School Nurse

School Nurse

The professional school nurse is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating school health services within the context of the Coordinated School Health Program Model. The school nurse serves in the roles of program manager/coordinator, case manager/direct care provider, collaborator/advocate, educator, and counselor for Stokes County Schools in assigned schools.

The professional school nurse provides management of the comprehensive school health program by assessing, planning/coordinating, implementing, and evaluating school health services in order to maximize the quality of in-class time by reducing the incidence of health-related absenteeism, eliminate or minimize health problems that impair learning, and assist students to achieve the highest degree of independent functioning possible.

The complex role of the school nurse demands, but is not limited to, an understanding and knowledge of:

• Community, including the community as a system and aggregates as clients
• Pediatric/adolescent Nursing
• Public Health/community Health Nursing
• Health counseling, mental health, and crisis intervention
• Communicable Disease
• Applicable laws, regulations, and standards pertaining to school nursing practice (NC Nurse Practice Act, Standards of School Nursing Practice, and the Eight Components of a Coordinated School Health Program)
• School Health Law
• Special education legislation and services
• Case finding, case management, and health advocacy
• Program management, including personnel supervision
• Family theory, assessment, and intervention
• Leadership, networking, and collaboration
• Ethnic and cultural sensitivity and competence
• Contemporary health and psychosocial issues that influence children, families, and the community
• Health care delivery systems and the concepts of the primary health care
• Building student, staff, and family capacity for adaptation, self management, self-advocacy, and learning
• School as a non-traditional health care setting
• Environmental health within the school community

Skills:

• Plan, coordinate, and supervise the work of others
• Deal tactfully with others and exercise good judgment in appraising situations
• Make independent and timely nursing decisions and to triage
• Secure the cooperation and respect of students, faculty, and staff
• Elicit needed information and maintain effective working relationships
• Collect data to direct evidence based practice
• Record accurately services rendered and interpret and explain records, reports, activities, health care plans, accommodations and medical interventions
• Identify health related barriers to learning (i.e., at risk behaviors, financial, cultural, economical, etc.)

Duties, Responsibilities, and Essential Job Functions:

• Maximize the quantity of in-class time by reducing the incidence of health-related absenteeism
• Eliminate or minimize health problems which impair learning
• Promote the highest degree of independent functioning possible
• Promote students, staff, and community awareness of and participation in health behaviors

As Program Manager/Coordinator (in this role, the school nurse addresses system-wide health services issues that affect the entire school population):

• Coordinate and participate in the establishment, review, and implementation of school health/services policies and procedures.
• Ensure consistent implementation of policies/procedures throughout the school system and adherence to legal and regulatory requirements and ethical standards of nursing practice.
• Utilize the nursing process in assessment, planning, and evaluation of the health services component of the coordinated school health program.
• Implementation of communicable disease control in the school, including monitoring, surveillance, and participating in disease prevention and outbreak management with the school.
• Serve as a health care consultant for school personnel, students, and their families.
• Provide professional health leadership to administrators and school staff.
• Development/coordination of quality improvement activities for the school health services component of the school health program.
• Assure the appropriate documentation is maintained for school health services and activities.
• Documentation, compilation, and analysis of data for required reports on school health services.
• Development and training of staff that provides health services, including the administration of medication to students.
• Coordinate the establishment of guidelines, procedures, and training in First Aid/CPR/First Responder Program for schools and staff.
• Participate in the development of the school's emergency health and crisis plan.
• Recommends corrective action where problems are identified.
• Where applicable, direct, monitor, and evaluate aides/assistants/volunteers assigned to the school health program.
• Develop a system for the identification of students with special health care needs.
• Supports healthy food services programs
• Monitors compliance of school health program with federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
• Maintains security and functionality of school health supplies.

As Case Manager/Care Provider (in this role, the school nurse addresses the health care needs of individual students or small groups of students):

• Identify students with known chronic illness and special health needs.
• Provides first aid care and medically prescribed services.
• Invasive procedure-delegation training and follow-up; instruct school personnel via in-services how to manage students with chronic illness.
• Provide ongoing evaluation of delegated staff to assure they can safely and effectively perform the tasks.
• Develop EAPs (Emergency Action Plans) as appropriate.
• Establish top priorities for students with chronic illness and assist in development of IHPs (Individual Health Care Plans).
• Initiate referrals, when necessary, and follow-up for students with identified or suspected health problems.
• Provide periodic health appraisals of students with identified or suspected health problems.
• Serve as a resource for education placement when health needs are involved.
• Instruct school personnel on immunization laws and interpreting the significance of health records such as Kindergarten Health Assessments.
• Records immunizations, health findings, and other relevant health data.
• Conduct in-service training on health issues for faculty and staff.
• Serve as a resource for classroom education as time allows.
• Provide case management to chronically ill students and their families.
• Respond to communicable disease outbreaks.
• Providing or arranging for routine health assessments, such as vision, hearing or dental screenings, and follow-up as necessary.
• Conducts home visits when appropriate.
• Assist the county health department during a public health emergency.

As Collaborator/Advocate:

• Function as the liaison between the school and local health services agencies/providers.

• Promote healthy physical education, sports policies, and practices
• Promote community involvement in assuring a healthy school and serves as liaison to a health advisory committee.
• Interpret health mandates, recommendations, and trends to school personnel through written materials, meetings, etc.
• Collaborate with other student services personnel to prevent health problems from becoming reasons for educational failure.
• Provision of guidance and support to families in finding and using treatment services.
• Collaborate with community agencies to provide resources for students and their families through serving on committees, task forces, etc.
• Seek out local and other resources for use in the school setting.
• Support the development and ongoing functioning of the School Health Advisory Council.

As Educator:

• Participate with other school personnel in developing workshops for teachers, assistants, and other staff on health-related topics.
• Conduct in-service training for school personnel on health issues.
• As time permits, provide classroom health instruction to increase the existing teaching staff's capacity to achieve the school's health education goals.
• Participate in the development and implementation of health promotion activities.

As Counselor: