Craven County Schools

Substitute School Nurse Job Description

Position: School NurseReports to: Lead Nurse, PrincipalTerms of Employment: 10 monthPay Grade:Pay Range: Starting at $20.39 per hour for non-certified nurse, $38,500 -$57,200 for NBCSN certification, prorated for position's hoursFLSA Status: Exempt and Non-exempt

1. Job title and Classification

• The substitute school nurse is employed by Craven County Schools.
• The school health program is based within the Student Support Services Division.
• The substitute school nurse serves one to two schools, depending on acuity and district needs.
• Positions vary from 35 to 37.5 hours per week.

1. Primary Purpose

• The substitute 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 substitute school nurse serves in the roles of program manager/ coordinator, case manager/direct care provider, collaborator/advocate, educator and counselor for Craven County Schools in assigned schools.
• The substitute school nurse reports directly to the Lead Nurse.

III. 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 the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model)

• 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 concept of the primary health care home.
• Various electronic applications such as Power School, Google Docs, Word, Excel
• Building student, staff and family capacity for adaptation, self-management, self-advocacy and learning
• School as a Public Health care setting
• 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 supervise the work of others
• Deal tactfully with others and exercise good judgment in appraising situations
• Make independent and timely nursing decisions and accurately triage
• Maintain effective working relationships with students, parents, faculty and staff
• 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
• Utilize various electronic and hard copy documentation systems for entering information at the time of service to the student.
• Identify health related barriers to learning (i.e., at risk behaviors, financial, cultural, economical, etc.)
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in practice settings to meet student, school and community needs.

1. Duties, Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions

The professional school nursing position within Craven County Schools is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating and evaluating school health services that:

• Maximize the quantity of in-class, on task time by reducing the incidence of health-related absenteeism,
• Eliminate or minimize health problems which impair learning
• Promote the highest degree of independent functioning possible
• Promote student, staff and community awareness of and participation in healthy behaviors
• Assist Public Health partners during emergent events such as outbreaks of communicable disease such as Covid-19. Substitute school nurses may be required to perform activities that support the communicable disease team.
• Other duties as assigned.

The school nurse will provide:

Standards of Care

• Assessment: Collects comprehensive data pertinent to the client’s health or situation.
• Nursing Diagnosis: Analyzes the assessment data to determine the nursing diagnosis or issues that need to be addressed.
• 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 conduct 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 for assigned schools.

*Exceptional Children’s nurses are not responsible for program management,

but may assist the “whole school” nurse in the process.

1. Performance and Workload Standards

 At a minimum, the school nurse may be expected to: 

• Attend the New School Nurse Orientation and follow up session (new school nurses)
• Collect data for various reports including the Annual Health Assessment and Immunization Report, PBNC Mid-Year and EOY Reports, the NC DHHS School Health Nursing Survey and Program Summary (End of Year of Report)
• Assume the responsibility for 1-2 schools, based on acuity levels and district need. Exceptional Children’s nurses typically assume responsibility for only one student.

1. Job Qualifications

• Required: Registered nurse, currently licensed to practice in North Carolina
• A minimum of 3 years RN nursing experience dealing with young children and adolescents (ages 5 – 18)
• BSN preferred.
• National school nurse certification is (optional). In accordance with the National Board for the Certification of School Nurses, the nurse sitting for the exam is required to have a minimum of 1000 hours of school nursing experience and a BSN.

VII. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT

To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

I have had a chance to ask questions about this job description and have been given a copy.

____________________________________ ______________________ Signature Date

____________________________________ ____________________ Witness Date