School Nurse

School Nurse

Job Description and Classification

• The school nurse is employed by the local education agency (LEA), Rockingham County Schools.
• The school health program is within Instructional Support Services Department, and the position reports directly to the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Support Services.
• The school nurse serves various schools within the district as assigned. The position is permanent, full-time 10 month, salaried, exempt.
• The salary range is commensurate with experience and per DPI salary schedule for school nurses plus local supplement.

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, health educator and counselor for the Rockingham County Schools in assigned schools.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

The complex role of the school nurse demands, but is not limited to, an 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 Ten Components of a Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model)
• Laws related to School Health
• Special Education Legislation and Services
• Case ?nding, case management and health advocacy
• Program management, including personnel oversight and monitoring related to delegated medical procedures
• Family theory, assessment and intervention
• Leadership, networking and collaboration
• Ethnic and Cultural Sensitivity and Competence
• Contemporary Health and Psychosocial issues that in?uence children, families and the community
• Health Care delivery systems and the concepts of Primary Health Care
• Building student, sta? 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 role:

• Plan, coordinate and monitor the work of others related to delegated nursing tasks
• Communicate 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 sta?
• Elicit needed information and maintain e?ective working relationships
• Collect data to direct evidence-based practice
• Accurately record 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, ?nancial, cultural, economical, etc.)
• Perform nursing assessments related to direct care
• Adhere to HIPPA and FERPA regulations concerning confidentiality

Duties, Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions:

This professional school nursing position within Rockingham County Schools 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 which impact learning.
• Promote the highest degree of independent function possible
• Promote student, sta?, and community awareness of and participation in healthy behaviors
• Actively participate in school based multidisciplinary teams that address student learning and performance
• Prepare for and respond to school emergencies and crises through involvement with school safety and crisis teams
• Prevent and respond to communicable disease outbreaks
• Provide and/or arrange for routine health screenings; such as vision, hearing, or dental screening and follow up for referrals
• Conduct health counseling, assess mental health needs, provide interventions, and refer students to appropriate school sta? or community agencies
• Assure that federal and state mandated health related activities are completed, which includes but is not limited to: health assessments, immunization status reports, bloodborne pathogens control plan (OSHA) requirements, anaphylaxis management, etc.
• Conduct home visits as needed
• Includes other duties as assigned

Performance Standards:

At a minimum, the school nurse is expected to:

• Participate and complete the School Nurse Modules and School Nurse Roles and Responsibilities
• Address the six core functions as identi?ed in the School Nurse Funding Initiative
• Collect data for the NC DHHS School Health Nursing Survey and Program Summary (End of Year Report)
• Complete monthly Student Health Activity Report and other reports as assigned

Job Qualifications:

Required:

• Active North Carolina RN license.
• Minimum of two years of professional nursing experience in a hospital or clinical setting.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN), or associate degree in nursing (ADN) with current enrollment in a BSN program.
• Current certification as a Nationally Certified School Nurse, or interest in pursuing certification for professional advancement.
• Nursing experience working with children and adolescents (ages 5–18).