School Nurse Perspectives
Thoughts, Tools, Resources and Inspiration for School Nurses
Gerri Harvey, RN, MEd
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Twelve Things They Didn't Teach Us in Nursing School
(BUT which a good school nurse might need to know)
1. How to write an IHP that a teacher (not just another nurse) can understand and follow
2. How to write proposals, grants and executive summaries about health issues for non-health readers (like school boards, superintendents and grant committees)
3. How to design, implement and carry out a study which supports the impact of school nurse services on the well (not an already sick) population
4. How to teach to a group of parents, teachers or students (not just one-on-one)
5. How to design curriculum with a focus on the educational, (not just nursing) outcomes
6. How school nursing services support and supplement a 504 plan (not just a nursing care plan)
7. How to present a workshop to a school board (not just a medical board)
8. How to provide nursing care to children in a non-medical (not just a medical) setting
9. 101 things you need to know about social and political context of nursing in an educational (not just an acute care medical) setting
10. How to talk so principals (not just nursing administration) will listen
11. Strategies for wellness promotion (not just sick and crisis care) to an entire school community
12. How to educate, advocate, motivate and communicate to diverse groups of well individuals (not just those who are sick, injured, scared, dependent and highly motivated at that moment)
These are all skills that put the "school" in the specialty of school nursing and are offered to nurses pursuing a Masters in Education. Check out my alma mater,
Antioch New England Graduate School . The University of Colorado now offers a web based degree program, and Cambridge College in Boston has a weekend program in school nursing. Have a look at the listings of educational options for school nurses on Martha Dewey Bergrens web site at:
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