key: cord-272431-miqovio9
authors: Maughan, Erin D.; Bergren, Martha Dewey
title: School Nursing Data Collection During COVID-19
date: 2020-09-24
journal: NASN Sch Nurse
DOI: 10.1177/1942602x20960214
sha: 
doc_id: 272431
cord_uid: miqovio9

COVID-19 has affected the 2020-2021 school year for everyone and thrust school nurses into the spotlight. Some school nurses are too overwhelmed to even think about data; others want to collect data differently to illustrate the value of the role of the school nurse. This article provides guidance on data collection during this unique time period. The article is based on a blog originally posted on National Association of School Nurses’s website.

C oronavirus disease 2019 has put the health of students front and center and has thrust school nurses into the spotlight. School nurses are challenged and asked to accept responsibilities on a scale never before expected (McDonald, 2020) . As schools scramble to put physical distancing in place, and other learning going virtual, many school nurses ask if they should bother collecting data. Other school nurses realize the need to collect different data to reflect the escalation in the level of care. These school nurses see an opportunity to put the valuable role of school nurses into a brighter spotlight. This article provides insight into practical data points that school nurses can collect to reflect their contributions during COVID-19.

Documentation and data collection are fundamental practices of school nurses (American Nurses Association [ANA] & National Association of School Nurses [NASN] , 2017) and are practice components in NASN's Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice in the principle of quality improvement (NASN, 2020) . Documentation provides proof of school nurses contributions to student health (Nicholson & Johnson, 2020) . Data collection reveals trends and is the basis of evidence-based school nursing practice (Lepkowski, 2018) . Pre-COVID-19, researchers found that a school nurse can save principals 13 hours per week (Baisch et al, 2011) ; and school nurses can spend over an hour on one call with concerned parents (Bergren, 2016) . How much more time would a school nurse save principals and teachers now? Data would tell us; data from frontline school nurses.

Never let a crisis go to waste! It is often when things are turned upside down that innovation and new habits are generated. If you have not collected data before, this is the year to start. Begin with one key activity or data point (Hinkle & Maughan, 2020 

If you already collect data, you may want to think about the novel activities you will be doing this year (especially if they are different than in past years). Remember to focus on data points that illustrate critical thinking and skills only a school nurse can do. Examples may include the following: Whatever data point you decide to collect, set up a system to streamline the data collection process so that accurate data is collected (Hinkle & Maughan, 2020) . This could be on a tracking form you create on paper, or ideally using an electronic health record (Lepkowski, 2018) . Document in real time and keep accurate records. Guesstimates or inaccurate data are not helpful and actually hurts school nurses' credibility (Bergren, 2016; Guthrie, 2019) .

Be sure to share your data at the end of the school year (Wysocki & Maughan, 2019) . When presenting your data, provide context so that educators understand the coordination and nursing skills used in these activities. In other words, be sure they understand the school nurse's contribution so that they cannot say, "well, a secretary could make phone calls." What process or outcomes are different because the school nurses made the calls?

This new school year brings a lot of unknowns that increases stress. During crises we often get overwhelmed because our glass is overflowing already. COVID is that crisis. Yet it is during a crisis that we are forced to identify the most critical activities we must perform. We create a mind shift that expands the understanding of our own potential. With so much shifting to a "new normal" let us make 2020-2021 the Year of the School Nurse (to coincide with 2020 being the Year of the Nurse). Let us make 2020-2021 the year school nurses shift to the new normal and put data front and center.■

Erin D. Maughan https://orcid .org/0000-0002-0176-1499

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