School Nurses

School Nurse

Title: School Nurse

Qualifications:

• Registered professional nurse, designated R.N. and currently licensed in the state of Connecticut
• The equivalent of one (1) year full-time working experience as a registered nurse in the last (3) years such as pediatric, ambulatory, public health or school nursing prior to employment as a school nurse.
• CPR certification or completion of such certification prior to the first day of employment as a school nurse.
• Passing a background check.

Reports To: Director of Pupil Personnel Services

Job Goal: In cooperation with other health professionals, educators and school personnel assumes the initiative and responsibility for providing a wide variety of health care services designed to promote and protect the student's optimal health status.

Performance Responsibilities:

• As a manager of health care within the school health program the nurse is responsible:
• To participate in program planning by identifying health needs of children in the school by collaborating in the formation of specific objectives and policies and by making recommendations regarding budget.
• To implement program objectives by the organization and completion of activities formulated in the planning phase. Program implementation involves:
• Communication with students, families, school staff and involved community persons and agencies.
• Assessment of student and staff health status.
• Assessment of the school community health based on epidemiological surveys.
• Prevention and control of communicable disease.
• Facilitation of the adaptation to school of exceptional and/or handicapped children.
• Follow-up of health related absences.
• Promotion of optimal environmental personal health.
• To participate in the evaluation of program activities/outcomes by:
• Record keeping for all procedures and activities
• Conduction or participation in studies of various aspects of the school health programs.
• Design of and/or participation in research concerning school health and health education.
• Analysis of personal effectiveness within the school health program.
• Evaluation of school nursing practice and utilization of consultation, supervision and continuing education for Improvement.
• As a deliverer of health services, the school nurse is responsible to:
• Systematically assess the health status and health needs of the school children through the following means:
• Periodic and episodic health appraisal using observation physical examination techniques, measurements and review of medical, dental and psychological examinations.
• Collection of a health history.
• Assessment of growth and development and psychosocial health.
• Periodic screening of at-risk populations to detect visual problems, hearing loss, scoliosis or other conditions.
• Periodic conferences with teacher, other school staff, the child and his/her family, and other relevant persons for early detection of health problems or learning and perceptual disabilities.
• Observation of students in the classroom and during play or recreation periods as a means of evaluation.
• Plan and carry out appropriate interventions once the health needs are known. Such interventions include:
• Provision of health education or personal counseling to the child and family.
• Referral to physician or other community resource.
• Initiating a school health team conference.
• Participation as the health specialist on the child's education evaluation team in order to interpret the child's health status and needs as they pertain to development of an individual education plan.
• Crisis intervention in the event of a serious injury or accident, medical emergency or emotional disturbance.
• Supervision of first aid care given by other school personnel and direct provision of first aid care when it cannot be delegated to others.
• Provision of immunizations or referrals for some of students whose immunization status is not complete.
• Exclusion of children with communicable disease.
• Administration of medication or medical treatment as ordered by a physician/nurse practitioner.
• To follow up on those children and school personnel with known illnesses or health problems to ensure their fullest recovery and prompt return to school through a variety of means which may include:
• Telephone calls to check progress towards health.
• Home visits
• Establishing communications with specific community agencies to facilitate referrals, treatment and evaluation of referral outcomes.
• Assessment of homebound referrals and alternative resources of homebound students.
• As a health counselor for individuals and groups, the school nurse is responsible:
• To provide health counseling and guidance on an individual basis to assist students and their families in problem solving and decision making about health and development issues, acute illness care, adjustments to changes and limitations stemming from chronic disease, or life styles which affect health.
• To provide health counseling and guidance to a group.
• To work with families and groups of students to identify how their information, attitudes and values affect their health behavior and level of wellness.
• To inform youth, parents and school personnel about professional health care services and resources available for the identified health problems or concerns.
• As a health educator in the school health program the school nurse is responsible:
• To provide direct health education to a child, youth or parent who consults the nurse about a health or developmental problem.
• To correlate his/her director service activities with the health education curriculum by such means as:
• Providing teachers with sufficient information about health appraisals or screening procedures so that they can incorporate this content into their health classes prior to the implementation of such screening procedures.
• Providing students and/or staff with a prepared health talk or discussion related to a current health issue such as a communicable disease outbreak in the school.
• To collaborate with teachers in developing programs and skills needed to work effectively in specific areas for which the school population is at high risk, such as personal hygiene, drug abuse, family living, venereal diseases, etc.
• To act as a resource person to the educators involved in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of health education curricula.
• To provide information or in-service education to other school staff about health care issues and first aid management.
• To act as a resource person in promoting health careers.
• As an advocate for the health rights of children and their families both within the school setting and between the school and community at large; the school nurse is responsible:
• To make identified health needs known to families and to appropriate health care resources.
• To facilitate the child/family utilization of community resources through referral and support.
• To interpret identified health problems to school personnel so that appropriate adaptations can be made in the student's class schedule, physical education activities, class lesson plans or the school physical plant.
• By conferring with other health professionals and community groups to increase their awareness of locally identified health needs in the school population.
• By keeping informed of and/or participating in legislative programs that may have an impact on school health services and health education.

Terms of Employment: Ten months. Salary to conform to Nurses' contract.