I want to know what is legally required in schools and what is commonplace practice by school nurses in the early school years.
Hi Diane,
That question would depend on which country you are based in. I don't know of any civil 'legal' requirement for school nurses beyond their professional body requirements i.e. Scope of Practice, Code of Conduct etc.
There is a common criticism, both within and outside the school nurse profession, regarding a long-standing and on-going lack of guidelines and regulation regarding role and scope. Many school nurses are 'caught between' nursing requirements and educational and curriculum requirements - which are often at odds with each other. For that reason, 'commonplace' practice is often routine screening health checks - which do not always impact the whole school community and beyond as much as a broader role could do.
I have personally identified that 4-7-year old children are particularly vulnerable to a piecemeal approach to health promotion - particularly within kindergarten-age education. It's changing and getting better - but it's often too late/
The two attached articles may assist. One on the health promotion role of school nurse - and the other on a health promotion lifespan/setting model - which includes the early childhood lifespan and schools settings.
Thank you so much, Dean. I had hoped you would respond. I know that the variations are across countries/across the world. And no, even in England, the only "legal" requirement is weighing and measuring plus a new piece of legislation initiating a requirement for SRE (relationship training). Both of these activities can be conducted by people other than school nurses.
In England, school nurses are underfunded, under-resourced, and in many locations, their historic work is either not carried out or is conducted by "others". School nurses in England, nevertheless, have a sophisticated and university level education option.
I know that the editors of HFAC(5) hope that this chapter will be an encouragement for school nursing. Nevertheless, the writing must be based on evidence.
I will be so pleased to cite your work in the final chapter. If you would like to read the draft material, I would be happy to send it to your personal email address.
Hi Diane,
Happy to oblige. Always good to work with like-minded colleagues who want to progress the health promotion agenda.
I agree - there are talented people out there - but they are often not well supported or resourced and are often isolated within the role.
I'm more the happy for you to send me any draft material.
I hope that helps
Best,
Dean
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