School Nurse

Job Description

Job Description

School Nurse

Family Health Care Associates has been servicing communities across Kentucky since 2002. Our mission is to provide quality health care to all people in the communities we service. Dedicated to providing the best health care services. We believe the importance of living a healthy life can be achieved through proper training and guidance to all people in the community. Our goal is to help people learn how to live healthy and work to prevent illness before it happens rather than to treat. However, when you need to be seen, our staff of friendly professionals is there for you.

Location: Russellville Middle and High School Reports To: Director of Nursing

Schedule: TBD

Certified LPN required, RN preferred

1-2 years of experience as a nurse

Special Skills, knowledge and abilities

Clinical skills: Proficiency in taking vital signs, drawing blood, administering injections, and assisting with exams

Time management and adaptability skills is required

Ability to operate standard office equipment

Certified LPN or RN

CPR Certification required

Nurses may spend a great deal of their professional day walking, standing, moving, and manipulating equipment, as well as lifting and moving objects, equipment, and supplies. It is reasonable to anticipate lifting 20-25 pounds in any given day. Lifting up to 40-50 pounds may occasionally be required, depending on the specific style or type of care provided.

In the performance of certain patient care tasks, the School Nurse may be expected to have sufficient manual dexterity to safely perform various skills and techniques. Tasks and expectations may vary by clinical site and medical practice.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach forward with hands and arms. The employee is required to sit and stoop, kneel, or crouch.

Physical Demand Ratings are an estimate of the overall strength requirements that are important for an average, successful work performance of a specific job. To classify the occupation of a worker with a physical demand rating, the most strenuous and frequently performed tasks are evaluated. The overall physical demand rating for a job of the School Nurse falls within the Light classification according to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Family Health Care Associates (FHCA) follows the Kentucky Higher Education standards of expectation for school nurses. Below you will find a general outline of what is expected. In addition to these guidelines, you will find the required duties of a school nurse per FHCA standards.

School Nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and lifelong achievement of students. To that end, school nurses facilitate positive student responses to normal development; promote health and safety; intervene with actual and potential health problems; provide case management services; and actively collaborate with others to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self-management services, and actively collaborate with others to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy, and learning. (National Association of School Nurses, 1999)

The role of the school nurse will vary depending on individual needs of local school districts to facilitate the educational process by removal or modification of health-related barriers to student learning.

The National Association of School Nurses has identified seven core roles of the school nurse. As reference, the roles are:

1. Provision of direct health care to students and staff - ensure consent is on file when they arrive at the office.

• Check Insurance
• Provides care to students and staff who need emergency care due to injury or who present with an acute illness
• Within the nurse’s scope of practice and state laws, trains, and delegates to unlicensed school personnel medication administration and/or the delivery of health services as ordered by a licensed healthcare provider. Delegation to others involves initial assessment, training, competency validation, supervision, and evaluation by the school nurse.
• Assists faculty and staff monitoring chronic medical conditions, assess patient and contact NP with name, age, full set of vitals including height, weight, and complaint
• Treat patient per NP orders. Speak with the parent/guardian when needed
• Coordinate care and student emergency action plans related to diabetes, seizures, asthma, allergies and use of emergency medications i.e. EpiPen, Glucagon
• Develop an Individual Health Plan (IHP) for children with chronic disease in conjunction with their practitioner or pediatrician
• Administer daily meds with a written order from a PCP/Specialist. Document in Infinite Campus and on MARs
• Assist diabetic with accuchecks for blood sugar, carb counts, and insulin administration under Diabetic Medical Management Plans from their Endocrinologist. Speak with parent/guardian and Endo as needed.
2. Provides leadership for the provision of health services
• Assures that school district policies and procedures adhere to legal and regulatory statutes and ethical standards of nursing practice
• Serve on advisory committees/consultation for health accommodations necessary to support student individual education care plans, (i.e. 504 & 1EP).
• Assist with the development of school emergency response plan for emergencies and disasters and the training of staff to respond appropriately within applicable state laws
• Develop plans/implement plans, and evaluate response to interventions
3. Provides screening and referral for health conditions
• Address potential health problems that are barriers to learning or symptoms of underlying medical conditions by coordinating and assisting with mandated screenings, i.e., vision, hearing and scoliosis;
• Initiates referrals according to state and school policies
• Conduct lice checks. These cannot be completed as a class, but as one at a time due to HIPAA and must be completed in nurse’s office individually
• Urine dip sticks
• Get students ready for wellness exams, sports physicals, and immunizations (obtain

consents, VS) for NP.

4. Promotes a healthy school environment
• Monitors immunizations and reports communicable diseases as required by law
• Review immunization records for compliance to state laws and school policies
• Assess the physical environment of the school to improve health and safety, including the assessment of playground, indoor air quality evaluation or review patterns of illness or injury to determine source of concern
• Assist in evaluation of school emotional environment to decrease potential bullying and

violence and/or an environment that is not conducive to optimal mental health and learning

5. Promotes health
• Provides health education information directly to individual students, groups of students, or classes or by providing guidance and consultation about health education curriculum;
• Promotes health awareness activities such fairs for staff and families; consultation with
• other school staff, i.e. food service personnel or physical education teachers, regarding healthy lifestyles and staff wellness programs
• Serves as a member of the coordinated school health team that promotes the health and wellbeing of school members through collaborative efforts
• Check monthly for expired medications and supplies. Dispose of properly. If a student's

medication is expired, please contact parent/guardian.

6. Serves in a leadership role for health policies and programs
• Provides leadership in the development and evaluation of school health policies, programs and the promotion of a health school environment through the collaboration with coordinated school health programs, crises/disaster management teams and school health advisory councils
• Oversees the collection of health data and submission of health reports to LHD for

immunization and KOE for school health services.

7. Serves as a liaison between school personnel, family, community, and health care providers.
• Provides case management through by communicating with the family through telephone calls, written communication and home visits as needed
• Serves as a representative of the school community to promote the health of the community

Other roles/duties will be assigned as necessary to assist FHCA in the attainment of the goals set forth and the enhancement of a positive, respectful family practice for all patient and employees.

If at any given time you are not able to perform your job as outlined above, it is imperative that you contact your supervisor so that reasonable accommodations can be made by FHCA.

For more information, please follow the links below:

National Association of School Nurses —

Kentucky Board of Nursing -

Kentucky Department of Education -