School Nurse Job Duties, Responsibilities, and

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The NASN views school nurses as leaders in the school community who oversee all school
health policies and programs. It is up to school nurses to provide expertise and oversight of
school health services and to promote health education.
Because healthy children are successful learners, school nurses advocate for the physical,
emotional, mental, and social health of students.
Using their clinical knowledge and judgment, school nurses routinely perform the following
duties:

 Provide healthcare to students and staff

 Perform health screenings
 Coordinate referrals to private healthcare providers
 Serve as liaisons between school personnel, family, and community healthcare providers
to ensure a healthy school environment

In some ways, the school nurse job description is unique from that of other nursing specialists
that work within a conventional clinical setting.
The main job responsibilities of school nurses include:

 Developing plans for student care based on assessment, interventions, and identification
of outcomes, and the evaluation of care
 Serving as consultants with other school professionals, such as food service personnel,
physical education teachers, coaches, and counselors
 Providing health-related education to students and staff in both individual and group
settings
 Monitoring immunizations, managing communicable diseases, and assessing the school
environment as to prevent injury and ensure safety
 Overseeing infection control measures
 Actively participating in school safety plans that address school violence, bullying, and
emergencies that may occur at school
 Overseeing medication administration, health care procedures, and the development of
healthcare plans
 Overseeing vision, hearing, body mass index, and mental health screening procedures
 Making decisions related to the delegation of healthcare tasks as directed by state laws
and professional practice guidance
 Providing health advice to school educational teams, such as the Committee on Special
Education and the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team
 Assisting families with locating outside care and obtaining health insurance

School nurses may work in a number of settings, including: I was advised by sir rey that modules
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  Public school systems
 Departments of health
 Public health departments/agencies
 Hospitals
 Private, parochial, and charter schools
 Universities

The Important Role School Nurses Play in Today’s

School Environment
After a child’s home, the school represents their “most influential environment,” according to the
NASN. And with more students entering schools with health and mental health problems, it has
become more difficult for pediatricians to manage their care throughout the school day. As a
result, school nurses serve as healthcare representatives on site whose services are seen as being
essential to coordinated care.
Students today are more likely to face homelessness, immigration, poverty, family crises, and
violence, all of which can dramatically influence their physical and mental health needs.
Therefore, school nurses perform a critical role by addressing major health problems through
services such as preventive and screening services, health education, and immunizations.
Today’s school nurses may also provide interventions for:

 Acute and chronic illnesses

 Adolescent pregnancy
 Communicable diseases
 Dental disease
 Injuries and emergencies
 Mental health
 Nutrition
 Obesity
 Sexually transmitted diseases
 Substance use and abuse

Today’s school nurses also have a unique role in ensuring school health services for children
with special needs, including children with chronic illnesses (diabetes, asthma, etc.) and
disabilities of various degrees of severity.
Further, because federal and state laws dictate that children with special needs must be included
in the regular school setting, school nurses must be able to assess their health status and identify
any health problems that may create a barrier to educational progress. They must also develop
and oversee an individualized healthcare plan so as to ensure the effective management of any
problems in the school setting.
As healthcare educators, school nurses are also often required to provide health education to
students in contemporary topics, such as:
 Adolescent pregnancy prevention
 Exercise
 Nutrition
 Oral health
 Parenting
 Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases/infections
 Smoking prevention and cessation
 Substance use and abuse