School Nursing Practice Research Articles

Updated Framework for School Nurse Self-Reflection and Evaluation.

This article shares an updated structure for school nurse evaluation using the School Nursing Practice Framework and the fourth edition of the School Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. This evaluation structure is modeled on work originally published in the January 2020 issue of NASN School Nurse. The original linking of the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice and the 3rd edition of the School Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice allowed the school nurse and their evaluators to understand the complex roles and responsibilities of the school nurse. This updated version incorporates the growing understanding of social issues and complex health concerns impacting school nursing practice. The School Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (4th ed.) competencies recognize issues including emerging technologies, structural barriers to health, and the complex health needs of students in an environment of inequities, violence, and underfunding, as well as the impact of natural disasters, public health crises, human migration, and social media on students. The updated School Nursing Practice Framework (Framework) likewise incorporates an understanding of the foundational aspect of the standards and the interconnectedness of the key principles. Our revised evaluation tool accomplishes the integration of the revised Framework with the updated standards of school nursing practice.

Practicing With a Framework Mindset: A Closer Look at the Principle of Care Coordination.

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting the practice principles of the refreshed School Nursing Practice Framework™. The focus of each article is to provide an in-depth look at each of the principles and emphasize how school nurses can apply them to their daily practice through a Framework Mindset. This article will explore Care Coordination as a practice principle, reflect on how it relates to current practice, and identify examples that illustrate care coordination. With each subsequent article in the series, we will continue to build upon and explore the interconnections between the Framework principles.

School Nursing Practice in Education Settings in Spain.

School nurses and pediatric nurses play vital roles in providing healthcare for children and adolescents in educational and healthcare settings. School nurses operate within educational institutions, serving as caregivers and facilitating communication between the school, families, and the healthcare system. These professionals closely collaborate with pediatric nurses. The primary objective of this study was to examine the state of school nursing in Spain. The research comprised 27 nurses, including 18 school nurses and 9 pediatric nurses, chosen through theoretical sampling. These nurses participated in in-depth interviews as part of the data collection process. Grounded theory, following Charmaz's process, was employed for data analysis. The findings underscore the nurses' call for their mandated presence and regulation in all Spanish educational institutions to address contemporary health challenges and ensure inclusive education.

Practicing With a Framework Mindset: A Closer Look at the Standards of Practice Principle.

School nurses are more likely to support students' health, safety, and readiness to learn if they approach their practice through the lens of the School Nursing Practice Framework™ (the Framework). Practicing with an intentional focus on the Framework principles is called practicing with a Framework mindset. This article is the first in a 5-part series discussing how to be a school nurse who practices with a Framework mindset. In this article, school nurses will discover the basis for updates to the Framework's Standards of Practice principle, differences between the Standards of Practice principle and the authoritative standards of school nursing practice, activities that exemplify the Standards of Practice principle, and how to address a real-world school nursing challenge with a Framework mindset attuned to the Standards of Practice principle.

Listening to School Nurses' Voices: A Mixed Methods Study on the Continued Impact of COVID-19 on School Nursing Practice.

School closures in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated losses of critical student resources as physical, mental, emotional, and social needs escalated. Identifying the challenges, strategies, and changes in school nurse (SN) practice in Massachusetts during this pandemic is fundamental to understanding how to manage future anticipated pandemics while protecting children, communities, and SNs. The purpose of this mixed-methods descriptive study in the second year of the global pandemic was to (a) listen to SN voices through a novel online survey including the prompts of challenges, strategies, and practice changes and (b) describe the SN experience of COVID-19 response in Massachusetts schools, including identification of intent to leave school nursing. Responses were analyzed using descriptive qualitative analysis (n = 73). The prompts each elicited subthemes that coalesced to a cohesive theme: Finding one's way required the support of others to pave untraversed roads.

A Contemporary Framework Update for Today's School Nursing Landscape: Introducing the School Nursing Practice Framework™.

School nursing is a unique nursing specialty that benefits from a practice framework that aids school nurses in explaining and accomplishing their role. In 2016, the NASN debuted its Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™, which has shaped school nursing practice as well as education, leadership, research, and collaboration with stakeholders. However, practice frameworks are not meant to remain the same indefinitely. Therefore, NASN evaluated and updated the Framework to ensure its continued alignment with the education and healthcare landscape. The purpose of this article is to share the history of the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™ development, provide the rationale for the update, and discuss the strategic process NASN used to update its Framework now entitled the School Nursing Practice Framework™.

