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| Tennessee Association of School Nurses Position Statement on Rescue Meds in Schools | ||||
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TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL NURSES
POSITION STATEMENT ON RESCUE MEDICATION IN SCHOOLS
TASN believes that our state legislature should assure that schools are able to provide consistently safe care to all Tennessee school children. We strongly recommend that, instead of asking education personnel to perform health care procedures, the legislature of Tennessee adopt the following recommendations:
Adopt and fund the national recommendations of registered school nurse to student ratios: 1 to 750 students 1 to 250 students with special needs 1 to 125 medically fragile students (National Association of School Nurses, Healthy People 2010, American School Health Association, American Public Health Association, CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health)
Provide a school nurse in every building where there is a child with a need for rescue medications or devices.
TASN recommendations are based upon the following:
Rescue medications are used in life threatening events for a variety of diseases. Current common rescue medications in schools include: Albuterol (to treat bronchospasm associated with asthma) Diazepam (to treat seizures) Epinephrine (to treat severe allergic reaction) Glucagon (to treat severely low blood sugar associated with diabetes)
Guidelines for the use of each of these medications include assessment of the child before, during, and following the administration of the medications. School nurses have the knowledge and skills to assess a child suffering a life-threatening event, treat the condition, and evaluate the response.
Today’s children arrive at school with a range of extremely complex medical conditions, often with co-existing diseases and complications that are further confounded by social and environmental issues. Besides the increased incidence of conditions such as asthma, severe allergy, and diabetes, more children are surviving prematurity and diseases that were previously considered terminal. Many children require difficult regimens of medications, equipment, and procedures just to live. As the incidence of life threatening events and potential for emergencies increases, schools must be prepared to provide highly effective emergency care. Federal mandates under IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act obligate schools receiving federal funding to provide services so that children may attend school. As health care professionals, we are morally obligated to provide safe, competent care to these most fragile children. School nurses alone h ave the educational background, knowledge, and experience to provide health care to children in schools.
We also strongly encourage the following actions:
a. Educate and update nurses on the process of safe and appropriate delegation to UAPs (unlicensed assistive personnel). This should be done by the following means:
Include the ANA (American Nurses Association) and NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) 2007Joint Statement for Delegation in the Tennessee State DOH/DOE Guidelines for Healthcare Procedures in Schools. Recommend that schools of nursing teach courses in delegation.
b. Support research about best school health practices, clinical competencies, and UAP training so that our health policy is grounded on evidence and best interest of children.
c. Institute school health infrastructure in the State that includes a Division of School Health within the Department of Health and collaboration with the Department of Education.
February 9, 2007
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