The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is an 11,000-member professional nursing organization. Our primary mission is to promote optimal learning for students by advancing the delivery of professional health services in the school setting. NASN promotes educational materials and courses for school nurses throughout the United States.

School nurses act as highly trained first responders when illness or injury arises at school. From minor cuts and bruises to broken bones and head injuries, from diabetic reactions to psychobehavioral emergencies, school nurses must deal with all types of health-related incidents. Their clients encompass not only students, but also staff members and adult visitors to the school. Most school nurses are certified in CPR and first aid; often, they are responsible for training others in their school district.

Because school nurses have minimal emergency equipment in the school setting, their goal is to stabilize the client to the fullest extent possible until EMS responders arrive. This makes it essential for school nurses to establish and maintain a close partnership with EMS agencies in their area, particularly when there are students with special health care needs attending the school.

Most school nurses work closely with such students, their parents, and their physicians to put nursing care plans in place that address potential emergencies these students may experience. Nurses who are not at the school on a full-time basis train school personnel to provide necessary interventions in their absence as permitted by protocol and physician guidelines.

NASN develops and promotes courses that allow school nurses to enhance their skills and prepare themselves to manage emergency situations. One such course, Managing School Emergencies, is a series of 3 one-day educational offerings that were developed with input from emergency room nurses and school nurses. The course provides current information about the treatment of cardiac, respiratory, neurologic, and other major emergencies, also providing for skill-building through “real life” scenarios.

Disaster Preparedness for School Nurses, a new offering developed with input from EMTs and others, helps school nurses prepare for a range of crisis situations, including bioterrorism, natural disasters, and violence within the school. The manual that accompanies this one-day course was recently published and has been widely used in school settings.

A collaborative relationship between emergency responders and school nurses is a critical element in providing optimum care, with benefits for both the EMS agency and the school. Working together, EMS and school personnel can prepare emergency care plans and protocols to address both general and specific types of emergencies. EMS representatives can provide insight into how school personnel can best prepare to work with responders when emergency services are activated, what information will be needed to facilitate the transfer of care once responders arrive, and what types of interventions local responders can provide. Information about current stabilization techniques and emergency care can also be valuable.

If your EMS agency hasn’t yet established a collaborative relationship with the schools in your response area, please call these schools and introduce yourself. Let the school or district nurse know that you’re interested in meeting to discuss ways you can work together to enhance emergency care—before the next critical situation arises.

For more information, visit the NASN Web site at www.nasn.org.

Dr Robinson is the executive director of the National Association of School Nurses.