NASN school nurse (Print)最新文献

Climate change is having an unprecedented influence on human health. Children's allergies and respiratory problems are increasing because of rising pollen levels and air pollution. School nurses are well positioned to prevent and treat allergies, asthma, and other respiratory conditions. Due to their consistent presence with the school setting, nurses can promote health, wellness, and academic productivity by addressing poor indoor and outdoor air quality. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of how air quality affects the health of school-age children and to provide school nurses with primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies for ensuring clean and healthy learning environments. This is the second in a series of articles aimed at raising awareness among school nurses about climate-associated illnesses and equipping them with the resources they need to protect students' health.

This article is the third and final article in a series exploring the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of data collection and data utilization. The final step, the HOW of data submission, provides discussion and guidance in contributing your data to the collective voice, including submitting data from the school, district, state, and national levels. Submitting individual school nursing data enriches the bigger story and increases the awareness and meaningfulness of school health data, the role of the school nurse as an integral member of the school community, and the connections of student health and academic outcomes. This article will also explore how to submit your school health data and the opportunities to submit it to district, state, or national levels, including to the National School Health Data Set: Every Student Counts! (ESC!).

School nurses who are considering a terminal degree in nursing have two options, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD). There are several factors for school nurses to consider when determining which terminal degree is best suited for them. This article focuses on the relevance of a DNP degree to school nursing, by first reviewing the evolution of DNP programs and then pivoting to discussions by three school nurses on why they chose this terminal degree and the projects completed during their courses of study. A main focus of a DNP project is to gather, analyze, synthesize, and translate research into practice, often operationalized as quality improvement (QI) in clinical settings. School nurses, practicing independently from other healthcare professionals while often managing large workloads, stand to benefit from obtaining or working with a nurse prepared at this level.

Climate change is associated with global health emergencies. School-age children are particularly susceptible to the health effects associated with climate change. School nurses are uniquely positioned to address children's climate-associated illnesses. This article is the first in a series of articles that aims to inform existing knowledge gaps, raise awareness among school nurses, and equip school nurses with the skills they need to protect the health of school-age children. This series of articles will briefly discuss different aspects of the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health diagram, which was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Drug overdose deaths in pre-teen and adolescent students have risen over the past several years, causing increasing concerns in our society, along with concerns over the rise in availability of more counterfeit pills and illegally manufactured fentanyl. School nurses interface regularly with pre-teen and adolescent students and therefore are in a position to recognize students at risk for illicit drug use and provide important education to students, staff, parents, and the community. The purpose of this article is to briefly discuss risk factors for opioid misuse and to provide recommendations for interventions school nurses can use, including collaboration with other school and community leaders, to help prevent opioid overdose and death in pre-teen and adolescence.

School communities are not immune to the alarming increase in opioid-related deaths occurring in the United States during the past decade. The purpose of this article is to share how a middle school in New York State, beginning in the late fall of 2022, successfully implemented a program to reduce the likelihood of opioid overdose deaths in their building through expansion of the accessibility of and education and training in use of naloxone, an opioid antagonist. The program is applicable for all K-12 campuses and follows the Model of Greater Awareness, Improved Training, and Increased Availability of and Accessibility to Intervention Devices, based on the steps successfully used for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest emergencies. Because opioid addiction does not discriminate, it is confidently projected that these targeted actions will proactively and positively reduce the likelihood of opioid overdose deaths in our school setting, including for students, faculty, staff, administrators, and visitors, when and should they occur.

Workplaces can positively or negatively shape employee health and sense of well-being. Employees who feel well are more productive, engaged, and present at work. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic added to an already stressed work environment for educators. Student success is dependent on educators who are healthy and present. Employee wellness programs have the potential to improve the well-being of employees and now, more than ever, should be a priority in schools. The purpose of this article is to provide the school nurse with evidence-based resources to assist in the creation and implementation of an employee wellness program in the school setting.