School Nurse

Reports to: Principal

Job title and Classification

• The school nurse is employed by Monroe Charter Academy.
• The school health program is within Student Support Services.
• The school nurse serves Monroe Charter Academy.
• The position is full-time and salaried.

Primary Purpose Statement

• The professional school nurse is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating school health services within the context of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model.
• The school nurse serves in the roles of program manager/ coordinator, case manager/direct care provider, collaborator/advocate, educator, and counselor for Monroe Charter Academy.

III. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 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 Ten Components of a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child 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 healthcare
• Building student, staff, and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy, and learning
• School as a non-traditional health care setting
• Development, management, and evaluation of school health programs
• Environmental health within the school community

Skills related to this important role include the ability to:

• 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 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, economic, etc.)

IV. Duties, Responsibilities, and Essential Job Functions This professional school nursing position with Monroe Charter Academy is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating school health services that:

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

The school nurse will provide: Standards of Care

• Assessment: Collects comprehensive data pertinent to the client’s health or situation
• Diagnosis: Analyzes the assessment data to determine the diagnosis or issues
• Outcomes Identification: Identifies expected outcomes for a plan individualized to the client or situation
• Planning: Develops a plan that prescribes strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcomes
• Implementation: Implements the identified plan through coordination of care, health teaching, and health promotion and consultation to influence the identified plan, enhance the abilities of others, and effect change. Making decisions related to the delegation of healthcare tasks as directed by the state laws and professional practice guidance.
• Evaluation: Evaluates progress towards attainment of outcomes

Standards of Professional Performance

• Quality of Practice: Systematically enhances the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice
• Education: Attains knowledge and competency that reflects current school nursing practice
• Professional Practice Evaluation: Evaluates one’s own nursing practice in relation to professional practice standards and guidelines, relevant statutes, rules, and regulations
• Collegiality: Interacts with and contributes to the professional development of peers and school personnel as colleagues
• Collaboration: Collaborates with the client, the family, school staff, and others in the conduct of school nursing practice
• Ethics: Integrates ethical provisions in all areas of practice
• Research: Integrates research findings into practice
• Resource Utilization: Considers factors related to safety, effectiveness, cost, and impact on practice on the planning and delivery of school nursing services
• Leadership: Provides leadership in the professional practice setting and the profession
• Program Management: Manages school health services

V. Performance and Work Load Standards At a minimum, the school nurse may be expected to:

• Attend the New School Nurse Orientation and follow up session
• Address the six core functions as identified in the School Nurse Funding Initiative
• Collect data for the NC DHHS School Health Nursing Survey and Program Summary (End of Year of Report)
• Complete any other tasks as directed by the Principal and/or the state school nurse consultant.

VI. Job Qualifications

• Required: Registered nurse, currently licensed in North Carolina
• A minimum of 3 years RN nursing experience dealing with young children and adolescents (ages 3 – 21)
• Registered nurse (RN) working toward a baccalaureate degree in nursing or health-related field with the attainment of the baccalaureate degree and national school nurse certification within 3 years of hire date.