My work included assisting school nurses with providing first aid and basic health care for students, organizing paperwork and individual health visit information, and communicating with other nurses, students, and their parents regarding caring for the students' health. If a student has certain needs, chronic illness, major injuries, or disabilities, we check in with them and their families to see how they’re doing in and out of the classroom from time to time. I helped manage charts and tables of health records, and reviewed them to better understand the student's condition and talk to them about it. I was trained to perform vision and hearing screenings for a group of students, and practiced drawing their attention so they don’t just wander away in the middle of the screening. I also helped with creating educational posters and programs that promote wellbeing and safety, and help with teaching about disease prevention for different groups of students.

During this internship, I helped plan the health station at a school event for prospective students’ families. This space provided opportunities for families to ask questions about how the Health Office plans to support the students’ physical and mental wellbeing. If they had specific concerns for their child, I relayed the information to other staff members in the office and communicated their responses with the parents. I gathered resources that the school already had, as well as other health services in the community and shared them at the event.

This experience helped me understand the importance of providing culturally competent and quality care to different groups of people. I helped create educational programs and events targeting different audiences and a variety of health topics, and that will help me with creating pamphlets for students to understand different illnesses and how to take care of themselves and asking for help. The school nurse's training helped me practice explaining to kids and their parents regarding how certain medication works, understanding their conditions and what they can do in everyday life to manage their health. It gave me skills to promote wellbeing and effectively teach strategies to disease prevention that can be applied to the larger community. This internship also helped me better understand how students’ knowledge of their own health can be impacted by different factors, such as their health education and their background, and how we can help improve that. My work allowed me to see how different health determinants can affect the students' health and help seeking behavior. Student’s knowledge about nutrition, their socioeconomic status, access to care, and the environment they live in can play a role in how they perceive health and care. This experience complements my community and global health education by helping me see public health issues we learn about in real life, and better understand the public health dimensions of working at a school.

Whether it is talking to students in the office and understanding their symptoms and health history, or teaching them to prevent possible injuries and taking precautions for covid-19, the internship provided opportunities for me to effectively teach students necessary skills to protect themselves and others. I was able to successfully encourage a number of students to take control in managing their health. I really enjoyed answering student's questions about health, and addressing issues they may have in managing their health.

Yinghua Academy. "Health Services". (n.d.). https://www.yinghuaacademy.org/current-families/health-office/

Yinghua Academy. "Yinghua Overview". (n.d.). https://www.yinghuaacademy.org/prospective-families/yinghua-overview/

Image Credits:

Header Photo: China Learning Initiatives | Asia Society