The School Nurse’s Role in Postvention: What to Do With the Empty Desk

Abstract

Today, most schools are well-versed in prevention and intervention strategies for crisis-management, but how well is your school equipped to fluidly handle the events after a crisis unfolds? How and when is information verified and shared within the school community? What is a “Flight Team” and how do they help the day after, and in the days to come? What do we do with the empty desk of a student who has died? And finally, what is the school nurse’s role in all of it? This article discusses what we learned from Cheri Lovre, nationally recognized expert in school crisis/trauma response, and how we advocated for these life-changing concepts to be implemented in our schools. In all crises, whether natural disasters or man-made, what happens afterward is a crucial part of the pathway to healing. We learned that postvention opens the door to prevention, so communities can move forward together.