Health care
BY HANNAH JOHNSON
Medical City provides free educational series for school nurses
Zooming in
Over 95% of participating nurses in the 2024-25 school year planned to implement changes in their practice based on the training sessions, according to Medical City. Frisco ISD’s staff takes skills from lessons in the series to strengthen the district’s nursing practices, FISD Director of Nursing Services Kathy Tolbert said. The program has been beneficial to the district, with the hospital system’s nurses, doctors and therapists educating FISD nurses on a variety of topics, she said. “Healthcare is constantly changing, and school nurses have to be prepared to take care of our students and staff at a moment’s notice,” Tolbert said in an email.
With the needs of students evolving across school districts, Medical City Healthcare is keeping school nurses up to date with clinical practices through its free educational program. The School Nurse Education Series was launched by Medical City in 2017 and aims to support school nurses by sharing resources and expertise from the system’s health care professionals, said Maria Martineau, Medical City’s assistant vice president of community engagement. The training sessions are no cost to school districts and fulfill nurse’s required professional development hours and continuing education credits for their licensing. “The majority of our workforce is nurses, so to be able to give back to school nurses who are out in the community, treating our youngest citizens, is a wonderful way for us to be able to share our knowledge,” Martineau said. In recent years, students are coming to school with advanced medical technology, such as insulin pumps, tracheostomy tubes and feeding tubes, necessitating advanced training to handle these cases, said Ryan Eason, Medical City’s director of community relations. With school nurses removed from hospital and clinic settings, the training program supports nurses by educating them on the various issues they may face on a daily basis, he said. “We make sure we provide that education and skills for this group,” Eason said. Participation in the program has continued to grow. Medical City had 690 nurses participate in the 2022-23 school year while 1,454 nurses participated in the 2024-25 school year.
Continuing education Medical City Healthcare’s School Nurse Education Series covers a variety of healthcare topics to keep nurses up to date with current health trends. The topics covered include:
Asthma
Diabetes
Stroke
EMS planning
More details
Trauma
Vaping
The nursing education program has 26 events scheduled for the 2025- 26 school year. Across the region, 47 school districts and two charter academies will train at one of Medical City’s 12 hospitals, Eason said. As the program continues to grow, Medical City will continue to work with districts to plan around set professional development days and plan what topics need to be discussed, Martineau said.
Mental health and wellness
Sports/playground injuries
Tracheostomy/Inhalers
SOURCE: MEDICAL CITY HEALTHCARE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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