Description of Practice
School nurses are Registered Nurses (RNs) who apply nursing practice to the unique needs of individuals, groups, and populations in schools. The School Nurse promotes and implements the standards of school nursing practices established by the profession. The purpose of school nursing is to enhance the educational process by maximizing the health and well being of school age children and adolescents physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and developmentally. The school nurse accomplishes this through modification or removal of health related barriers to learning and through the promotion of optimal level health.
The School Nurse works with well children and children with acute and chronic illness, injury, handicapping conditions, and developmental disabilities. The School Nurse assumes a leadership role with responsibility for:
- Wellness, health promotion, and counseling services
- Health Education
- Training and supervision of personnel providing health services
- Emergency care
- Illness and injury prevention
- Participation in interdisciplinary team conferences with students, family, and school personnel to develop plans of care for students with special needs
- Direct nursing care to students with health needs
- Enhancement of parent, community, and teacher relations and interactions related to health
- Administrative tasks
- Development of individual health care or maintenance plans with client, family, and school
- Health promotion services for school staff
RNs may supervise LPNs. Supervision is defined by the Tennessee Board of Nursing as overseeing or inspecting with authority. The basic responsibility of the individual nurse who is required to supervise others is to determine which of the nursing needs can be delegated safely to others, and whether the individual to whom the duties are entrusted must be supervised personally. [Tennessee Board of Nursing Administrative Rule 1000-1-.04(2)(c)]
Qualifications
- Active Tennessee RN license in good standing;
- Educational preparation or experience shall include school nursing and/or community health nursing, growth and development, introduction to the education system, and care of children with special needs; and
- Baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing for all school nurses employed on or after Jan. 1, 2007.
Employment Requirements
- School Nurse certification and/or certification as a School Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner by a nationally recognized certifying body shall be obtained within 5 years of employment for all school nurses employed on or after Jan. 1, 2007;
- Maintain continued competence;and
- Maintain national certification during employment.
When reading the School Health-related job descriptions, please be aware that the position descriptions are TNA recommendations based on national standards.