The scientific communication of nurse Pilar Santana Vega made the municipality of San Bartolomé a protagonist in the sixth edition of the National Nursing and School Health Congress held in Malaga on June 29 and 30. During the presentation, she showed the pilot project of School Health implemented last year in the municipality's educational centers.
The communication, entitled School Health Nurse in San Bartolomé (Lanzarote), presented the most significant results of this pioneering project in the Canary Islands, which is being developed in San Bartolomé thanks to the impulse of the Official College of Nursing of Las Palmas and the support of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the City Council itself.
Organized by the Spanish Scientific Association of Nursing and School Health (ACEESE), the congress brought together 160 professionals in this field from all over Spain. Among them, a large Canarian delegation formed by the nurses who are members of the School Health Pilot Project, which, in addition to San Bartolomé, is also being carried out in the municipalities of Tías and Tinajo and in three other locations on the island of Gran Canaria: Agüimes, Gáldar and Santa Brígida.
The mayor of San Bartolomé, Isidro Pérez, expressed “the pride that it means for a municipality like this to become a national reference in nursing and school health”. After highlighting the growing importance of having these professionals in schools, he conveyed the Corporation's congratulations to Pilar Santana Vega for the scientific communication presented at this event, as well as to the Official College of Nursing of Las Palmas for its involvement in the project.
Meeting point
The event became, one more year, the meeting point for all the school nurses in the national territory who are working in public and private educational centers. They all have in common their interest in health education and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits from an early age as priority tools to improve the health of the population in an equitable and egalitarian way. Due to the learning capacity of children and adolescents, working in the classroom is ideal for the prevention or early detection of physical, mental and emotional health problems that may appear in the future.
The data collected in the educational centers of San Bartolomé contribute to demonstrate the direct and indirect benefits of having the figure of a school nurse. The impact is immediate both on the students and their families, resulting in a significant improvement in the health indicators of the population in general. The advantages of having a nurse in the classroom are also notorious for the teaching staff, who see their burden of non-teaching tasks relieved, which has positive effects on their performance, motivation and professional commitment.
