How to Say Thanks to Your Child’s School Nurse in Braddock Heights and Frederick County

It’s common this time of year to purchase holiday cards or gifts for your children’s teachers. The teachers love receiving them just as much as the kids get a kick out of giving something back.

But you know who very few people ever think about while making up their teacher gift list? The school nurse. To tell you the truth, we wouldn’t have thought of it either if we hadn’t just looked up the list of national observances for December. And sure enough, there it was, looking us square in the eye: National School Nurse Day. And even though it took place this past May 9, we still want to recognize their tireless efforts on behalf of children everywhere.

In fact, talk about a job that’s largely under-appreciated! Just consider the following:

• For starters, only 45% of public schools in the US have a full-time nurse on the premises, which means that many nurses run from one school to the next just trying to keep abreast of the latest cuts, scrapes, coughs, and sneezes.

• As if there regular duties aren’t enough, many school nurses have the added responsibility of managing various illnesses, which further requires of them such tasks as: checking blood sugars, managing insulin pumps, suctioning kids on ventilators, and more.

• School nurses are often the only source of health care for disadvantaged children. And while that’s an imposing responsibility, they work diligently to teach their charges about proper hygiene and how to prevent certain diseases, etc., thus greatly contributing to a healthier student population.

• There are no pre-set student-to-nurse ratios, but the federal government has deemed 750 students to 1 school nurse to be “appropriate.” Even in the “with it” states, the ratio is generally no better than 400 to 1.

Still, they quietly go about their jobs and do their best to contribute not just to healthier schools, but a healthier American population.

So this year, remember your child’s school nurse when it’s time to hand out the cards or gifts. Don’t already know their name? One quick phone call or look at the school website can quickly solve that little dilemma.