New suicide-prevention training partnership implemented for school nurses

August 27, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — SCHOOL NURSES WILL TAKE PART IN SUICIDE-PREVENTION TRAINING, according to a new initiative that Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, in partnership with the NYC Department of Health and The Jed Foundation (JED), announced on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Recognizing that school nurses play a critical role in suicide prevention and are often the first point of contact for students experiencing mental health issues or emotional distress, several city agencies are partnering to develop and scale a new standardized suicide prevention training course for New York City Public Schools nurses working across more than 1,800 pre-K–12 public schools.

NYC Department of Health and the NYC Office of School Health have partnered with JED, a leading national nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide in teens and young adults. About 1,500 New York City school nurses, supporting 1.1 million students in the nation’s largest school district, will complete JED’s 90-minute, eight-module online course, “Suicide Prevention for School Nurses,” by the end of October. Launched in June after pilot testing with 30 NYCPS nurses, the course uses scenario-based learning and the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool to enhance nurses’ abilities to identify, screen and refer students at risk for suicide.

As of now, at least 375 nurses have completed the course. Participants have also learned about common mental health challenges, signs of distress, when to mobilize a crisis team, tips for managing emotional carryover and burnout, and more intervention actions.

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