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Showing posts sorted by date for query donorschoose. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Announcing Clinical Considerations in School-Based Health

Seven Smart Ways to Save Money on

Clinical Considerations in School-based Health

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I'm thrilled to help Dr. Robert Olympia announce the release of π˜Ύπ™‘π™žπ™£π™žπ™˜π™–π™‘ π˜Ύπ™€π™£π™¨π™žπ™™π™šπ™§π™–π™©π™žπ™€π™£π™¨ π™žπ™£ π™Žπ™˜π™π™€π™€π™‘-π™—π™–π™¨π™šπ™™ π™ƒπ™šπ™–π™‘π™©π™! Dr. Robert Olympia is a pediatric emergency medicine physician with over 20 years of experience, currently practicing in PA. He's also a national expert in school-based emergency preparedness, sports injuries, and pediatric trauma and frequently presents on these topics across the country.

If you’ve seen the new book then you know it’s packed with value and with pages. Over 1,000 of them! This resource covers everything from chronic conditions and sample IHPs to triage protocols, mental health strategies, case studies, and care plans. It’s designed for school-based health professionals — including school nurses like you — and written by a team of clinicians, school nurses, and experts in the field.

Inside you'll find 134 chapters covering:

✅ General school health concepts
✅ Managing the “sick student”
✅ 25 chronic conditions with sample IHPs
✅ 22 mental & behavioral health conditions
✅ Infectious diseases, trauma, and sports injuries
✅ Adolescent medicine, case studies & more

But let’s be honest- it’s not cheap! So, if the price tag is making you hesitate, here are seven smart, budget-friendly ways to add this powerful resource to your professional toolkit:


1. Use Your School or District’s PD Funds

Many districts allocate money for professional development or nurse-specific continuing education. This book supports chronic condition care, emergency preparedness, and mental health response all part of your role. It’s a great fit for PD funds.

2. Request Reimbursement After Purchase

If you’ve already purchased the book, don’t forget to save your receipt. Most school districts allow reimbursement for job-related materials, especially if you connect it to supporting student health and safety.

3. Ask Your PTO or School Foundation

These organizations often support learning tools and classroom resources, but they’re also open to funding staff tools that directly support students. A quick conversation explaining how this book helps with care planning, emergency response, and student well-being might be all it takes.

4. Buy the Kindle or Digital Version

Check Amazon for a digital version, which is often significantly less expensive than the hardcover. Bonus: it’s searchable, portable, and can be used across devices. Great for those “quick lookup” moments between visits.

5. Share the Cost With a Colleague

If you work with another nurse or health staff in your building or district, consider splitting the cost and sharing access. You can rotate use or store it in a shared space like your district nurse office or health services library.

6. Explore Mini-Grants or State Nurse Associations

Some state school nurse associations offer professional development stipends or small grants. Others have lending libraries or discount codes for members. It’s worth checking!

7. Use DonorsChoose (if eligible)

If you’re a public school nurse, DonorsChoose is an excellent option. Submit a project requesting the book as a professional learning tool. Emphasize its direct connection to student health outcomes, chronic disease management, and health equity.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to drain your personal budget to get access to high-quality clinical resources. Clinical Considerations in School-based Health is an incredible guide for school nurses, and these tips might help you bring it into your practice without the financial strain.

P.S. You don’t need bright blue glasses to read this book, but a comfy chair wouldn’t hurt.






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Sunday, September 24, 2023

Relaxation Room for Students with Anxiety

How The School Nurse Used DonorsChoose to Fund a Relaxation Room for Students; especially those with anxiety.

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip: Anxiety is a mental health issue that affects many people, including teenagers. Actually, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders among teenagers.  Approximately 1 in 3 teenagers experiences some form of anxiety during their teenage years. Read on to see how I used a DonorsChoose project to create a Relaxation Room for my students who experience anxiety during the school day.

Inspired by my school’s Sensory Room, I created a Relaxation Room! This room was FULLY FUNDED by my 10th DonorsChoose project & is available to all students at my school 😊 Get all the details & watch the video below ⬇️ 

The Relaxation Room Project 
As school nurses, you've probably experienced a student complaining of anxiety. The symptoms can vary, but many include physical symptoms such as: headaches, stomach aches and muscle tension. Some students may cry, feel short of breath and feel nervous. In addition, some students may complain of excessive worrying, feeling restless, having trouble sleeping, feeling irritable, and having difficulty concentrating. 

