SCHOOL NURSE
Meet our School Nurse Jenny Klein
who you will find in our First Aid room between
10:30 -2:30pm each school day.
We are fortunate to have a Registered Nurse on staff to support the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students, and provide professional learning for our staff in health and wellbeing related topics (eg: anaphylaxis and asthma). Our school nurse is funded solely from Parent Contributions. The hours we are able to employ the nurse each day, is directly influenced by the number of families who contribute to this valuable resource.
Term 4 Report
As Term 4 comes to a close, I thought I would take the opportunity (before the Christmas catalogues become more interesting) to provide an overview of 'the year that was' in Sick Bay.
With COVID lockdowns interrupting the school year, one would think that sickbay was not busy. Here are the statistics from a year seriously impacted by lockdowns.
1.1350 band aids applied
2. 5 broken limbs
3. 405 asthma treatments
4. 5 serious head injuries
5. 100’s of balls to the head, face, arms, legs and torso
6. 0 anaphylactic emergencies
7. 300 stomach aches/anxiety
8. 5 serious teeth injuries
9. 300 sprained ankles
10. 25 eye patches
11. 30 strapped fingers
12. 945 ice packs applied to various body parts
13. 20 vomit bags.
At the beginning of the year, the preparation of the sports first aid bags was intense. These included a big first aid kit and 2 first aid bum bags, along with student medications.
48 times of restocking the first aid kits
80 times the first aid bum bags needed to be restocked
48 sports bags in total to have ready with the correct student medications
Of course the first aid room often buzzes with excitement when students see the big camp medical first aid bags being restocked. This could only mean one thing…ADVENTURE
Behind the scenes there is a lot that needs to be completed to ensure the school remains compliant. One of the most important aspect of this job is to ensure that all staff are aware of students' medical conditions, and know how to manage the condition with confidence. Currently all staff are being tested on their abilities to administer an epi-pen, manage an anaphylactic reaction, and are just about to complete the asthma management training. Additional training on other medical conditions are conducted throughout the year.
As I write this today, there were 25 students who streamed through sick bay with neck spasms, bruised fingers, sore ankles, headaches, hayfever, asthma, a ball to the face and of course the application of the humble band aid. It is never a dull day in sick bay, and each day is different, challenging but rewarding.
I would like to thank the Malvern Primary School community for providing the support to keep the first aid room functioning thus allowing the teachers to focus on what they are good at…educating their students. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.
Jenny Klein