We consider the "School Nurse" to encompass any full, part-time or on-call licensed nurse who is employed by the school, school district, community, regional or provincial health authority for the purposes of delivering, supervising, coordinating or delegating health care of children in school. Nursing practice guidelines and/or laws in the UK and the United States (including California1) support delegation/administration of insulin injection by non medical staff. (See: Royal College of Nursing guidance on procedures) It has been argued by some that the Safe at School statement of principles is not applicable in Canada because American schools have school nurses and Canadian schools don't. School nurses in the American school system are quickly disappearing, yet nurses continue to train, supervise and delegate tasks to non medical staff, including administration of insulin, and care is still ensured. American kids are Safe at School. We know that the lack of full-time, on-site registered nurses is not a barrier to diabetes care in school, and leading clinician's associations agree. Where school nurses are available, we'd like to see them manage day to day care, and where Provincial or Territorial laws or professional practice regulations require insulin to be administered by a nurse or registered professional, we demand that they be provided. Where this is impractical or unnecessary, we believe local health authorities should be responsible for training non-medical school staff such as Special Education Assistants, staff volunteers and parent volunteers, ideally by a certified diabetes educator. With parents, physicians and nurses available nearly instantly via phone, pager, and 811 services, that lack of full-time, on-site nursing staff is not a barrier to safe diabetes medical management in school. |
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel |
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