School Nurse

PERQUIMANS COUNTY SCHOOLS JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: SCHOOL NURSE

Reports to Assistant Superintendent

NATURE OF WORK
The employee identifies and treats health disorders among students and provides instruction in the maintenance of good health and disease prevention. The employee must evaluate the physical conditions of students and refer students to appropriate resources as needed. Decisions made by this employee require discretionary judgment and analysis. Errors may not be easily discernible and may result in serious impact on the individual child and others. The work of this employee is seldom reviewed while in progress and is performed under general supervision.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF WORK

1. Primary Purpose Statement

The 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 the Perquimans County School District in assigned schools.

1. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

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

• Community, including 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 model
• 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 monitor 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.)
• Effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of students, staff, parents and the general public

Physical Requirements: 

• Must have mobility to carry out the responsibilities and duties as listed
• Frequent prolonged standing, walking, bending, reaching and sitting may be required
• Travel to school sites and transporting of school nurse equipment/supplies is required

• Duties, Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions

The school nurse is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating and evaluating school health services that: (a) maximize the quantity of in-class time by reducing the incidence of health related absenteeism (b) eliminate or minimize health problems which impair learning (c) promote the highest degree of independent functioning possible (d) promote student, staff and community awareness or and participation in healthy behaviors.  More specifically, the school nurse:

• Identifies the health care needs of a specific student population and availability of health services/resources
• Plans and implements services to meet those health care needs
• Assesses and evaluates the effectiveness of services and health care plans
• Collaborates with a wide variety of school system and professional disciplines to enhance the educational process and promote an optimal level of wellness for students, families and staff.

The school nurse functions independently in assigned schools under state and agency guidelines and policies.  Work is self-directed and clinically autonomous.  May coordinate health-related services with volunteers, unlicensed personnel, and/or licensed personnel.  School nurse roles and specific responsibilities are as follows:

1. School Health Services Manager/Coordinator

In this role, the school nurse addresses school-wide health service issues that affect the entire school population, i.e. population focused care.  The school nurse follows Edenton-Chowan Schools’ school health policy and procedures.

1. Case Manager and Direct Care Provider for Students with Special Health Care Needs and Those Needing Health Services

In this role, the school nurse addresses the health needs of individual students or small groups of students.

1. Collaborator/Advocator

In this role, the school nurse works with school staff, community providers/resources and student families.

1. Educator for School and Community Concerns

In this role, the school nurse serves as a health education partner within the school to provide individual and group services.

1. Counselor for Health Concerns of Students and their Families and the Staff

1. Other Duties as assigned within the scope of practice as a registered nurse in accordance with the NC Nurse Practice Act

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.
• 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 conduction 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 in 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

1. Other Duties

At a minimum, the school nurse is expected to:

• 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 and other required state/local reports
• Collect data for the daily and monthly activity reports
• Attend required staff meetings
• Perform quarterly medication audits

1. Job Qualifications

• Required: registered nurse, currently licensed in North Carolina; BSRN or higher.
• Required certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN).
• Baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse in nursing or health-related field working toward national certification with the stipulation that certification is completed within 3 years of hire date.
• Nurse Extender – LPN, currently licensed in North Carolina.
• Two years school nursing or public health experience

1. Compensation

Nationally certified school nurse who are employed will be paid on the classroom teacher “M” salary schedule according to their years of experience.  Non-nationally certified school nurses will be paid within the non-certified nurse salary range until national certification is achieved.

FLSA: Exempt

The Perquimans County School System does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, citizenship status, age, or handicapping condition in any of its educational or employment programs or activities