“This Has Changed Everything”: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on School Nursing Practice in New Mexico

As state and local government implemented school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, school health services delivery experienced a fundamental change. School nurses were confronted with significant challenges to care for their students, while responding to the avalanche of public health responsibilities thrust upon them without training or resources. This qualitative study, conducted by a community-based participatory research partnership explored school nurses’ experiences and perspectives in urban and rural communities across New Mexico. Thirty-four school nurses participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews identifying 3 distinct pandemic stages and the following themes: 1) change/confusion of school nurse identity; 2) mental health challenges and stressors; and 3) lessons learned. These study results provide contextual depth to challenges that both urban and rural school nurses in New Mexico experienced during the pandemic and outline the important role school nurses have during public health emergencies in school settings.

Adaptation and Validation of the Korean Version of the Scope of School Nursing Practice Tool.

The scope of the school nursing practice tool (SSNPT) is needed to apply and explore the gap between what school nurses perceive as important and actual practices. This study adapted and validated the Korean version of SSNPT (K-SSNPT) among 360 Korean school nurses in January 2022. The reliable and valid K-SSNPT can inform school nurses' workforce policies by capturing the current scope of school nursing practice and setting priorities for improving school health in South Korea.

The effect of infant-maternal attachment on teenage mental health and behaviour

This discussion article uses a practice case study to critically examine the theoretical perspectives relating to child and adolescent development and attachment to demonstrate an understanding of how these can impact the life course. Factors affecting the physical, social and emotional needs of children, young people and their families are identified together with an understanding of the role of the specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN) in supporting their developmental needs. An analysis of the development of the therapeutic relationship is provided along with recommendations for care and future school nursing (SN) practice.

간호대학생의 정신간호역량에 영향을 미치는 요인

Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of critical thinking disposition, communicative competency on the psychiatric nursing competency of nursing students.
 Methods Date were collected from October 1 to 15, 2021 through online questionnaire survey. Participants were 156 students in the 4th grades ot nursing colleges located in Jeollanamdo, The spss/26.0 program was used to analyze the deta with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, pearson’s correlation coefficient and hierarchical regression.
 Results First, it was found that there was a significant difference in psychiatric nursing competency according to motivation to go to school and psychiatric nursing practice location preference among the general characteristics of the subjects. Second, there was significant positive correlation between psychiatric nursing competency, critical thinking disposition, and communicative competency of nursing students. Third, factors influencing the psychiatric nursing competency of nursing students were critical thinking disposition, communicative competency and the explanatory power was 34.0%.
 Conclusions In order to improve the psychiatric nursing competency of nursing students, it is necessary to develop a curriculum and educational program that considers critical thinking disposition and communication skills.

School Nurse Practice: A Descriptive Spanish Study.

This study aimed to describe the profile and practices of school nurses working at a network of educational centers in Spain. This was a descriptive study of the documented actions of 107 school nurses between September 2018 and June 2021 in 54 educational centers (55.6% private and 44.4% subsidized). The profile of the school nurses was young (average age 33.8 [standard deviation (SD) = 7.7] years) and predominantly female (91.6%) with a diverse and multidisciplinary education, primarily at the postgraduate level (specialized mainly in emergency care, nursing/school health, and pediatrics/neonatology). They carried out 256,499 interventions. The most frequent types of incidents they treated were accidents (30.4%) and disease-related episodes (22.2%). The interventions were usually brief (average time 7.7 min) and were resolved by the school nurse (99.1%), and the main recipients were students (87.3%). The highest incidence of interventions occurs during breaks between classes. Acute interventions occupied most of the school nurses' time, leaving little opportunity for health education (0.3%). School nurses played an important role in preserving and promoting the health of school populations and cost-savings to healthcare systems with the actions that they performed. Descriptions of these actions are essential when advocating for the continuation and expansion of school nursing services.

Smoothing the Way Into School Nursing Practice.

Role transition can be a struggle for new or seasoned nurses moving into the specialty of school. School nursing, a specialized field that entails a scope of practice and competencies very different from other settings, is not taught in many primary nursing education programs. New nurses may find themselves unprepared for their role without a proper orientation, causing them to feel anxious and not ready to care for students properly, leading to attrition. This article describes the barriers and facilitators to smooth role transition and provides evidence-based orientation strategies for new school nurses.

Transforming School Nursing Practice Through Partnerships and Collaborations.

Transforming School Nursing Practice Through Partnerships and Collaborations.

