Paper
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The Perception of the School Nurse's Role by School Nurses and Superintendents: A Comparison Between Arkansas and Texas
Marianne Neighbors, EdD, RN1, Kathleen Barta, EdD, RN1, Serey Shum, PhD, RN, CNS2, Jeanette Embrey, PhD, MS, BA, RN2, and Zhen-Yao Wang, MS2. (1) Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, (2) Division of Nursing, West Texas A & M University, Canyon, TX, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe perceived differences in the school nurse role in Arkansas and Texas by school nurses and superintendents |
| Learning Objective #2: Describe implications for enhancing the role of the school nurse through time management, improved communication, and work redesign |
The practice of school nursing has expanded considerably in the past twenty years. The increasing complexity of the school nurse roles mirrors the increasing complexity of other issues in the schools, in the health care system, and in society as a whole. As a result of these changes, school children are requiring nursing interventions for an ever-widening variety of attitudinal, behavioral, and physical problems. These issues are directly under the auspices of school nursing. School administrators seem to have a misunderstanding or are not oriented to the changing health care needs of the children and certainly of the scope of practice of today's school nurse. This study compared data from two previous studies conducted in Arkansas and Texas. Comparisons regarding the amount of time spent in various activities of assessment, care delivery, planning, health education, communication, data management, and other activities are presented. Implications for school nursing practice are provided.