Children spend nearly 40 hours a week in a school setting and need their health needs met just the same as if they are at home. Rasmussen College is not enrolling students in your state at this time. Gaining this additional education may sound daunting, but keep in mind there are flexible online RN to BSN programs that can put you on a path to graduate in as little as 12 to 18 months.1. [5] About 63% of public school districts employ a full-time school nurse, while a further 19% have a part-time nurse and 18% have no nurse. Becoming a school nurse could be the change of course in your career you’ve been looking for! [6] School nurses are often the only health professional serving students in an educational setting. 09.28.2020. The Committee recommended that: The government reacted first by passing the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act, which allowed (but did not compel) local authorities to provide school meals, at no cost to the poor, and to raise a tax to pay for this. Following the Cameron Ministry's reorganisation of the National Health Service, School Nurses fall under the general aegis of Public Health England, but are locally commissioned by local authorities, who now hold local responsibility for public health. [11] In addition to nursing skills, the school nurse must possess excellent organizational and communication skills in order to succeed. Previous studies have addressed their role as helping families address health needs, decrease the amount of absent days from school, and helping them advance academically (Yoder, 2019). A school nurse works with school-aged children in the educational setting. [4] According to the American Federation of Teachers, there are approximately 45,000 school nurses employed in the United States. Chicken pox, head lice and asthma attacks are all part of a day’s work for a school nurse. Connect with Rasmussen College on Facebook, Connect with Rasmussen College on Instagram, Connect with Rasmussen College on LinkedIn, Connect with Rasmussen College on Pinterest, Connect with Rasmussen College on Twitter, Connect with Rasmussen College on Youtube, Human Resources and Organizational Leadership, Information Technology Project Management, 8 Things You Didn’t Know About the Rasmussen College RN to BSN Online Program, Financial Aid and FAFSA (for those who qualify). Much like any nursing position, school nurses must have compassion and caring toward the patients they serve. 10.26.2020, Callie Malvik |
This comes in handy when they train school staff and educate families or groups of students. Under the Blair Ministry, nit nursing came to be seen as not being clinically cost-effective, and nit nursing was gradually withdrawn from schools. As such they normally take over public health responsibilities for children, from health visitors, once the children are over 5 and start attending school. School nurses working in preschools or elementary schools may have very different job duties from those working in a high school or college setting. Hughes was surprised to find that the students were suffering with minor ailments that was contributing to school days lost to sickness. The overall goal of a school nurse is to support student success in the learning process. They administer screenings for vision, hearing, BMI and scoliosis, and they run flu shot clinics. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Ashley is a freelance writer for Collegis education who writes student-focused articles on behalf of Rasmussen College. This includes performing state-mandated immunization reviews and “collaborating with social workers and guidance counselors to set up home schooling for students too ill to attend school or those who are hospitalized,” Landseadel says. [12] Across the United States, the school nurse's role and workload varies, so that has an effect on whether or they are able to properly address their student's needs (National Association or School Nurses, 2016; Yoder 2019). [3], According to the National Association of School Nurses, there are approximately 61,232–73,697 Registered Nurses (RNs) working in elementary and secondary schools (K-12) in the United States depending on the survey sample ( - need these references: HRSA,2010; ACS, 2013), which represents between 2.1–2.8% of Registered Nurses in the United States. School nurses are also responsible for job duties that help the entire school population stay healthy. Students experiencing illness or injury during the school day often report to the school nurse for assessment. Strong organization skills will also help school nurses manage their caseload and keep track of administrative paperwork requirements. Fill out the form to receive information about: There are some errors in the form. She’s seen illnesses as serious as diabetic coma and severe injuries resulting from woodshop tools at a technical center. In the midst of all those job duties, school nurses do still treat patients who fall ill during the school day. Though school nurses are responsible for caring for kids in situations like these, their job duties don’t end there. [13], In 1892 Amy Hughes was working in Bloomsbury Square as the Superintendent of Queen's Nurses. Becoming part of school boards, public health departments, and community organizations, school nursing can affect change and highlight the impact of social determinants on health because, school nursing is where the effects of environments, school funding, and chronic health conditions on the health and education of children can be seen. As you might imagine, they may encounter childhood illnesses more often than nurses who work in other settings. Maybe you rested in the nurse’s office when you got a bad headache, or were sent … Maybe you rested in the nurse’s office when you got a bad headache, or were sent there in search of bandages after skinning your knee at recess. A school nurse works with school-aged children in the educ… Administering routine medications, caring for a child with a virus, or stabilizing a child until emergency services arrive after a more serious injury may all be a part of the job requirements. School nursing, a specialized practice of public health nursing, protects and promotes studenthealth, facilitates normal development, and advances academic success. This was accompanied by the 1907 Medical Inspections Act, which required local authorities to ensure that each child received a total of at least 3 medical inspections during their time at school. Much of a school nurse’s job comes down to what is essentially case management, according to Landseadel. She is credited with being the first School Nurse in the UK.[16]. “You have to love kids of all ages, and enjoy working with families,” Landseadel says. In 1947, 8% of school children suffered from lice infections, but the use of nit nurses had managed to reduce that to 3% within a decade. [9] For students with acute and chronic health problems, the school nurse will collaborate with the student's physicians and parents to create a health plan that accommodates the student while at school. Last but not least, school nurses also encounter administrative duties that help ensure student safety. Retrieved from, CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2020 (, Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/school-nurse/, https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/5/1052, "School Health as a Strategy to Improve Both Public Health and Education", "Effective Recruitment of Schools for Randomized Clinical Trials: Role of School Nurses", "Role of the School Nurse in Providing School Health Services", "The Role of the 21st-Century School Nurse: Position Statement", "School Nurses and Student Academic Outcomes: An Integrative Review", "Building a grad nation: Progress and challenge in raising high school graduation rates: 2017 annual update", "School nursing and population health: Past, Present, and Future", American Federation of Teachers: School Nurses, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=School_nursing&oldid=986633144, CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Annie McKay, first school nurse in Massachusetts, 1905, Lina Rogers Struthers, first school nurse in the United States, in New York City, 1902, Anne Sheetz, Director of School Health Services, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 1986–2014, children have medical inspections in schools, This page was last edited on 2 November 2020, at 01:57. Please correct the errors and submit again. This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen College to support its educational programs. Then the 1907 Education Act was passed, which established a team of school nurses at every local authority. A school nurse works with children from preschool through high school. In 1904 the Committee reported back, saying that there was no general health problem, but treatable conditions had been left untreated, meaning that the conditions had worsened to they extent that they became debilitating. Children who suffer from chronic illnesses or live below the poverty line are more likely to end up dropping out of school[17] Two separate studies performed in 2017 looked at the way asthma medications were being managed in schools and found that nurses who assisted in daily corticosteroid usage resulted in less absences by children suffering from asthma.