Children with tracheostomies are increasingly attending school settings, creating new responsibilities for school nurses and educational teams. School nurses play a critical role in coordinating care, ensuring equipment readiness, preventing complications, and responding to airway emergencies. This manuscript provides practical guidance for school-based tracheostomy care, including foundational knowledge, routine management, emergency preparedness, training considerations, and interdisciplinary coordination. Key recommendations related to individualized healthcare plans, emergency action planning, and competency-based training are discussed. Practical tables and figures are included to support safe, evidence-informed care for students with tracheostomies in school environments.
School nurses rely heavily on their assessments to determine if a student can remain in school or if they require the care of a parent or healthcare provider. However, school nurses may face challenges in completing a thorough assessment when a student is non-speaking and has limited means of communication. In Northeast Texas, a gap in educational opportunities for school nurses to learn about communication with non-speaking students was identified. To address this gap, a nurse practitioner with expertise in non-speaking patients with autism spectrum disorder, and a nursing student fluent in American Sign Language, created an educational offering for school nurses that was part of a larger one-day nursing continuing professional development event.
From airlines and hotels to fast food restaurants, kiosks play a role in many businesses, replacing what was once a human helping to make a reservation, check in, or place an order. Therefore, it is no surprise that kiosks are also being used in healthcare settings. Kiosks in the school health office, with the appropriate school population, can be a valuable school nurse tool. Kiosks can be used for student check-in and tracking as well as a means for data collection and report generation. However, there are potential drawbacks and areas where this technology could be improved and further evaluated for increased effectiveness to streamline school nursing practice while still delivering quality care.
In the United States, more than 40% of children and adolescents live with a chronic health condition, behavioral health need, or a specific learning disability that impacts their daily experience in the school setting. Among these conditions, type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions among youth. School nurses are essential in promoting student health and academic success by ensuring students have the support and resources needed to remain healthy and ready to learn. This exemplar describes an online back-to-school training for school nurses utilizing the school district's Google Workspace platform, providing school nurses with five evidence-based practice (EBP) resources and a recorded training on T1D management in a self-paced, online format. With the evolving landscape of technology, school districts should ascertain how to harness available technology in their district to create accessible and sustainable EBP resources and training materials for school nurses.
