Back-to-school: What your school nurse needs to know

It’s hard for a child to focus when they aren’t feeling well, which is why it’s important to keep your child’s school nurse informed about illnesses, health conditions and behavioral issues that can impact learning. Wesley pediatric nurse Danielle Jaso-Grimm, RN, who has 10 years’ experience as a school nurse, encourages parents to tell school nurses about a child’s:

• Health conditions: In addition to listing conditions like asthma, diabetes and peanut allergies, your child’s school nurse needs to know about mental health issues, such as anxiety and ADHD, and behavioral issues, including toileting problems. School nurses are bound by HIPAA privacy rules, which means the information is confidential or shared on an as-need-to-know basis. For instance, lunchroom aides know about food allergies while playground monitors know about bee sting allergies.
• Medications: Your school nurse needs a list of your child’s medications. If your child needs medicine during the day — such as an inhaler for asthma, ADHD medications, an epinephrine pen for allergic reactions or even over-the-counter medicines for headaches — you must provide those to the nurse and complete a consent form each year.
• Illnesses: Notify your school nurse if your child has an infectious illness like the flu or COVID, and of course, keep them home until they’re not contagious. This information helps school nurses prevent the spread of illness in classrooms.
• Emergency contacts: Be sure to provide at least two emergency contacts who can pick up your child at school if they become ill or injured and you’re unavailable.