Translating Togetherness: The Together School Nurse!

Mar 15, 2021

Our Together Team Member courses welcome a wonderful mix of folks in customer-service oriented support roles. This means we meet assistants, chiefs of staff, IT associates, HR coordinators, social workers, and, in a recent course, a SCHOOL NURSE. I mean, can you imagine a job that requires more Togetherness right now? We showed her some love!

Lauren, in Camden, gladly shared her systems for Translating Togetherness in her role. Lauren has been a nurse for 4 years; she spent most of that time in hospital critical care and intensive care units. She just recently switched to a founding school team at a KIPP Camden high school—as their nurse!

Lauren, Together School Nurse

I asked Lauren what her day looked like as a school nurse, and she said, “Because the students have been remote since I was hired, the majority of my job has been administrative.  I’ve been in charge of:

  • Obtaining student medical records from other schools, from doctor’s offices, or from parents
  • Finding and offering resources to help bridge gaps in care (i.e. if the student’s family is socioeconomically disadvantaged and can’t afford to go to the doctor)
  • Creating high school policies and procedures
  • Playing a role in students’ IEP and 504 plans if there are medical issues involved (seizures, tube feedings, etc.)”

Ummm. . . Wow! That is a lot to do, and all of it is unfamiliar to me!

So, how does Lauren keep it Together, especially as a medical professional in a school during a global pandemic? Let’s take a peek at her Weekly Worksheet.

Lauren’s Weekly Worksheet (Click to enlarge.)

So much to love here! Lauren’s Weekly Worksheet is…

  • Simple and clean. I WANT to look at it.
  • Balanced between personal and professional stuff. Oh so important right now!
  • VERY action oriented. Almost every To-Do starts with a verb!

When school is back in person, Lauren will need to tackle:

  • Medical Emergencies
  • Injuries
  • Accidents
  • Sick Visits
  • Lice (yes, the dreaded LICE)

Wisely, Lauren wants to plan ahead for the predictable stuff. She is new in her role and anticipates lots coming up beyond this week! Here’s how she does it with her Later List.

 

Lauren’s Later List (Click to enlarge.)

(Reminder:  The Later List is organized by the month you want to START working on the task).

Why does Togetherness matter so much to a school nurse? “I can plan ahead for items like School Health Week to involve the entire school AND I have found ways to anticipate future problems – like not getting health documents before the start of school.”

What about you? Do you have a role that is outside of teacher, school, or nonprofit leader? How have YOU translated Togetherness?