School nurses are present in elementary, middle and high schools and are tasked with assisting sick or injured students and promoting overall school health. Most nurses attempt to create a friendly, comfortable environment to help students feel welcome each time they visit. If the school provides a bulletin board, consider utilizing this space to provide information to students regarding upcoming school and community events, seasonal health risks and general health tips.
Upcoming School and Community Events
Provide your students with a monthly calendar that lists any upcoming events happening at school or in the community. List things such as holidays, early school closings and sports events. Community events might include health-related happenings such as a race that benefits breast cancer or when certain locations are offering vaccinations. Consider listing information that is not necessarily related to health to make the calendar more interesting, such as the principal's birthday, the date of a particular medical breakthrough or just a random fact. Post a new calendar each month to make sure the students have access to the most up-to-date information available.
Seasonal Health Risks
Use the bulletin board to list seasonal health concerns and how students can reduce their risk. For example, in the winter months you might remind students of the risk of catching the cold or the influenza virus. Provide tips on how to prevent contracting these illnesses such as frequent hand washing or getting a vaccination. You can also list the differences between a cold and the flu to help sick students determine which they have and suggest remedies to provide relief. In the warmer months, make sure your students know the risks of heat exhaustion and sunburn and give them tips on how to prevent these conditions. You should change the seasonal health risks section of your bulletin board as each new season arrives to ensure students have current information.
General Health Tips
Consider using a section of your bulletin board to post general health tips. You can rotate these frequently to provide a variety of information and keep students interested. Make suggestions about how to eat a healthy and balanced diet, and give examples of foods that students can eat to get more protein, calcium and vitamins in their diet and foods that should only be enjoyed every once in a while such as those that are high in fat or sugar. List the health benefits of regular exercise and suggest ways that students can incorporate more activity into their daily lives. You can also remind students how important it is to stay away from smoking, drugs and alcohol and provide support to those who need help changing bad habits.
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Christine Argier began writing in 2004 and is backed by more than six years of experience working in the IT field. She holds CompTIA A+ and Green IT certifications and is also a Microsoft Office Master Specialist certified at the expert level in both Microsoft Word and Excel. Argier is currently working toward finalizing her CompTIA Technical Trainer certification (CTT+) and Adobe Certified Expert accreditation (ACE).