Back to school means back to work

A school nurse once told me that parents who have healthy children don't really understand all that school nurses do. I realized that I had been one of those lucky parents who had been blissfully unaware of the school nurse's role. I'm unaware no longer.

After meeting two school nurses who were honored with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Celebrating Nurses awards in 2006 and 2007, and interviewing six school nurses for this month's cover story, I'm so grateful for their passion, dedication and knowledge. I now know that when our children go back to school each year, school nurses go back to work — and that's a very good thing for everyone.

During pre-planning week, Joanne Giel, RN, BSN, NCSN, a resource nurse for 11 schools in Gwinnett County, worked 59 and a half hours at schools and did more paperwork at home.

"That's what we all do," she said. "We do what we need to do to meet the needs of the kids before and when they're in school. That's the bottom line."

Wanting to change workplaces, Giel decided to pursue school nursing eight years ago.

"When my boss called to say I had the job of school nurse, I literally screamed into the phone," she said. "You have no idea how excited I was. Nursing is my mission, my purpose, and I had done enough research to know that this was a great field to be in."

Giel knew that the job wouldn't be easy.

According to the Georgia Association of School Nurses (GASN):

• There are 1.5 million school-age children in Georgia. At least 13 percent have no health care insurance and approximately 30 percent have chronic health conditions (i.e. asthma, diabetes, cancer, life-threatening food allergies or epilepsy).

• School nurses in the state give out as many as 5 million doses of prescription medication annually, including asthma medications, psychotropic controlled substances, antibiotics, seizure medications, insulin and emergency injections for severe allergic reactions.

• School nurses in Georgia receive approximately 15 million visits annually to their clinics for illnesses, medications or injuries.

"Nationally, the recommended ratio is one nurse to 750 regular students. That's a pipe dream for many Georgia schools, due to lack of funding, but it's a goal we all aspire to," said Giel, GASN president.

Things have improved since the state started funding school nurse programs in 2000. The majority of schools have a licensed school nurse on site during at least part of the school day.

According to Giel, about 400 nurses attended the annual state convention in Savannah in July to gain more knowledge about health issues.

"Most nurses pay their own way to the conference, because they want to learn," Giel said. "School nurses do a wonderful job. It's a recognized specialty that requires its own set of skills and we hope that their value is recognized by administrators and parents."

Giel believes that there is a growing recognition of the impact that school nurses have on children's health and safety.

The students already know.

"I get some of the best hugs and notes from my kids. They bring you pictures that they've drawn of you and tell you that they want to be like you when they grow up," said Cynthia Scurry, RN, BSN, school nurse at Kemp Elementary School in Powder Springs.

- Do you have any story ideas for Pulse? We'd love to hear more about your career and what you do after hours. Send e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com or call 404-526-2078.