Making the Transition From Acute Care to School Nursing
Geraldine M. Harvey, RN, BS, MEd
Published in the Journal of School Nursing, February, 1998, Vol 14, Number 1
Abstract:
Most nurses enter school nursing practice with education that is not specific to school nursing, and with skills acquired in other nursing roles, often in acute care. Those who have not studied public health nursing may find themselves particularly disadvantaged, for the primary challenge for many new school nurses is effective transfer of skills and perceptions to a setting which is more like public health. Entry level criteria for school nursing vary from state to state. Those school nurses educated in diploma or ADN programs most likely enter with little exposure to public health concepts. The purpose of this article is to share observations and ideas on ways that the new school nurse can effectively make the transition to school nursing.
Here are a few of the ideas offered in the article.
1. Become Holistic
Expand your skills and your view of nursing to include other skills, which are an integral part of school nurse practice: School nurses must be multi-disciplinary for school nursing includes emergency care, illness assessment, psycho-social nursing, counseling, behavioral science, education, health promotion, sexuality education,social work, statistical analysis, public health, communicable disease management, advocacy, presentational skills, political activity and knowledge, marketing, writing, computer skills, family interventions, and community needs assessments.
2. Collaborate
Your "team" includes teachers, administrators, parents, and other health professionals in the community. They will not always remember to include you, so you must be prepared to be the intiator.
3. Expand students' perception of nursing
If you want to be seen as a "real nurse" and not just as a Fix-it Band-Aide Lady you will need to work proactively to be sure your role is also seen as one of health promoter and prevention specialist.
4. Facilitate community connections
Although the autonomy of school nursing is one of the plusses, be sure you do not work in isolation. View yourself as a key link in the health care delivery system of your community.
5. Use professional words and language to describe yourself
Never refer to your nursing education as nurse's training or nursing school. Other nurses understand how rigorous your school and training was, but to college educated teachers and administrators, these terms are associated with sub-professional trades not professionals comparable to themselves.You have had a nurse's education, and are capabale of making professional contributions in a school for which you expect to be professionally compensated. Please also never say, " That is not what I was taught in nursing school", or "I was taught to do such and such in nursing school". Again, these often-heard statements do not make a nurse sound capabale of transferring her skills to a non-hospital setting Instead say something like, "Based upon my education and my understanding of this situation....."
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Copyrighted 2002 Gerri Harvey