The primary role of the School Nurse is to support student health and academic success. The school nurse is the link between school, students, families, health care and other community providers. As the health services expert, the School Nurse serves as the health professional for the school community and provides the following services:. Skip to Main Content. District Home. The school nurse has health expertise that is essential to school educational teams, such as the Committee on Special Education, the Individualized Educational Plan IEP team and the Section Team so that health-related barriers to learning can be reduced for each student.
The school nurse can provide families with referral information along with available community resources to improve access to health care. The school nurse can also assist families in obtaining health insurance as needed and can represent the school on community coalitions to advocate for school-based health care Wolfe, The school nurse may take on additional roles as needed to meet the needs of the school community.
Healthy children are successful learners. The school nurse has a multi-faceted role within the school setting, one that supports the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of students and their success in the learning process.
It is the breadth of nursing activities contained within the role of the school nurse and the unique non-medical setting that differentiates school nursing from other nursing specialties.
See position statement for summary, history, references and acknowledgement of authors The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP has also made a statement in regard to the role of the school nurse.
In addition, the school nurse provides health education and health counseling and advocates for students with disabilities. School nurses are well positioned to take the lead for the school system in partnering with community physicians, community organizations, and Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program staff to assist families and students to enroll in the state health insurance programs and find a medical home for each student.
This type of nursing career allows you to support not just the physical well being of children, but also their academic success and life-long achievement.
Certification: State certification may be required. This national certification program is provided through the National Board for Certification of School Nurses. The overall goal of a school nurse is to support student success in the learning process.
The school nurse advocates for safety by participating in the development of school safety plans to address bullying, school violence, and the full range of emergency incidents that may occur at school Wolfe, According to the ANA b , registered nurses believe that it is their obligation to help improve issues related to health care, consumer care, health, and wellness.
Educational preparation for the school nurse should be at the baccalaureate level NASN, b , and school nurses should continue to pursue professional development and continuing nursing education throughout their careers Wolfe, School nurses employ cultural competency in delivering effective care in culturally diverse communities Office of Minority Health, The school nurse employs primary prevention by providing health education that promotes physical and mental health and informs healthcare decisions, prevents disease, and enhances school performance.
School nurses provide tertiary prevention by addressing diagnosed health conditions and concerns. Student absences due to infectious disease cause the loss of millions of school days each year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Based on standards of practice and community health perspective, the school nurse provides a safe and healthy school environment through control of infectious disease, which includes promotion of vaccines, utilization of school-wide infection control measures, and disease surveillance and reporting.
The school nurse strives to promote health equity, assisting students and families in connecting with healthcare services, financial resources, shelter, food, and health promotion. As a case manager, the school nurse coordinates student health care between the medical home, family, and school. School nurses deliver quality health care and nursing intervention for actual and potential health problems.
Education of school staff by the school nurse is imperative to the successful management of a child with a chronic condition or special healthcare need and is codified as a role of the school nurse in the Every Student Succeeds Act Quality improvement is a continuous and systematic process that leads to measurable improvements and outcomes Health Resources and Services Administration, and is integral to healthcare reform and standards of practice Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Continuous quality improvement is the nursing process in action: assessment, identification of the issue, development of a plan of action, implementation of the plan, and evaluation of the outcome.
Data collection through this process is a necessary role of the school nurse. Formal school nursing research is needed to ensure that delivery of care to students and school communities by the school nurse is based on current evidence. School nurses utilize research data as they advocate and illustrate the impact of their role on meaningful health and academic outcomes NASN, a. It is the position of NASN that school nurses play an essential role in keeping children healthy, safe, and ready to learn.
The school nurse is a member of a unique discipline of professional nursing and is often the sole healthcare provider in an academic setting. It is essential that all students have access to a full time school nurse all day, every day American Academy of Pediatrics, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. National strategy for quality improvement in healthcare. American Academy of Pediatrics.
Role of the school nurse in providing school health services Policy Statement. Pediatrics ; originally published online May 23, Scope and standards of practice: School nursing 2 nd ed. Silver Spring, MD: nursebooks. Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Scope and standards of practice: Nursing.
0コメント