Job Title:

Nurse

Division/Department:

Elementary

Wage Category:

Non-Exempt

Reports to:

Principal and/or Nurse Coordinator

Function:

To help each child achieve and maintain an optimal health condition so that maximal physical, emotional and intellectual growth can occur.

Qualifications:

• RN Required
• Acute Care, Emergency Room and/or Pediatric Experience preferred
• Current license to practice as a nurse in the State of South Carolina.
• Graduate of an accredited program of nursing (RN, BSN, MSN).
• At least three years of nursing experience.

Performance Responsibilities:

General Health Appraisals:

• Maintains health and development history on all new and entering students.
• Assesses and evaluates all School Health Records and establishes new ones when necessary.
• Advises parents regarding any medical conditions, which need attention.
• Assesses all new students to determine their immunization status.
• Monitors students’ immunizations as required by law.
• Assesses students’ needs, develops and implements nursing care plans to facilitate optimal functional capacity.

Screenings:

• Maintains health and development history on all new and entering students.
• Assesses and evaluates all School Health Records and establishes new ones when necessary.
• Advises parents regarding any medical conditions, which need attention.
• Assesses all new students to determine their immunization status.
• Monitors students’ immunizations as required by law.
• Assesses students’ needs, develops and implements nursing care plans to facilitate optimal functional capacity.

Grades are subject to change as determined by the South Carolina Department of Education. All screening recommendations are from the South Carolina Department of Education. All results should be recorded on the School Health Records.

Vision:

• Use Snellen Chart
• Screen for distance and near acuity
• Screening recommendations:

-all students in Early Childhood Development, Head Start and Kindergarten Programs.

-all students in grades 1, 3, and 5.

-all new registrants unless health record accompanying student indicate screening results.

-all students identified as high risk using the following criteria:

            *repeating a grade

            *enrolled in a special program

            *absent during previously scheduled exam

            *exhibiting a behavior change

            *referred by teacher

            *all students under care for visual problems

            *all students not scoring a minimal level on Basic Achievement Test

• Oral/ Dental:

Kindergarten and all elementary students.

Hearing:

• Screening recommendations:
• All students in Early Childhood Development, Head Start and Kindergarten programs.
• All students grades, 1, 2, and 3.
• All new registrants unless health record accompanying student indicates screening results.
• All high risks as identified for vision plus the following:
• Failed a threshold test during previous year
• Referred for speech, language or communication problems
• Identified as having frequent ear infections or allergy condition
• Optimal screening based on occurrence data and/ or other need indicators:
• Pediculosis
• Scabies
• Nutritional Status

Activities:

• Discusses with students’ parents/ guardian any significant deviation from normal and suggests necessary examination and treatment by physician or dentist.
• Conducts follow-up activities to ensure treatment of identified health deficits.
• Coordinates and monitors fluoride mouth rinse program where indicated.
• Checks any students suspected of communicable disease in school and isolates by sending home, if necessary. Checks students returning to school from any illness to insure such student is no longer contagious.
• Exercises established system with standard DHEC/CDC criteria for exclusion for communicable diseases.
• Maintains infection control policies and procedures.
• Monitors, supervises and/ or administers prescribed medication and treatments.

Keeps records of these procedures.

• Makes home visits, if necessary.
• Attends staff meetings as indicated.
• Serves as liaison between school, the home, private physicians/ dentists, health and social agencies and other community resources to assure appropriate utilization of all available resources for student’s health and needs.
• Provides crisis intervention, assessment and care management for students with physical, emotional or social problems.
• Provides counseling for staff and students as necessary.

Records:

• Maintains a record of screenings.
• Records nurse conferences held with students, teachers, principals, and parents.
• Maintains a daily log of all students seen in the health room, includes date, name, reason for visit and disposal.
• Maintains an up-to-date emergency notification system for students as indicated.
• Uses the individual Student Health Room Record for each student.
• Maintains an up-to-date School Record for each student.
• Submits a monthly report to nurse coordinator by the 10^th of the month.
• Provides students’ health problems information to teachers as deemed necessary.

Conferences:

Nurse/patient:

• Helps introduce need for family change.
• Assesses need adaptions in educational settings to accommodate student’s health deficits.
• Assists parents in decision making process regarding need for medical, dental or other health referral and link with community resources.

Nurse/ teacher:

• Provides and interprets health information related to individual student’s health problems or health behavior.
• Develops intervention strategies.

Nurse/ administrator:

• Communicates health status of the school population and/ or individual student.
• Monitors and plans needed corrections of environmental or safety hazards.
• Assists principal in instructing some members of the staff in basic first aid.

Nurse/ counselor:

• Develops intervention strategies.
• Participates in staffing and placement conferences for special education students as indicated.

Education:

• Conducts health programs in classrooms as requested (e.g. child abuse prevention, safety, health awareness, dental health, human growth and development, personal hygiene.)
• Participates on curriculum committee as requested.
• Promotes wellness and positive health habits.
• Serves as resource person suggesting and providing information and materials.
• Encourages self-care, decision making, and self-control in all interactions with students and staff.
• Provides in-service to personnel as requested.
• Stresses stress management and relaxation techniques.
• Promotes accident reduction through safety awareness and by encouraging safe practices.

Health Room/ Emergency Care:

• Plans, organizes and coordinates a method for providing first aid and emergency care.
• Assumes responsibility for maintenance for the health room, to include ordering supplies and equipment.
• Administers first aid, care and comfort to ill or injured students as stipulated by written school policies and procedures when available.

Other

• Additional duties as assigned by supervisor.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit, stand, and reach with hands, and arms, stoop or kneel, and crouch. Duties may involve risk resulting from attending to students’ behavioral needs.

Additional physical requirements include the following:

• Physically capable of frequently lifting or moving up to 40 pounds.
• Sufficiently mobile to ensure the safety of the classroom.
• Specific vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to focus.
• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time.
• Manual dexterity for the purpose of using a telephone and data entry.
• Read a computer screen and printed material with or without vision aids.
• Hear and understand speech at normal levels and on the telephone.
• Speak in audible tones so that others may understand clearly in person on the telephone.