Over the past couple weeks, Olivia and I have been working with School Health Services. We have gone to four schools assisting with health screenings, which involved doing height and weight measurements, scoliosis checks, blood pressures, and hearing and vision screenings. In doing so, we have gotten a better understanding of the paperwork and filing involved in school health. For each student, a record sheet with the results from the health screenings must be completed, then those results are transfered to a referral form to be sent home to the parents. If the child does not pass the vision or hearing portions of the screening, an additional referral to the clinic is sent home. Next, all of the results from the screenings must be recorded on a database. Finally, each child's results are placed in his or her file. With each school having at least a hundred students, one can only imagine the amount of time and energy required to complete and file all of the paperwork! Though the work can be long and tiresome, it's great to know our efforts are really helping the school nurses. In the upcoming weeks, I will be finishing up with screenings and starting flu vaccinations in the schools. I have also planned to work with the Dental Department, making visits to schools on their mobile unit. I hope to team up with OB and Family Planning, but I have not yet gotten an approval from Renee.
Being on the reservation requires a little adjusting. I never realized how much I depend on the internet until we got here. We do not have internet in our house, so we must drive about 25 minutes to the nearest city for a library, cafe, or Barnes and Noble. Surprisingly, although we don't have internet, the health care field utilizes a lot of technology. All patients have an electronic health record, and the charting system is pretty advanced. Another thing I had to adjust to was driving everywhere. Living on Campus at Case, I am so used to walking everywhere. Here, however, you rarely see people walking around. With all this heat, maybe it is for the best!
School health is truly an opportunity to impact the future health of a community via it's children. All of the screenings are not only to collect data, but to pick up on problems that can be addressed early and hopefully prevent further morbidity. Just think what would happen to a child academically if poor vision is not identified. What if their scoliosis or weight goes unchecked? The school nurse has a unique opportunity to identify these problems and make the necessary referrals. Sounds like interesting work!
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