Thursday, May 4, 2023
May 10, 2023, is National School Nurse Day. Since 1972, National School Nurse Day has been set aside to recognize school nurses. National School Nurse Day was established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting.
School Nurses support the physical and mental health and educational success of children and youth by providing the link between health and learning. School nurses impact students of all levels of health and at every demographic group. They provide direct care for acutely ill or injured students and manage the effects of chronic conditions affecting attendance and school success. Acute and chronic conditions disproportionally affect our students of color and lower socioeconomic status.
School nurses are leaders. They demonstrated leadership in navigating the infection control and prevention measures to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 transmission in schools. School nurses develop policies and protocols to respond effectively to life-threatening health conditions. They supervise medication management. School nurses perform, train, supervise and delegate direct patient care in schools while following all the standards expected in a well-resourced healthcare setting.
Department of Public Instruction’s State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly and Governor Tony Evers signed School Nurse Day proclamations for recognizing the contributions of Wisconsin school nurses. For information regarding school nursing services in Wisconsin, see the DPI School Nursing and Health Services website.