Living with Diabetes

The diabetes health care professional community strongly supports the training of non-medical school personnel to provide supplementary diabetes care in schools.

It takes a team effort to ensure a student with diabetes can safely participate in all that school has to offer. 

The school nurse is vital in coordinating and providing diabetes care at school. He or she is responsible for implementing the student's individual diabetes care plan, including performing and (or) assisting with routine diabetes care tasks and providing emergency care.

However, a school nurse cannot do it alone. Many nurses have multiple building assignments and aren't always on-site. Even when assigned to only one school a school nurse cannot be everywhere at all times. In addition, some students need assistance on field trips or during sports and other activities after school. Obviously one person can't do it all.

Trained non-medical school staff 

For students with diabetes, staff trained to assist in routine and emergency care responsibilities, under the supervision of the school nurse, is the best—and safest—solution. Non-medical school personnel must first be trained, in both routine and emergency diabetes care.

ADA recommends the following related to school staff training:

• All school staff members who have responsibility for a student with diabetes should receive training that provides a basic understanding of the disease and know who to contact in an emergency.
• A small group of school staff members should receive training from a school nurse or another qualified health care professional such as a physician or a nurse with expertise in diabetes, and also in student-specific routine and emergency care.
• The school nurse or another qualified health professional should be involved with training of appropriate staff and providing ongoing professional supervision and consultation regarding routine and emergency care of students with diabetes.