Mary is a CNC-Advisor with the Department of Education (DoE) State Schools Nursing Service (SSNS). This service helps schools to support students with health needs, so they can safely access and participate in school life. State School registered nurses (SSRNs) assess students with health requirements, develop plans, train school staff, and build the capability of schools to support these students where needed across 1,264 Queensland state schools.
The onset of COVID-19 impacted the ability of nursing staff to deliver face-to-face training, while the number of school staff requiring health training increased. The SSNS service needed to pivot to a more flexible training model. Mary, in collaboration with DoE’s Education Futures Institute (EFI), transformed face-to-face health support training into engaging online modules.
Mary utilised her years of clinical practice and school-based experience to develop the modules. She worked with medical/nursing experts in Queensland Health, peak bodies, EFI, SSNS and school-based staff to ensure a balance of evidence-informed, practical, and school appropriate content. Modules were shared with Queensland Children’s Hospital CNCs to support consistent training delivery across the two departments.
The online modules provided schools with timely access to health support information enabling SSRNs to focus on delivering practical training and building the capability of school staff to perform health procedures for students.
“It’s wonderful to see students with health needs engaged, participating, and learning in a safe, inclusive school environment alongside their peers. Knowing that even a student with a ventilator can go on school camp when safely supported is pretty awesome. Witnessing students, who previously would have been unable to attend school due to their complex health needs, learning alongside their classmates, that is a big plus. That’s the best thing.”