High School Nurse Working in Public Health, Essay Example

Role of the nurse observed

According to the National Association of School HealthNurses aregistered professional school nurse is leader in the school community ensuring school health policies and programs are appropriately executed. In this capacity she/he applies clinical knowledge to the school environment by providing health care for students through screening procedures and referrals to other institutions when necessary (National Association of School Nurses, 2014).

My two week observation of this nurse’s role during my placement revealed that school health nurses are unique in their capacity serving as public health nurses also.A public health nurse functions within a specific community taking care of their health needs. Similar to the school health nurse he/she executes preventative as well as maintenance strategies that enable public and personal health safety (American Public Health Association, 2014).

These roles were efficiently fulfilled by the nurse being observed.  A schedule of events was designed for each day in the week.From Monday to Friday routinely cases seeking attention for minor conditions were seen by the nurse. On weekends there was no nurse on call since most schools do not have classes on weekends and holidays.

Students who were not vaccinated prior to enrolling in school were vaccinated on site instead of being turned away. The vaccination system is peculiar to this school location upon consent of parents before completing enrolment. Usually it is mandatory that students be fully immunized prior to registration. However, if they show upon with parents not fully immunized the onsite school nurse completes the process with parental consent prior to registration.

The school week is often very busy, especially, at the beginning of a new school year or semester. Some students attend the sick bay for menstrual cramps accompanied by vomiting. These girls are often administered some analgesics and allowed to rest for a while before being re-evaluated to be either sent home or referred to their primary care physician. When they do it is associated with headaches or injury incurred at home for which they seek advice. On Wednesday through Friday students can visit the clinic to ask advice on any health concern he/she may have. The school nurse makes herself available to listen and refers concerns to the counselor.

A health awareness clinic is conducted every day for two hours. The program is structured to accommodate students within specific levels up to 12^th grade. Health issues discussed include sex education; sexually transmitted diseases; pregnancy and childbirth. The school nurse conducts these sessions along with a visiting consultant. Here she undertakes the role of a public health nurse in the health promotion capacity (Teague, 2007).

Insight gained through the experience

The insight gained during this experience pertains towards the impact a school health nurse could have on student’s leaning receptivity without being an active participant in a classroom setting. Importantly he/she is responsible for keeping their minds as well as bodies health during the hours they spend at school. However, it goes far way beyond there because otonfluence their ability to learn effectively.

How this experience may enhance your future nursing practice.

This experience can enhance my nursing practice because the being nurse observed demonstrated how public health is practiced in a school setting through health promotion and maintenance strategies. Application of clinical knowledge to a school environment was efficiently executed.

References

American Public Health Association (2014).About Public Health Nursing. Retrieved on May 24^th, 2014 http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/phn/about/

National Association of School Nurses(2014).Role of the School Nurse. Retrieved on May 24^th, 2014 from http://www.nasn.org/PolicyAdvocacy/PositionPapersandReports/NASNPositionStatementsFullView/tabid/462/ArticleId/87/Role-of-the-School-Nurse-Revised-2011

Teague, M. (2007). Health promotion programs: achieving high-level wellness in the later years. Indianapolis: Benchmark Press