School Nurse (RN)

School Nurse (Registered Nurse)

The certified or licensed Registered Nurse (RN) functions professionally as a school nurse, in accordance with the laws governing nursing in South Carolina and with the mission statement and policies of the school district. He/she promotes optimal health status of students and staff using quality standards for school nursing practice. School nursing services are provided to all students in order to support and sustain school attendance and to maximize their learning experience.

Essential Duties:

• Promote wellness and positive health behaviors via individual health teaching and counseling students, in-service activities with staff, advising parents, and participation in the provision of classroom instruction.
• Protect the health of students and staff by identifying possible health and environmental hazards and participate in action plans for remediation.
• Provide information to reinforce and strengthen current positive health behaviors and practices, to parents, students and staff.
• Utilize the nursing process in the provision of direct care procedures and nursing services for students and staff in the assigned school(s) which includes: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
• Responsible for initial and periodic health screening and assessments during the course of the child's development to detect unknown or untreated health conditions that have the potential to interfere with the ability to learn; with progress of normal growth and development; or with overall health status of students.
• Develop Individual Healthcare Plans (IHP) for students with health deficits to ensure necessary school treatment needs are met, in order to attain and maintain maximum level of wellness or stability.
• Provide and/or coordinate the team of school health service staff who provides nursing care and medication procedures for children with chronic illness or disabling conditions. Coordination responsibilities include establishing and maintaining partnerships with private healthcare providers, hospitals and public service agencies, and appropriately triaging children to assure timely and appropriate access to care.
• Serves as liaison between the school, community and other agencies.
• Complies with Federal OSHA regulations on Blood-Borne pathogens and Horry County Schools exposure control plan. Maintains record of HBV vaccinations, training programs, exposure incidents and follow-up opinions of the district's health care professionals.
• Participate in implementing a system for managing school emergencies and the conduct of actions to prevent both intentional and unintentional injury occurrences. Responsible for establishing emergency action plans for students with chronic illnesses or known disabilities.
• Function as the school's team leader for school nursing services, which includes responsibility for the on-site clinical supervision of ancillary staff (Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP), and for delegating nursing tasks as appropriate.

Other Duties:

• Performs other duties and assumes other responsibilities as assigned by immediate supervisors.

Job Specifications:

• Current license issued by the State Board of Nursing for South Carolina to practice as a Registered Nurse.
• Current CPR Certification REQUIRED.
• Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) PREFERRED.
• Minimum of 3 years nursing experience REQUIRED, preferably in school nursing, public health nursing, emergency room, or pediatrics.

Physical Requirements:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and reach with hands and arms; walk; sit; stoop or kneel; crouch or crawl.
• Additional physical requirements include the following: Physically capable of frequently lifting or moving up to 40 pounds; Specific vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to focus; Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time; Manual dexterity for the purpose of using a telephone and data entry; Read a computer screen and printed material with or without vision aids; Hear and understand speech at normal levels and on the telephone; and Speak in audible tones so that others may understand clearly in person and on the telephone.

Work Environment:

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Horry County Schools reserves the right to update, revise or change this job description and related duties at any time without prior notice.