Wednesday, March 5, 2003
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Wednesday, March 5, 2003 |
School Clinics Provide Valuable Resource to StudentsWhen many people think about school clinic staff they envision someone spending their day dispensing bandages and ice packs to the occasional student who shows up with a minor knee scrape or headache. It only takes one visit to any of Fayette's 25 school clinics to dispel this belief. Just take a look at these statistics. Between August and October 2002, 26,349 elementary students visited their school clinics, 13,637 of them received medications, and 1,653 were assisted with specialized procedures. At the secondary level, 28,828 middle and high school students visited their clinics with 13,839 receiving medications and 2,189 getting assistance with specialized medical procedures. On a daily basis, each clinic cares for 25-95 students with injuries or illnesses and assists with the administration of 25-50 medications. Today's school clinic staff is an integral part of the school system's total educational program. By providing a number of services to both students and staff, Fayette's school health services program supports and enhances educational success by improving and protecting the health status of everyone through prevention, maintenance and education. "We have to meet the physical needs of a student before we start meeting their academic, emotional, social and economic needs," said Debbie King, RN and school health services coordinator for Fayette County Schools. "Healthier students are more motivated students and that translates into a higher degree of academic success from which everyone benefits." A sampling of the services clinic staff provide include administering first aide care to students and school staff, managing the prevention and control of communicable diseases, assisting students with medication administration, monitoring student health records, educating students and school staff on health and safety, assisting in the development of individualized healthcare plans for students with chronic illnesses, coordinating vision, hearing and scoliosis screening of students and communicating pertinent health information with parents and school staff. Alfreda Paschal, RN, opened Sandy Creek High's clinic two years ago after the school system's health services program was established. Her day usually begins around 8:30 a.m. with students coming to see her about aches and pains. Two hours later she administers scheduled medications to students with different types of illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and other conditions where doctors have prescribed medications. Each day she administers prescription medications to about 55 students, each of which has a specific care plan that has to be developed and updated on a regular basis. Every student who enters into the clinic, from those who need scheduled medication to the ones with a headache or stuffy nose, must be recorded noting the time they arrived, their complaint, any medications they were given (by parental consent only) and the time they left. Students also stop by her office to ask medical questions or talk about problems they are experiencing. "I am really starting to develop a rapport with the students," she said. "Many will come in and talk to me before going to their parents. I spend a lot of time teaching, counseling and problem solving with our students." In between seeing students, administering medications and doing paperwork for the clinic, Paschal also finds time to give blood pressure checks to staff as well as teach some health and health occupational classes at the school. Of course, there are also the occasional emergencies like broken bones or cuts that can make a typical day anything but. "I just never know what to expect from day to day," she said. "Working in the clinic is like a cross between working at the health department and a hospital emergency room." In fact, many of Fayette's clinic staff have previously worked in ahospital setting and have between 10-20 years of experience. Paschal has worked for many years as a medical/surgical nurse. She decided to change her career path and looked into the possibility of working at a school clinic. Sandy Creek was the first place she turned to since her two daughters attend the school. "I called the school system to see if there were any openings and it just so happened that the high school was just opening a clinic and needed someone," said Paschal. "I never thought I would be a school nurse but this has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for me. My training in the hospital definitely helped prepare me for this job because you have to be a quick thinker, problem solver and detailed oriented. You pickup all of these skills in the hospital." King says she sees the future of the school clinics as becoming more involved in providing education in the community and delivering services that are performed in a hospital due to the increased number of students who are coming to school assisted with medical technology such as feeding tubes. "Families are using the clinics as a resource to get answers to their health questions," said King. "Parents know that healthy kids learn better."
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