’ s going to happen today ?”
Across the country , nurses are reportedly leaving in droves due to severe burnout and exhaustion after two years of fighting the virus .
A national survey conducted by Monash University found that 30 per cent of nurses were currently considering leaving the profession .
Lisa says that her school has been inundated with job applications from nurses hoping to exit the hospital system .
“ I think people are thinking , what else can I do in nursing that doesn ’ t have the demands of working in a hospital , and shift work and intensive care and all of the things that have been in the COVID experience ,” she said .
“ It ’ s really interesting because it is one of those hidden professions .
“ I think COVID ’ s really shone that spotlight onto school nurses , and who we are and the role we play , and how important it actually is to have a school nurse in schools .” ■
10 | educationreview . com . au