More than 800,000 kids go to Missouri’s 518 public school districts. Every child has the right to a free education that meets their needs in the best possible setting. In every school, some children are healthy while others face different health challenges. New medical tools and technology allow many children with long-term health conditions or physical challenges to learn in the same classrooms as other children.
Healthy Children are Better Learners
Along with teaching students, schools should encourage healthy habits. They should help find services for students whose health problems might affect their learning, and they must meet the health needs of children with short-term or long-term medical issues during the school day. School nurses make it easier and safer for students and staff to get the healthcare they need at school.
School nursing is a special type of nursing that supports the health, well-being, academic success and life-long achievement of students. School nurses help students grow and develop in healthy ways, promote safety and step in when emergencies happen. They also coordinate care for students and work with families and staff to help students learn how to manage their own health and adapt to changing environments.
A school nurse does many different jobs. They support the physical, mental, emotional and social health of students so they can succeed in school. The wide range of tasks they do, along with working in a non-medical school setting, is what makes school nursing different from other kinds of nursing.