Reimagining School Nursing: Lessons Learned From a Virtual School Nurse.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Education
• Nursing

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid transitions to hybrid and remote learning models in public schools.
• This shift created significant challenges for school nurses in providing health support and monitoring.
• Increased reliance on virtual education demands enhanced telehealth skills for school nurses and physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To share lessons learned from virtual school nursing practices prior to the pandemic.
• To describe the role, job description, and practices of school nursing in a virtual environment.
• To highlight the benefits of collaborative school health teams in virtual settings.

Main Methods:

• Review of established practices at Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School (GCVS).
• Analysis of the collaborative climate supporting school nursing in virtual settings.
• Description of strategies for optimizing parent and student health interactions remotely.

Main Results:

• Virtual schools like GCVS have long-standing experience in managing remote student health.
• Collaboration between health teams, parents, teachers, and administrators is crucial for virtual school nursing success.
• Virtual models require school nurses to be proficient in telehealth and remote health monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Virtual public schools offer a model for effective school nursing in remote and hybrid environments.
• Pre-pandemic virtual school nursing practices provide valuable insights for traditional schools adapting to new models.
• Enhanced collaboration and telehealth integration are key to successful school nursing in the evolving educational landscape.