Simplifying School Nurse Passes

School nurses are an essential part of the school community. They spend the school days providing care and supporting students’ physical, mental, behavioral, and emotional needs. For some students, the school nurse may be their only access to professional medical care.

Not only do school nurses make a big difference in student well-being, they can also boost academic achievement, contribute to a positive school culture, and bring positive economic benefits to the community. The results of the “Cost Benefit Study of School Nursing” conducted in Massachusetts in 2009-2010 showed that for every $1 spent on school nursing, the community gained $2.20 in value due to the prevented additional health costs, loss of teacher productivity, and loss of parent productivity. 

That said, school nurses are frequently under-resourced and understaffed, with both the system and nurses stretched thin. The school nurse’s role is so important for managing student health. Delays in receiving care can have a range of negative impacts. That’s why efficient nurse pass systems and clear policies are critical.

Traditional Nurse Pass Systems

The “Cost Benefit Study of School Nursing” also showed the role of school nurses has expanded considerably over the years with increased student health needs and advancing medical capabilities. But, like teachers, nurses are often juggling many to-dos and students, getting by with insufficient resources, and struggling with work-related stressors and symptoms of mental health conditions. It’s important to revisit school nursing systems to make sure they are suited to the needs and demands of today’s nurse’s office.

In the traditional school nurse visit process, students request permission to leave class and use the nurse sign-out sheet. They then receive a paper slip or the classroom pass to take with them and head to the nurse’s office. Communication between teachers and the nurse is limited and difficult. Printable paper nurse passes may explain when a student left class originally, but it’s not tied to any other data or shared on a larger scale. This all makes student safety and accountability a lot trickier.

Pitfalls of Paper Nurse Passes for Schools

The difficulties of paper nurse passes and inefficient management of student movement carry academic, social, and physical safety risks:

• Students may use the opportunity out of class to engage in behaviors like vaping, bullying, or vandalism. 
• Unruly and disruptive behavior can lead to stress or harm for other students, too, which can lower their access to resources and areas they need or take away from their learning.
• In an emergency, paper hallway and nurse passes make it that much harder to account for each student and ensure their safety from point A to point B.
• It’s more difficult to keep a full record of how often a student visits the nurse and assess whether they’re using it as an excuse to miss classroom time. 
• If too many students are sent at the same time, it can lead to long waits and overcrowding at the school nurse's office. This causes students to miss more instructional time and makes it harder for already overworked nurses to focus on providing care for each student.

Digital Nurse Passes Improve Efficiency and Safety

New technology and systems make it simple to move away from the paper nurse pass. Digital hall passes like SmartPass allow teachers, administrators, and nurses to set up policies and plans that allow students to get the care they need when they need it without overwhelming school resources. They’re able to keep track of what each student needs and has accessed, monitoring student movement in real time.

When combined with clear communication, intentional relationships, and well-established expectations, a digital nurse pass system helps students take control of their well-being and build autonomy. Yet teachers can still make sure each pass is authorized and recorded, reducing misuse and missed learning opportunities. 

The boosted accountability and collaboration between teachers and students is paired with easier communication between nurses and teachers. The digital hall pass system quickly notifies nurses what students need to see them, when they’re on their way, and what kind of care they need.

Maximize Instructional Time with Better Nurse Access

Research shows that access to proper healthcare and hygiene helps students attend school consistently and give their classwork their full attention. Here are a few examples of how student well-being can be tied to academic outcomes and attendance:

1. An NYC pilot program saw a 2.4% increase in attendance for girls when pads and tampons were available in the restroom. With students facing earlier puberty, different home and financial situations, and general questions about growing up, the ability to visit and talk with nurses plays an important role.
2. Students who vape in school miss instructional time frequently, too. Yet the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey states that 60% of students who report smoking or vaping say that they have tried to or thought about quitting. Schools can tap into that with increased access to the advice and support of the school nurse for students who want it, leading to better long-term health impacts and improved learning outcomes.
3. For the more than 40% of students with at least one chronic health condition, continuity of care and predictability make a big difference. Knowing they can access help or treatment when needed allows them to feel safer in school and improves educational outcomes.

Basically, consistent access to nursing care when it’s needed helps students learn.

On the other hand, non-essential visits to the nurse's office and ineffective hall pass systems can cost teachers and students. Students may spend unnecessary time waiting for their turn at the nurse’s office or use trips to the nurse to avoid a particular class. Sorting out which students need to see the nurse and manually monitoring the process adds more mental load to teachers’ days and takes away from their teaching.

When better policies and tools like digital hall passes are in place, nurses can maintain a more controlled flow through their office, teachers can focus on instructional time, and students who truly need medical attention can access it while maximizing their instructional time.

Digital Hall Passes: The Smart Solution to Nurse Passes for Schools

Setting up SmartPass for the school community is quick and easy, with helpful features like the Room Starter Pack that creates common destinations like the restroom, library, and nurses’ office. SmartPass features have been designed with school administrators, staff, and teachers to help coordinate and manage student movement.

Recurring hall passes—These can be particularly helpful for students with medicine schedules or other routine health care needs. Prescheduling helps a student maintain predictability and autonomy and removes some of the daily administrative work for teachers and nurses.

Future Passes—Need a pre-scheduled visit for a student, but not on a regular basis? This is a great way to accomplish the same benefits of recurring hall passes without the requirement for repeated visits. 

Bonus Idea: If a school offers special school-wide health supports like student vaccination time slots, future passes can take the chaos out of the process and help everything run smoothly!

Room Restrictions—Toggling this on requires a teacher or staff member, like the nurse, to approve a hall pass before it’s issued. Depending on the restrictions schools set, it helps the teacher in the classroom manage when students request a pass to see the nurse and allows the nurse to only approve passes when they are able to accept a walk-in student visit. It’s particularly important if the nurse isn’t in their office or has a student that requires privacy.

Pass Time Limits—This helps balance the students’ needs out of the classroom with their instructional time. Passes can be set to a typical amount of time for each destination separately. We recommend 8-12 minutes for nurse visits.

Alert Sounds—It’s a simple way for nurses and teachers in classrooms to catch pass requests and manage the pass queue without taking away from their focus.

Temporarily Close a Room—Both students and health care need flexibility. The ability to pause all incoming hall pass requests allows the nurse’s office to adapt to what’s happening and keeps their attention where it’s needed in unusual circumstances.

Pass Limits—Preset limits to the total passes each student can use in a time period help teachers and students maintain a plan without additional administrative work and ensure students are where they need to be. (It’s always possible for teachers and staff to override a setting if an exception is needed!)

One big benefit of SmartPass digital hall passes is the automatically gathered records of student movement and needs over time, which give insights into patterns and whether students may need extra support. It helps teachers, school staff, and families communicate and allows students to be part of the discussion and decision-making. 

This makes the school day safer, simpler, and less stressful for everyone while keeping the focus on student learning and well-being. It’s a powerful tool for teachers, nurses, and school staff. 

Caring for students’ health and wellbeing isn’t just important in its own right, it supports their academic outcomes and school experience. An efficient and customizable nurse pass system makes that care more accessible and keeps students healthier and safer. 

When schools take the time to gather the right tools and resources for their nurses and teachers, they give them the best chance to do what really matters to them— – helping students.

If you’d like to learn more about how SmartPass digital hall passes can help improve student health management, simplify student movement, and maximize instructional time with less stress, get in touch!

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