SUMTER, S.C. — Nurses all across the state are getting leadership training to better serve as healthcare professionals and advocates for our kids in the school setting. Here in the Midlands, Sumter School District is one of the counties participating in the new Public School Nurse Leadership Program.
“My favorite part is being able to be a voice for the child,” Sumter School District Lead Nurse Michelle DeVine says.
DeVine says she always knew she wanted to be in a role where she was helping people. She started off in women’s health as a nurse in Sumter before DeVine says she “found [my] passion” with school nursing.
In her role as lead nurse, DeVine oversees the 24 other nurses who work at the schools throughout the area.
“My role is a big mix. So obviously if there is a need that needs to be attended to at the school setting itself, then I might serve as backup or as consult for those if there's not a nurse on site. Then the other part of that is helping the nurses that are out there on site in the field to be as up to date as possible with evidence-based information. I serve a lot of times as possibly like a sounding board or a consult for the nursing staff if they have questions,” DeVine explains. “Every school nurse in their school building is inherently a leader because they are the one that's there in that role with a professional knowledge and the training that gives them the expertise to see that student through the health profession eyes.”
It’s why she’s a part of the leadership program, attending leadership training alongside 26 other nurses from across the state.
“I'm proud to be able to take Sumter School Districts’ voice, you know, to the table,” DeVine shares.
Shakiyah Demelien tells me she saw the value of nurses firsthand through her son’s experience with the nurse at Oakland Primary.
“I think that they are more than just nurses. They are also like little motivators, they also like little therapists too as well, because I've found that even my own son sometimes when he got anxious about a little test or like something that was coming up, that his nurse actually would motivate him and get him to understand that sometimes our anxiousness is connected to our bellies. And so sometimes those bellies make us think that we are sick, but really, we're just a little worried,” Demelien says. “They're wearing multiple hats, and they're seeing our kids when they're kind of like at their most little vulnerable spots
Now to better serve kids and advocate for them, DeVine says the nursing cohort is able to learn from one another in monthly training days, with virtual sessions periodically, learning about leadership and management skills from a nursing perspective in K-12 education.
“Advocacy is definitely a major part of our role in making sure that those students that maybe aren't having their needs met medically, behavioral health, dental, vision, just a whole wide variety, are identified and we bring that to light. We bring that need forth to whoever like the resource that we need…Not only are we identifying unmet needs for children that often are maybe not even seeing another medical professional,. Not all students have access to care,” DeVine details. “It is a valuable piece of the education role and it’s…without school nurses, children, many children would not be able to be in the classrooms healthy, ready to learn and able to focus.”
The leadership program is led by the University of South Carolina (USC)’s College of Nursing, along with the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control and the State Department of Education.