School Nurse
Roles and Responsibilities
“School nursing, a specialized practice of nursing, protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. School nurses, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potential” (National Association of School Nurses, 2017).
Information about School Nurses
A school nurse is a bachelor’s degree-prepared Registered Nurse (RN) with additional education leading to an Ohio Department of Education pupil services license, specifically, the one-year temporary school nurse license, five-year professional school nurse license or school nurse wellness coordinator endorsement.
School Nurses are Trained to:
- Use the Nursing Process, a critical thinking model, to determine a course of nursing care. The school nurse conducts an assessment; develops a nursing diagnosis; provides outcomes identification; and plans and implements evidence-based coordination of care, health teaching, health promotion, evaluation of care and outcomes;
- Impact the health of students, schools, families and communities in a number of ways;
- Address health promotion and disease prevention for both individual and population health;
- Promote biopsychosocial health and well-being of school-aged children and intervene with health problems with a core focus of keeping students healthy and in school, which is essential for academic success;
- Collaborate with public health partners for screenings, referrals, follow up and communicable disease surveillance;
- Participate in health prevention activities, such as immunization, obesity prevention, substance abuse assessment, tobacco control, asthma education, and promoting health and safety;
- Understand and educate others, including staff, students and families, about normal development;
- Provide care provision or coordination, including care for chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, epilepsy and allergies; and contribute to Individual Assessment Team (IAT), 504 plan and individualized education program (IEP) processes;
- Provide training of other school staff on appropriate health and safety procedures related to health, including emergency preparedness;
- Provide care of students and staff with acute illnesses or injuries by rendering first aid and training for school staff;
- Practice in a manner that is ethical and culturally congruent, with effective communication in all areas of practice in an environmentally safe and healthy manner;
- Act in a leadership role in the professional practice setting and collaborate with key stakeholders, including professional practice evaluation (of self and others);
- Provide program management, directing the health services program within the school and community;
- Maintain an interdisciplinary practice, including actively collaborating with educators, physicians and other health care team members to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy and learning.
Resource
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Last Modified: 5/11/2021 6:00:25 AM