SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMS

School health programs provide valuable services for students and
may also serve the school’s community. School-age children and
adolescents with health problems are at major risk for underachieving
or failing in school. The leading health problems of
elementary-school children are injuries, infections (including influenza
and pneumonia), malnutrition, dental disease, and cancer.
The leading problems for high-school students are alcohol
and drug abuse, injuries, homicide, pregnancy, sexually transmitted
disease, sports injuries, dental disease, and mental and
emotional problems. Ideally, school health programs have an
interdisciplinary health team consisting of physicians, nurses,
dentists, social workers, counselors, school administrators, parents,
and students. The school may serve as the site for a family
health clinic that offers primary health and mental health services
to children and adolescents as well as to all family members in the
community. Many school nurses have baccalaureate degrees, and
advanced practice nurses are ideally suited to provide the primary
care in these settings. Some school nurse programs provide community
care. Physical examinations are performed by advanced
practice nurses who then diagnose and treat students and families
for acute and chronic illnesses. These clinics are cost-effective
and are especially beneficial for students from low-income families
who lack access to traditional health care or have no health
insurance.
The roles of the school nurse are care provider, health educator,
consultant, and counselor. The school nurse collaborates
with students, parents, administrators, and other health and social
service professionals regarding a student’s health problems.
Nurses perform health screenings, give basic care for minor injuries
and complaints, administer medications, monitor the immunization
status of students and families, and identify children
with health problems. They need to be knowledgeable about state
and local regulations affecting school-age children, such as ordinances
for excluding students from school because of communicable
diseases or parasites such as lice or scabies.
The school nurse is also a health education consultant for
teachers. In addition to providing information on health practices,
teaching health classes, or participating in the development
of the health education curriculum, the school nurse educates the
teacher and class when one of the students has a special problem,
a disability.