Abstracts

Rationale: Epilepsy is the most common childhood neurologic condition in the United States affecting approximately 6 per 1,000 students. School nurses are often responsible for managing seizures in school settings, addressing seizure-related concerns including comorbidities and academic accommodations, and training other school personnel. School nurses face many challenges in addressing the unique and complex needs of this population. To close the knowledge and practice gaps of school nurses, the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy and the Epilepsy Foundation (EF) launched a telementoring program, Managing Students with Seizures ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), to educate school nurses on best practices for managing students with seizures in the school environment.  Methods: School nurses were recruited from 9 states in the U.S. with a high prevalence of epilepsy.  Within two weeks, registration exceeded expectations resulting in two cohorts being offered. The curriculum, adapted from the EF’s national standardized training for school nurses, was presented in eight one hour sessions, structured as a brief lecture followed by de-identified case presentations and discussion. Curriculum topics included seizure recognition, delegation, rescue therapies, and social-emotional impact on students. A multidisciplinary group of faculty participated including epileptologists, epilepsy nurses, school nurses, psychologists, social workers, and epilepsy educators. Satisfaction and value were evaluated after each session.  Results: For the first 5 ECHO sessions, 48 school nurses from 41 schools in 9 states participated. Each session was rated by participants on a 5 point-Likert scale. The response rate was 40%. On average, 91% rated meeting learning objectives very good to excellent, 90% rated presentation of evidence-based content very good to excellent, 98% rated chance to ask questions very good to excellent, and 98% rated the pace of the session very good to excellent. Preliminary analysis of qualitative data regarding value of the ECHO methodology to participants revealed three key themes: collaborative learning format, networking, and evidence-based knowledge.  Conclusions: Telementoring using ECHO methodology is a feasible effective way to educate and link epilepsy specialists and providers with school nurses nationwide. Recruitment strategies revealed high interest resulting in expansion of the pilot program. Satisfaction with the pace, ability to discuss content, and case presentations was very high. Post-program evaluations will be done following all 8 sessions to assess the further impact of the telementoring series.These findings also suggest extension of the reach and value of ECHO as an educational modality beyond physicians, to school nurses.  Funding: Funding for this program is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under cooperative agreement number 1U58DP0026256-03-00, CFDA 93.850. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC.