Role of Nurses in School Nursing Setting

Role of Nurses in School Nursing Setting

Community health nurses play a fundamental role in the promotion of health care activities in multifarious community settings. Indeed, the concept of health promotion has undergone evolution to focus on the community-oriented health promotion practice, community participation, as well as health promotion exercise founded on health and social policies. In order to properly understand the roles that community health nurses play in a community health setting, the examination of their community health promotion within a particular setting such as a school nursing becomes paramount. School nursing has gained traction since its inception as it plays a fundamental role in the provision of comprehensive health services to youths and children. An increasing number of students join schools with chronic conditions that require the intervention of school nurses. To this end, it behooves the school nurse to undertake various promotional and preventative interventions with support from relevant agencies to ensure a healthy population at the school setting. Therefore, gaining understanding of school nursing as a community setting and the promotional interventions undertaken by nurses therein to ensure that students enjoy quality health forms the basis of the paper’s discussion.

School Nursing as a Community Setting

The definition of school nursing reveals that the setting allows such nurses to offer specialized public health nursing practice, with a view of protecting and promoting student health, advancing academic excellence and facilitating normal development. After home, the school easily becomes the most influential environment in the life of a child. As the number of mental health or general health problems increase among the student populace, school nurses increasingly face the challenge of managing these conditions throughout the school day (Selekman, 2013).  In the school nursing setting, a recognized correlation between learning and health as well as the availability of school nurse and educational student wellbeing and educational success exists.  Thus, the setting in school nursing enables the achievement of both health and educational objectives by the specialized public health nurse.

The school nursing environment comprises mostly of school-going children. According to statistics, these students have increasingly become vulnerable to general health and mental health issues due to existing pressures in the academic space. Indeed, the number of fragile students or those with chronic medical conditions has continuously increased over the last couple of years (Loschiavo, 2015). Most of these students suffer from chronic conditions such as anaphylaxis, asthma, type 2 and 1 diabetes, obesity and epilepsy. Thus, the nurses offer emotional, physical, social, and mental health support to them so as to facilitate their academic process.

The nurse practitioners within the school environment perform the above roles through provision of specific health care services. The provision of diagnostic services forms one of the most fundamental of these services. According to literature, school nurses offer mental and physical health assessment as well as referral for care. In addition, these nurses undertake mandatory screening of immunization status, vision and hearing (Zimmerman, 2013). Lastly, school nurses may also offer interventions for chronic and acute illness, emergencies and injuries, substance abuse and use, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and adolescence pregnancy. Therefore, school nurses play a vital role within the health program of a school through managing the major health issues experienced by students.

Health Promotion Nursing Intervention

According to Schaffer, Anderson, and Rising (2015) community nursing operates under the aegis of community/ public health. As already mentioned, the objective of community nursing transcends the individual boundary and focuses on community disease prevention and health promotion. Consequently, the usage of intervention techniques to achieve the above forms one of the rudimentary roles of a school nurse. Studies reveal that school nurses employ primary promotion by offering health education. Herein, the purpose entails promoting the mental and physical health of the students in addition to preventing diseases and enhancing school performance. Specifically, school nurses address topics such as risk-reducing behaviors, healthy lifestyles, daily living activities, developmental needs, and preventive self-care (Schaffer, Anderson, & Rising, 2015). To achieve this promotional objective, they employ the usage of teaching methods consistent with readiness, developmental level, ability to learn and learning needs of students.

In order for a school nurse to successfully implement the above intervention, care coordination with their professional colleagues becomes important. Wolfe (2013) postulates that school nurses belong to two divergent communities (medical/nursing and educational), which enables them to seamlessly collaborate and communicate with professionals from the two fields. Therefore, the nurse could collaborate with the school staff to implement the educational intervention described above. The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) provides framework for the integration of school staff into the intervention undertakings of school nurse as long as it leads to exemplary performance by students.

Professional Nursing Organization

            The National Association of School Nurses plays and important facilitative role in the promotion of school nurses’ activities. The NASN has received accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation to continually offer nursing education in schools. The organization became operational in the year 1979 and it solely represents school nurses (NASN, 1979).Further, it has 50 affiliates and over 16 000 members. The NASN facilitates the practice of school nursing so as to enhance the academic excellence and health of every student. According to NASN (2016), school nurses offer services such as care coordination, leadership, quality improvement, and community/public health based on standards of practice.

The NASN thus believes that nurses play an integral role in the provision of care a healthy, safe and ready learning environment for children. According to the association, the school nurse belongs to a unique field of professional nursing. The NASN posits that most of their members often form the sole healthcare provider within a school setup. Indeed, the agency has created a student-centered school nursing approach in response to the 21-century dynamics. The NASN organization therefore critically influences the performance of their members.

Conclusion

            Therefore, school nurses play an integral role in their mandate to use evidence-based practice to bridge education and health care. The school setting has offered the best opportunities for the specialized community nurses to engage in health promotion and intervention activities. Using educational intervention, school nurses have the capacity to control some of the most important chronic and acute illness in academic settings. Importantly, they achieve this through interprofessional collaboration with teaching personnel. Also, several professional agencies such as the National Association of School Nurses provide welcome support to nurses in these settings. Thus, school nurses make an important contribution to their respective settings including school settings.

References

Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), Pub. L. No. 114-95, S.1177 .Retrieved from

Loschiavo, J. (2015). Fast facts for the school nurse: School nursing in a nutshell. New York, NY : Springer Publishing Company.

National Association of School Nurses. (2016). Framework for 21st century school nursing practice. NASN School Nurse, 31(1), 45-53. doi: 10.1177/1942602X15618644.

National Association of School Nurses: Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nasn.org/

Schaffer, M.A., Anderson, L.J.W., & Rising, S. (2015). Public health interventions for school nursing practice. The Journal of School Nursing. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1059840515605361

Selekman, J. (2013). School nursing: A comprehensive text. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.

Wolfe, L. C. (2013). The profession of school nursing. In J. Selekman (Ed.), School nursing: A comprehensive text (2nd ed.) (pp. 25-47). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.

Zimmerman, B. (2013). Student health and education plans. In J. Selekman (Ed.), School nursing: A comprehensive text (2nd ed.) (pp. 284-314). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a community health setting and analyze the role of a community health nurse in health promotion in that setting. A professional nursing organization related to that setting will also be examined.

Course Outcomes
This assignment enables the student to meet the following Course Outcomes.

CO5: Analyze the nursing roles in providing comprehensive care in a variety of community health settings. (PO 1)
CO6: Utilize a systems-based and collaborative approach to address factors that influence the health of a community and population health problems. (PO 2)
Due Date
Submit by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday of Week 4.

Points: 200 Points

Directions
Watch the tutorial on tips for completing the N R443 Community Settings assignment.

This APA paper is expected to be no more than four pages in length (not including the title page and reference list). Below are the requirements for successful completion of this paper. Please use the recommended APA Template linked below, which incorporates the following categories as the first level headings on your paper. APA formatting helps you to organize your paper in a professional manner and provides consistent methods for citing your sources and completing your reference page. See the documents in the APA category in Course Resources for assistance with APA formatting. The Student Success Strategies resource has great sections on writing scholarly papers and APA formatting.

The setting for this paper must be on school nursing.
Click to view and download the NR443 Community Settings APA Template (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to complete your paper. The template is formatted with the appropriate running head, title page, page numbers, paragraph formatting, and most of the headings. Please edit the headers and title page with your specific information. You are also encouraged to view the Week 4 assignment tutorial found at the end of the Academic Integrity Reminder.
Read the chapter of your textbook on the role and take notes based on the outline below.
Locate and read at least one scholarly peer-reviewed journal article that is not assigned in the course related to a nurse’s role in health promotion in this setting. Go to the Chamberlain library at http:/library.chamberlain.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Search peer reviewed journals to find a scholarly article on this topic. The article must be less than 10 years old (less than 5 years is best).
Thoroughly address the following categories using the APA Template that is provided.
Introduction (one paragraph): The introduction should be interesting and capture the reader’s attention.
Community Setting (two to three paragraphs)
Use your textbook or an outside scholarly source to address the following subpoints and cite your source.

Describe the community setting.
Describe the population served in this setting.
Discuss three health services provided by nurses in this setting.
You may use your textbook or an outside scholarly source to address these sub-points.
Health Promotion Nursing Intervention (two to three paragraphs)
Professional Nursing Organization (two paragraphs)
Provide a detailed description of a professional nursing organization that supports nurses in this setting in your own words. Search the text, your article, or the Internet for one professional organization that supports nurses in this setting. If you can’t find an organization specific to this group, search the American Nurses Association website for information on this setting. Cite the organization in the body of the text with (organization name, year), and include a complete reference on the reference page.
Discuss one professional issue that this organization is addressing related to this setting.
Summary (one paragraph)
Reference Page: The reference page should start on a new page (insert a page break). All references should be cited within the body of the paper as (author or organization, year), and the full reference should be included in APA format on the reference page. A URL link alone is not an adequate reference. See the Chamberlain Guidelines for Professional Writing in the APA Folder in Course Resources for examples of properly formatted references.
Guidelines
Application: Use Microsoft Word 2010™ or later to create this assignment on the template provided.
We highly recommend that you used the specific APA paper template for this assignment linked above as the headings are already included.
Scholarly Writing: APA format is required. Review APA documents Course Resources, and use the free resources of tutor.com for writing tutors.
Length: This paper is expected to be no more than 4 pages in length (not including the title page and reference list).
Quotations should be minimal—please paraphrase your sources. A maximum of one quotation should be used for this paper.
Save your paper with your last name in the document title (e.g., Smith Community Settings).
Submission: Submit your paper by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday of Week 4.
Late Submission: See the course policy on late submissions.
Best Practices in Preparing the Paper
The following are best practices in preparing this project.

Follow the guidelines above carefully.
Complete you own work.
Use the provided APA assignment specific template.
Ask you instructor if you have any questions.
Visit the SSPRNBSN Student Success resource for help with writing a scholarly paper, APA formatting, and library navigation. This should be one of your course tiles.
Use the A column of the grading rubric to make sure all elements of the paper are addressed.
Cite all sources within the paper as well as on the reference page.
Proofread prior to final submission.
Check for spelling and grammar errors prior to final submission with Grammarly.com or the free tutor available through the Tutoring link in the course.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource