School nurses and
school-based health center (SBHC) staff share an important mission: protecting
and advancing the health and well-being of our nation’s school-aged children.
Although multiple health professionals in a school setting may have distinctive
and complementary functions, funding, and accountability, their objectives are
met effectively and efficiently through collaboration. Working as partners,
school nurses and staff of school-based health centers are able to increase
compliance with treatment plans, facilitate access to needed health and
mental health care, monitor outcomes of care, uniformly document care, collect
data about health needs and outcomes of care, and provide case management – all
critical for improving the quality of health care and academic outcomes for
school-aged children and youth.
The school nurse is
responsible for the day-to-day management of the health of all students to
ensure their ability to participate in the classroom setting and to learn to
their greatest potential. The school nurse routinely assesses students' needs,
utilizing and valuing the additional easily accessible, and user-friendly
resource of the SBHC for students who need health, mental health, and social
services. The staff of SBHCs either directly provides or makes available
age-appropriate primary services such as health, dental, mental health, social
services, and health education. Services are available to eligible students who
enroll to receive care in the center. Research indicates that SBHCs provide a
safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to deliver health services. While SBHCs
do exist in schools that have limited or no nursing services, they do not take
the place of nursing services.
Collaboration between health care providers
in SBHCs and school nurses enhances students' health, academic outcomes,
life-long achievement, and over-all student and staff well-being.
In support of successful school nurse-school-based health center
partnerships, it is our shared vision that collaboration should be characterized
by:
-
inclusion of student, family,
and school staff within the parameters of confidentiality
-
well-defined roles and
responsibilities that promote seamless and comprehensive care for students and
their families
-
mutual respect and support for
each partner’s contributions
-
cooperative planning and
implementation of school health services and programs to promote the health of
the student body
-
joint policies and procedures
that ensure the quality and confidentiality of care received by students
-
information sharing and
exchange that protects student privacy and ensures continuity and coordination
of care
-
a collaborative focus on
student academic outcomes
We call upon school and community health
professionals to join with us in affirming our mutual responsibility to healthy,
productive students.
|
American School
Health Association |
National Assembly on
School-Based Health Care |
National Association of School Nurses
|
October 2001
Reference: Role of the
School Nurse in School Based Health Centers, Position Statement, National
Association of School Nurses, 2001
|
