School Nurse Perspectives
Gerri's Teacher-Friendly, Student-Centered Classroom IHP's
School Nurse Perspectives
Individual Health Plans (IHP's) are only effective tools if:
* They are understandable by non-nurse teachers and other staff who are expected to follow them
* Information is presented in a way that makes them easy to reference quickly
* They are specific to the individual
With these thoughts in mind, a good classroom IHP might not look like a traditional nursing care plan, even though some aspects are similar. Here are my guidelines for creating a good IHP:
* Use lay language, not nursing language, abbreviations or medical lingo so anyone can understand it
* Make the plan functional, ie focus it on "what, when and by whom" rather than theoretical
* Keep the basic plan to a single page; in my experience staff will not read a multiple-page plan
* Ask the parent to review the plan before making it official, they often think of things you didn't
* Check with the student to see how it is working and modify if needed
* Individualize the plan to the child, one size does not fit all
* Attach additional info if needed
Relationship to IEP's and 504's
* If a child has a medical condition that impacts their education, an IHP can be attached to the IEP or 504 during the team meeting process
* If the child has no educational issues but has a medical condition, the IHP can stand alone
Relationship of the Classroom IHP to the Nursing IHP
* The Nurse Care Plan is a complete, comprehensive nursing plan
* The Classroom IHP is a classroom plan, specific to the child and setting. It is derived from the Nursing Care Plan, but is written as a way to share what teachers and other non-nursing staff need to know.
* For a good sourcebook of Nursing IHP's, see my reference book recommendations
