The Role of School Nurses During the 1918 Pandemic: Lessons That Apply to COVID-19

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has been compared with the Spanish Flu of 1918 that devastated the United States. With so many parallels being drawn, what could be learned from 1918 regarding the role of school nurses? Many of the activities from 1918 are still being done today. School nurses have worked tirelessly to assure the health and safety of students and school. The purpose of this article is to compare the role of school nurses in two pandemics, as well as provide suggestions on how school nurses’ important contributions to history are not lost. The recommendations have an added benefit of providing school nurses with healing and building their resilience.

School nursing: New ways of working with children and young people during the Covid‐19 pandemic: A scoping review

“…Maughan and Luehr ( 2022 ) have drawn parallels between Covid‐19 and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, noting that many of today's SN activities mirror practices from the early 20th century. Yet global development, new technology and nurses' ever‐increasing professional autonomy have meant that SNs were able to take on a leading public health role in this most recent global health crisis.…”

“…Maughan and Luehr (2022) have drawn parallels between Covid-19 and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, noting that many of today's SN activities mirror practices from the early 20th century.Yet global development, new technology and nurses' ever-increasing professional autonomy have meant that SNs were able to take on a leading public health role in this most recent global health crisis.Though this undoubtedly brought new challenges to an already stretched workforce, the profession was also strengthened by the increased visibility and reach of their expertise. SNs were quick to embrace new ways of working and proactively adapted their practice to meet new needs, including contributions to the development of numerous innovative solutions that will likely endure post-pandemic.…”

Burnout and Mental Health and Well-Being of School Nurses After the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

“…School nurses exhibit the important role by protecting the lives of students, faculty members, and school staff ( Maughan & Ellen Luehr, 2022 ). Since the outbreak of COVID-19, school nurses have been assigned demanding tasks such as adhering to ever-changing pandemic guidelines and performing contract tracing and vaccination checks for students and faculty ( Bergren, 2021 ).…”