Development of a School Health Policy Implementation Survey: A Delphi Study.

Data on school health policy implementation are limited due to the absence of a validated measurement tool. The purpose of this study was to create and pilot a school health policy implementation survey. A modified, four-round Delphi process was used to achieve consensus on content and format of the survey. The final 76-item survey was piloted in 655 schools with a return rate of 57.1% (n = 378). Seven schools participated in environmental audits. Based on the audits, survey responses represented an accurate description of school practices for 84.2% (n = 64) of questions. The remaining 15.8% (n = 12) of survey items were eliminated or revised. This measurement tool begins to fill the research gap between the evaluation of written school health policy and implementation. Further, this tool may be used by school nurses in alignment with the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice.

A Qualitative Exploration of School Nurse Continuing Education Needs.

Continuing education (CE) can help school nurses achieve the unique competencies required for the challenges of an academic health setting. A comprehensive understanding of school nurse learning needs is necessary to guide CE development. The purpose of this study was to describe school nurse perceptions of their learning needs according to the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice ™. The researchers analyzed data from 24 interviews with practicing school nurses using descriptive coding to identify perceived learning needs. Learning needs relevant to all areas of the framework were identified, with clinical judgment and team development emerging as priority areas for CE. These results illuminate school nurse perceptions of their own learning needs and can help guide the development of meaningful CE opportunities.

School Nurse Perspectives on Addressing Chronic Absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is associated with poor health and educational outcomes. School nurses have great potential to address the health and educational needs that contribute to absenteeism. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with school nurses, we characterize their current role in reducing absenteeism and identify barriers 3 that limit their capacity to meet this goal, organized by the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice. Interviewees (n = 23) identified actions perceived to reduce absenteeism aligned with domains of care coordination, leadership, quality improvement, and community and public health. Barriers perceived to limit the capacity of school nurses to address absenteeism were identified within these domains and ranged from student- and family-level to federal-level barriers. Specific healthcare system-level barriers included insufficient communication with community-based healthcare teams and the need for coordinated approaches across health and education sectors to address absenteeism. Strategic opportunities exist to address barriers to comprehensive school nursing practice and reduce absenteeism.

A Case Study in Academic and School Nursing Partnerships.

School nurses play a vital role in the lives of children and are guided by The National Association of School Nurses' Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice and its five major principles. School nurses practice independently and are often the sole healthcare provider at their designated schools, requiring them to be accomplished clinicians utilizing evidence-based practice in the care of children. When compared with nurses practicing in healthcare settings, school nurses may lack access to evidence-based continuing education and skill enhancement. One strategy proposed is the forming of partnerships with an academic institution, giving school nurses access to academic faculty and resources. This article highlights the collaboration and partnership between Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing and the Dallas Independent School District, demonstrating that an academic partnership for the training of school nurses improves outcomes.

Future of Nursing 2030: The Future Is Bright for School Nursing.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently released The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. The 2021 report emphasized the role of nursing in addressing social determinants of health and inequities, as well as the need for nurses at all levels to work to their full scope of practice. The report harmonizes with the scope of practice outlined in the National Association of School Nurses' Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice. This article outlines how frontline school nurses, state affiliates, and school nurse leaders will adopt the recommendations in their practice and in the schools and communities they serve.

Cultivating Student Belonging and School Connectedness.

The effect on students from the COVID-19 pandemic, violence related to racism, and loss of customary school routines may cause loss of both school connection and a sense of belonging. School nurses can positively influence student belonging and school connection as they encounter students throughout in-person school and virtual school environments. School nurses build connections with students whom they know and outreach to students whom they identify as vulnerable in the areas of belonging and school connectedness. With a mind-set of the Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice and in collaboration with a school team implementing a multitiered system of support, school nurses intentionally outreach and cultural sensitivity to grow positive school climate that benefits students.

Through the Looking Glass: Reflections from Three School Nurses Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

School nurses play a critical role as public health nurses and are guiding school communities through a global pandemic unlike anything seen in the past 100 years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and worldwide shutdown, remote education became a necessity. In this article, three New Jersey school nurses share reflections about the COVID-19 pandemic. We illustrate the roles included in the National Association of School Nurses Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice, to describe school nurse contributions to address the COVID-19 community spread via contact tracing and care coordination. We describe school nurse advocacy through promotion of legislative inclusion in the state of New Jersey and efforts to mirror vaccine confidence. Our conclusion offers action steps to increase the presence of school nurses in key areas and build a more robust public health infrastructure.