Spartanburg School District Two

JOB DESCRIPTION

TITLE:   School Nurse (Substitutes perform daily health room operations)                                                                                                  

FLSA:    Non-exempt                                                                                                           

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GENERAL SUMMARY

Under general supervision, is responsible for promoting and maintaining the health and well being of all students by providing services such as assessments, first aid, counseling and emergency care.  Reports to:

School Level:  The Principal

District Level: Director of Special Services

Nursing: Lead Nurse

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Monitors, evaluates and treats physical/medical conditions of students; confers with physicians as needed for proper treatment of injuries/illnesses; refers all severe health problems to parents for further diagnosis and remedy; refers continuing health problems to outside community sources.

Administers prescription and non-prescription medications as directed by the physician and parent, in compliance with district policy and S.C. DHEC recommendations, and follows protocol of emergency medication.

Obtains and maintains student immunization records; prepares S.C. certificates of immunization when appropriate documentation is provided under the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with S.C. Department of Health and Environmental control (DHEC); prepares DHEC immunization reports as required.

Communicates with parents concerning the health of their child(ren); provides instruction for proper medical care.  Monitors homebound students and follows up in appropriate manner as needed.  Makes home visits as necessary. 

Assists in identifying and reporting suspected child abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect.  Assists in crisis situations, such as student bullying/harassment, student suicidal ideation, student death, and other crisis issues.

Is responsible for the control of communicable diseases and reporting diseases to appropriate health agencies.  Utilizes the S.C.DHEC child care and school age children exclusion list to determine when a child needs to be excluded from school.  Maintains a log of students excluded from school for communicable diseases.

Conducts periodic vision, dental, hearing, and blood pressure screenings, and others as needed.  Makes referrals to appropriate medical resources or other agencies as needed.  Follows up with individual cases and monitors students.  Follows up with parents to determine if barriers exist for referral completion.  Assists parents to overcome these barriers as needed.  Conducts individual head lice screenings on an as needed basis, and notifies parents according to DHEC guidelines. 

Uses the nursing process in the assessment, intervention, planning, and evaluation of student health.  Develops Individualized Health Care Plans and Emergency Action Plans, and coordinates care, on students with chronic health conditions that require medications, treatments, procedures, and/or monitoring that must be performed by school personnel.  These are students whose treatments, procedures, or monitoring is complicated and/or lengthy, requiring several contacts with the school nurse or health room assistant during the day; they are needed to prevent death or disability on a emergent basis, and/or the student has a medically fragile health condition.  Reviews and revises the Health Care Plan and/or Emergency Action Plan as needed on an on-going basis.

Assists administrators and teachers in the planning and instruction of health curriculum.  Instructs students on proper health practices including nutrition, exercise, human growth and development, reproductive health, and general health.

Provides training for health room assistants and/or first aid providers.  Conducts staff training to promote awareness of illness and disease symptoms. 

Complies with Federal OSHA regulations on Bloodborne Pathogens and Spartanburg Two’s Exposure Control Plan.  Conducts Bloodborne Pathogen training programs for new employees and acts as a resource person for questions and points of concern.  Coordinates with school principal for an annual update on Bloodborne Pathogens for faculty and staff.

Attends various school based and/or district based meetings, such as RTI teams,  Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, 504 Plan meetings, or other meetings as requested by school administration.

Treats medical/health conditions of staff as needed on an emergency basis.

Uses various tools and equipment, such as AED, audiometer, stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer, scoliometer, audio/visual equipment, first aid supplies, CPR shield, protective clothing, etc.

Prepares a wide variety of paper and electronic records and reports, a daily log of health room visits and treatments given, medication administration records, accident reports, immunization records, and medical alert forms.

Submits Medicaid and OSHA reports, medication consent/treatment forms, safety data sheets, annual statistics reports, parent notifications, observation records, screening forms, referral forms, etc.

Maintains confidentiality of personally identifiable data on students and staff.  Maintains confidential records of HBV vaccinations, training programs, exposure incidents and follow-up opinions of the district’s health care professionals.

Serves on the Superintendent’s Health Advisory Council, the school Health Council and school Wellness Committees as needed.

Interacts with school staff and administration, students, parents, physicians, healthcare professionals, caseworkers, psychologists, etc.

Orders health room supplies as needed.

Willingly performs other duties as assigned or requested.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

Current licensure to practice as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse in the state of South Carolina.  Two years recent nursing experience, preferably in school nursing, public health nursing, or community health nursing with children.  CPR certification.

Knowledge:

Extensive knowledge in the promotion and maintenance of physical and emotional health.  Knowledge of the proper practices, methods and procedures required for providing healthcare.  Knowledge of methods for detecting illness, injury and disease.  Knowledge of proper health screening methods and procedures.  Knowledge of appropriate referral methods.  Knowledge of all local and state regulations and standards pertaining to school healthcare programs.  Knowledge of pediatric/school nursing practices.  Knowledge of all records and reports which must be completed as required by the school and/or state.  Knowledge of the equipment, machines, tools and supplies used in providing proper healthcare.

Skills/Effort:

Ability to provide healthcare that promotes and maintains the optimum health status of students.  Ability to interpret and apply school policies and procedures as well as local and state laws and regulations pertaining to healthcare.  Ability to integrate school health service programs with other private and public healthcare delivery systems in the community.  Ability to assess, evaluate and monitor the health and development status of students through appropriate screening techniques.  Ability to identify students needing further diagnosis and treatment, and to provide appropriate referrals and/or obtain further assistance from outside doctors.  Ability to maintain all required forms, records and reports.  Ability to provide healthcare counseling and training to students, staff and parents.  Ability to assist in identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.  Ability to interact in a professional and positive manner with staff, students, parents and all other groups and individuals involved in the activities of the job.

Working Conditions:

Work is conducted in a school health room and/or classroom environment with exposure to discomforting and potentially dangerous conditions such as diseases, medications, and blood/body fluid exposure; frequent contact with ill students.  Moderately heavy physical exertion is frequently required to lift and move objects weighing up to fifty pounds.  Limited travel is required.  Job requires the operation of standard office equipment. 

Responsibility:

No budgetary responsibility.

Provides responsible supervision to students in the health room.

DISCLAIMER STATEMENT

This job description is not intended as a complete listing of job duties.  The incumbent is responsible for the performance of other related duties as assigned/required.

Spartanburg School District Two believes it has the obligation to provide the best administrative and supervisory personnel available for the district regardless of race, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or any related medical conditions), color, disability, age (40 or older), genetic information, national origin, or any other applicable status protected by local, state, or federal law.