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This year’s Nursing Week theme was The Power of Nurses to Transform Health and highlighted the profound impact nurses have in shaping healthcare innovation and patient-centered care. A group of Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union members who are helping to transform care and making a meaningful difference in the lives of families are School Health Partnership (SHP) nurses.
In Nova Scotia, an Inclusive Education Policy is in place to ensure that all school-aged children have access to an equitable and high-quality education. This includes identifying and eliminating barriers that interfere with students’ well-being and achievement, and delivering supports that help students belong, be safe, access common learning environments, and feel welcome in all aspects of their daily school experience.
The power of SHP Nurses to transform health lies in their unique practice area, serving to bridge gaps between the daily health needs and considerations of students in school environments. With a broad understanding of the health and education systems, the SHP nurse supports school staff to provide necessary healthcare tasks to support students' inclusion in an educational setting. The SHP nurse facilitates any necessary teaching or training for school staff so they can appropriately support the student.
The SHP Program is made up of 23 Registered Nurses across the province. Every public/French school in Nova Scotia has access to a SHP Nurse. SHP Nurses are not located in schools and do not provide direct nursing care.
In their role, SHP Nurses:
· Coordinate resources to enable students to attend school
· Advise on the need for school-based health services and evidence-informed practices
· Develop Plans of Care, teaching resources and tools
· Educate school staff to perform or help with healthcare tasks as outlined in the Plans of Care and create safe, accessible, and equitable environments. They support staff training and professional development.
· Facilitate program planning for students with healthcare needs
· Liaise with families, school staff, healthcare partners, and community groups
The SHP Program was established in 2008 and with its success, has expanded and grown over the years to better meet the needs of students in Nova Scotia. It is an integrated partnership between:
· Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD)-Inclusive Education Policy
· Regional Centres for Education (RCEs)
· Conseil Scolaire Acadian Provincial (CSAP)
· Nova Scotia Health (NSH)
· IWK Health (IWK)
Feedback from families who have been supported by SHP has been positive. Benefits of the program highlighted in feedback includes the impact of their child’s inclusion at school and feeling reassured about the management of their children’s health conditions in the school setting.
If you think the SHP program could help ensure your patients’ health and safety by transitioning back to school, or will soon start attending school, here is what you can do:
· Speak with the family about this program
· Encourage families to ask school administrators to send a referral to the SHP program
· Visit the library.nshealth.ca for more information
· Reach out to the SHP Clinical Practice Leaders; they can connect families with the SHP Nurse who would assist with returning to school with a medical change. Their contact information can be found on the library services page.