A recent study by the National Library of Medicine reported that nearly 15% of young people ages 10-19 experience a mental health disorder. At my school, we have reports that 18.57% of our student population has a known mental health condition.

My options used to be limited if the student denied school counseling services yet still wanted to try and stay at school.  Not anymore thanks to a fully funded DonorsChoose project!  Now, my students have another option- ten minutes (phone free) in the new Relaxation Room. 

Even though this room is small (maybe 8 feet x 8 feet) & it also has a sink, a door to a water closet (toilet only), and several vintage filing cabinets, it is the perfect size for this project. 



The relaxation room is complete with a reclining massage chair, side table with built in outlets, a galaxy light projector, and a calming 4 foot tall, fake fish tank! The first day of use this room made a positive impact! 

Watch the video below to see how DonorsChoose helped me turn an old cot room from drab to fab!  




We allow 15 minutes and that seems to work great!
However, if students need more time that is allowed too.
I kept data for my EOY BOE report and over 90% of the students who visit the nurse's office are able to return to class v. going home! 
I credit this room for many of those return to class visits!



Can School Nurses Create DonorsChoose Projects?

DonorsChoose is available to most public school staff; check with your school district for their particular guidelines. Then you can read all about the projects I've completed HERE & start your very own project HERE!


The three main reasons I love using DonorsChoose are: 

  1. DonorsChoose is very user friendly! They provide you with step-by-step directions. 
  2. DonorsChoose collects all donated money. They purchase the items you've selected.
  3. DonorsChoose has the items shipped directly to your public school!

To date, I've received over $4,600 in funding to purchase items for my school nurse office & you can too! I advertise my projects on my personal Facebook page and ask friends and families to share with others. I have received donations from friends, families, businesses, and even strangers who are looking to support public schools!


start your very own project HERE









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Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Clean Air & Ears- Project SEVEN

Air Purifier, Otoscope, & Plant IV Bags

DonorsChoose- Project SEVEN

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip: I use DonorsChoose to supplement my school nurse budget and I hope by reading this blog post you'll see how easy it can be for you to use it too.


start your very own project HERE

About This Project Clean Air & Ears

I loved the huge air purifier I received with my fully funded project six so much that I decided my office spaces needed two smaller versions!  We are going to use these in our treatment / cot rooms; the rooms where students with illness related symptoms go for assessments. 

The digital otoscope was to replace my all time favorite WelchAllyn that died and I can't figure out how to revive. I am pleased with this digital option; however, if you order one then I suggest finding disposable probe covers to order at the same time.

The IV plant bags are a huge hit with the students and add a fun touch to the office plants we keep alive over the years.  Below is a complete list of all of the items received with this 7th fully funded DonorsChoose project!



start your very own project HERE

Four reasons to start your own project today...

  1. DonorsChoose is very user friendly! Step-by-step directions are provided. 
  2. DonorsChoose collects all donated money. 
  3. DonorsChoose purchases the items you've selected.
  4. DonorsChoose has the items shipped directly to your public school!



start your very own project HERE


Even though this project was one of my more expensive (over $450!) than previous projects, it was still FULLY FUNDED in a fairly short amount of time!  I advertise my projects on my personal social media pages and ask my friends to share too. I typically receive donations from family, friends, and sometimes even complete strangers!








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Professional Development- Project FIVE

School Nurse Profession Development

DonorsChoose- Project FIVE

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Hopefully Helpful School Nurse Tip: I have a decent budget for the year for school nurse medical supplies, but my budget for professional develop courses or books is very limited. Read on to see how I supplemented what I was given by using DonorsChoose and hopefully you can too!  

What I Ordered

I really wanted to purchase some professional development type books, but I didn't want to spend about $150 of my own money at the time and I also didn't have any extra funds in my school budget. So, I turned to DonorsChoose and was blessed with a fully funded project in a short amount of time for the following books:

School Nurse Professional Development Items

 

WHY I ORDERED

I was looking to expand my professional library to include more books. You can do the same thing to add health books to read to classes or for yourself  to your library. This can be a great option especially if  you don't want to spend your own money or you don't have money in your budget. Try submitting a DonorsChoose project and sharing it on your personal social media accounts. It might get fully funded and the items you select will be shipped directly to your school! DonorsChoose is typically available to public school staff only. Find out more HERE.







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