NASN School Nurse

School nurses are leaders every day, sometimes with ambivalence and sometimes fully embracing the leadership role. The authors were participants and trainers in the successful School Nurse Leadership Program of the Healthy Schools Campaign. The article describes five principles of effective school nurse leadership to help school nurses discover the leaders within themselves: passion, knowledge, advocacy, relationships, and communication. School nurses are encouraged to set leadership goals. Participants in a session at the NASN 2011 annual conference described a variety of 6-month goals including “Invite myself to the administrative meetings at least one time per quarter; present on a topic for at least 5 minutes.” Setting simple yet attainable goals is the first step to recognizing leadership in oneself.

The Americans With Disabilities Amendment Act of 2008 (ADAA), effective January 1, 2009, expanded the definition of disability. These changes in turn impact which students qualify for Section 504 plans in the school setting and will no doubt strain school resources as implementation of the law progresses. Therefore, it is essential that school nurses be well versed in the changes in order to continue to perform a lead role in advocating for students with disabilities in the school setting and to assist with Section 504 compliance.

School nurses are experts in school health services and frequently front-line providers of care for school-age children presenting with symptoms of physical illness or behavioral, cognitive, learning, and/or psychological problems possibly due to tick-borne infections. School nurses need to know how to protect children on school property and during school sponsored outdoor activities from being bitten by ticks that can transmit diseases. Since infection prevention is a primary objective in health care, this article will empower school nurses with key information about how to accomplish this goal.