Level of School Nurse Practice and Competencies of School Health Nurse

Level of School Nurse Practice

• Emergent School Health nurse.
• Competent School Health nurse.
• Proficient School Health nurse.
• Expert School Health nurse.

Emergent School Health Nurse

In order to handle possible emergent occurrences in the school environment and to assess and respond to unexpected medical crises, school nurses play a crucial role in the school health program. The administration of this plan to all eligible school workers is the responsibility of the school nurse.

The types of emergency events for which the school nurse must be prepared to respond include: .

• Students, staff and visitor health related emergencies, due to injury or illness.
• Hazards such as explosions and fires, technological hazards that may cause damage the school.
• Weather related disaster such earthquake, floods, landslide.

Competent School Health nurse

The capable school nurse formulates a strategy based on the needs of the students and the faculty that he or she is dealing with. School nurses must choose their own plans without knowing if they would be suitable in a certain circumstance.

To guarantee that all students get consistent, secure, and high-quality care, nursing practice competencies are crucial. Because students originated from various cultural backgrounds, a nurse should also be culturally competent in order to provide nursing care. In order to deliver safe and high-quality care, nurses must first be aware of their own assessments of the culture. A nurse should be able to handle the complicated problems that might arise in schools.

High quality health care in the educational setting, school nurses now need expanded skills and knowledge in order to meet the growing needs of students. order to assure sal

The school nurse must use his or her core knowledge and skills and be able to apply that knowledge and those skills to benefit the health and educational success of the school-age child" (Bobo, Anderson and Cooper, 2002)

Proficient School Health nurse

A skilled school nurse should provide the students with safe, effective, and compassionate nursing care. She needs to take responsibility for her job. Prioritize health promotion and illness prevention, nursing leadership and management, enhancing school environment safety, and care coordination. The skilled school nurse gains knowledge through experience about what to anticipate happening in a certain circumstance and how plans may need to be altered as a result.

Expert School Health nurse

The school nurse is a pioneer in the creation and assessment of school health policy because she is a medical specialist inside the educational system. These regulations cover chronic illness management, school wellness regulations, coordinated school health programs, and health promotion and protection regulations. Management of acute illnesses, infectious disease prevention and control, mental health protection and intervention, emergency medical condition management, and crisis/disaster management. A thorough awareness of the entire issue allows the expert to assess the circumstances. Even if the expert's performance is continual and non-reflective, she or he considers their options before acting, ponders the aim or viewpoint that seems obvious, and decides which course of action would be most conducive to accomplishing it.

Competencies of School Health Nurse

A school nurse should have practice within the level of emergent, competent, proficient and expert school nurse/school nurse supervisor can identify the skills and knowledge that the school Turse applies in his or her daily practice. The tool is designed to assess where each nurse is with a particular standard at a given point in time. A proficient school nurse would have successfully accomplished all competencies identified under the emergent and competent level, as well as the mpetencies delineated for proficient.

Assessment: The school nurse collects, analyzes and synthesizes comprehensive data pertinent to the student's health or the situation.

Diagnosis: The school nurse analyzes assessment data to determine the nursing diagnoses and collective problems.

Outcome Identification: The school nurse identifies expected outcomes for a plan that a individualized to the student or the situation.

Quality of Practice: The school nurse systematically evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice

Health Teaching and Health Promotion: The school nurse provides health education and employs strategies to promote health and a safe environment.

Evaluation: The school nurse evaluates progress toward attainment of outcomes.

Implementation: The school nurse implements the intervention identified in the plan of care/ action.

• Coordination of Care: The school nurse coordinates care delivery. 
• Consultation: The school nurse provides consultation to influence the identified plan, enhance the abilities of others and effect change.

Planning: The school nurse develops a plan that prescribes strategies and alternatives to attais expected outcomes. school implements the interventions identified

Quality of Practice: The school nurse systematically evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice

Education: The school nurse attains the knowledge, skills and competencies required for quality practice in schools.

Professional Practice Evaluation: The school nurse evaluates one's own nursing practice in relation to professional practice standards and guidelines, relevant statutes, rules and regulations.

Collegiality: The school nurse interacts with and contributes to the professional development of peers and school personnel as colleagues.

Leadership: The school nurse provides leadership in the professional practice setting and the profession.

Program Management: The school nurse manages school health servicon

Collaboration: The school nurse collaborates with student, family, school staff and others in the conduct of school nursing practice.

Ethics: The school nurse integrates ethical provisions in all areas of practice. Research: The school nurse integrates research findings into practice.