School of Nursing enhances local school nurse training through collaborative Skills Day event

The Aurora University School of Nursing hosted its first-ever School Nurse Collaborative Skills Day this September, expanding on its partnership with Oswego Community Unit School District 308 by providing local school nurses an opportunity to strengthen their existing healthcare skills.

Skills Day was designed with the specific needs of the school nurses in mind, allowing them to practice and retrain skills they identified as a critical need in the community: administering G-tube feedings, care of tracheostomies, catheters, and ostomies.

The event also provided a valuable learning experience for AU’s nursing students, who worked alongside certified school nurses from SD308 at various skill stations, providing education and guidance. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that both school nurses and AU students benefit from the exchange of knowledge.

“The American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing are actively working to address the current and anticipated challenges facing the nursing workforce, particularly the gap between academia and practice,” explained Kerry Vaccaro, DNP, RN, CHSE, director of skills and simulation center and assistant professor of nursing at AU. “By fostering a shared vision with our clinical partners, we can collaboratively address these challenges and ultimately improve patient care outcomes. This initiative is crucial for AU School of Nursing, and we are proud to have SD308 as a partner who shares our passion and motivation for change.”

“We are excited to build on our existing partnerships with this new training opportunity,” added Deborah Rabick, MSN, RN, IPEL-CSN, SD308 certified school nurse supervisor/health services department chair. “By partnering with AU’s nursing skills lab, all of our nurses will be able to train with up-to-date technology and a variety of medical equipment to meet the care needs of our growing, medically fragile student population.”

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