The population of students with a variety of chronic health conditions and medically related needs is rising. It is important that these children be at their optimal health in order to excel academically. Thus the contemporary school nurse deals with a broadening responsibility for not only the physical care of students afflicted by chronic illnesses, but also must deal with and counsel students on a variety of social and health issues. This poster presents the results of a survey conducted on the range of nurses encounters with students and the perceived impact of nurses interventions with school aged children. Interviews were conducted with eighteen full-time nurses to measure the effectiveness of being in a school full-time. A major problem identified was an absence of understanding the role nurses played in the schools and the need for school nurses to further define their role in enhancing the educational mission of the schools. Two tools were developed to measure student encounters and outcomes. First, the Problem Identification Chart was developed to document the number and types of student encounters that occur. Second, the Calendar demonstrates there are less absences and emergency calls made when a school nurse is present. Recommendations from this study will be made to increase the nurse to student ratio in the Mecklenburg County School System.
Learning Objectives: Poster session participants will be able to: 1. Identify the responsibilities of the school nurse within the current educational environment. 2. Describe how to increase visibility of nurses within the schools.
Keywords: School Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Mecklenburg County Health Department
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.