Technology has drastically changed the field of clinical nursing and is quickly finding its way into the school health office. School nurses have become increasingly accustomed to digital thermometers and electronic blood pressure cuffs, and their offices are now equipped with a computer. Incorporating technology innovations into school health offers boundless possibilities and numerous benefits. School nursing is a unique specialty, challenging the practitioner to find ways to keep the focus on student care rather than time-consuming and often overwhelming clerical tasks. Advances in technology offer new possibilities for the school nurse and are designed to assist and support critical school nursing goals. This chapter identifies the shifts in technology and electronic documentation and communication in the school nurse setting. It describes the technology alternatives to handwritten nursing notes and interdepartmental communication. The chapter discusses the available web-based Student Information Systems and examines the impact of Wearable Technology and Telemedicine.

A school's environment has a major impact on a child's ability to learn and thrive. A positive school climate ensures that students are safe, supported, challenged, and socially capable. Bullying interferes with all aspects of student development, from academic success to good health. The effects of bullying can include poor self-worth, psychiatric symptoms, psychosomatic symptoms, and social conduct. The school nurse who is aware of the impact of bullying on child development engages in evidence-based nursing interventions. This chapter provides definitions, clear identification strategies for recognizing and reporting the discrimination and harassment of bullying, the laws that protect all of those in the school environment, and introduces some restorative practice approaches. The chapter defines key words related to bullying. It will enable the reader to assess the school environment for bullying. The chapter helps the reader to identify the methods to support building a positive emotional school climate.

This chapter will help the reader to learn the distinction between prevention and intervention, various levels of prevention, scope of prevention practice and specific measures the school nurse can use to implement them. By utilizing prevention concepts, one will help raise the wellness level of each child, school community and nation. The chapter compares the prevention approach to health care with that of intervention. It helps one to recognize the important role the school nurse has in primary prevention through education. The chapter will help the reader to identify one specific example of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. It assesses the level of wellness today as compared with a century ago.

The school health program is an important component of community and public health. Though the primary responsibility of the health of the school-aged child lies with their parents and guardians, schools have immeasurable potential for affecting the health of the child, their families, and the health of the community. School nurses are still expected to care for children in school but now the responsibilities go beyond the school playground into the community. To meet these increasing responsibilities, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has given a framework: The Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice. This chapter helps the reader to identify and understand the five Principles of the 21st Century Framework including: standards of practice, care coordination, leadership, quality improvement, and community/public health. It also helps the reader to incorporate the NASN Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice into their practice.

Success or failure in school relies upon a multitude of factors impacting the life of a developing child. Each child has a unique set of neurodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses that impact school performance. This chapter will enable the reader to identify the child in need of services, deal with the different issues affecting the child's behavior, establish the nurse's role in educating parents about their child's educational rights, and support the teacher who may or may not be adequately prepared to deal with the special needs child in a mainstream classroom setting. The chapter explains basic neuroanatomy and the role of neurotransmitters in assisting in cellular communication between neurons. It will enable the reader to identify at least two barriers to learning and plan how the school community can assist children with special needs to learn to their greatest potential in the least restrictive environment.

Childhood and adolescence are developmental points in life where the young person is confronted with many new experiences, opportunities, and temptations. As this is a developmental period in which experimentation and drug use often occur, the school nurse will undoubtedly confront students who require assessment and treatment. The school nurse plays a pivotal role in supporting evidence-based prevention programming in the school setting. This chapter will enable the reader to learn information that will help schools better prepare for and respond to the issues that arise due to youth substance use. The chapter defines and differentiates substance misuse and substance abuse. It explains the reasons why youth use drugs and lists the current trends in drug use in the United States. The chapter discusses vulnerable student populations in the context of drug use. It describes the role of the school nurse in the prevention of drug use among school children.

From the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the adoption of the Constitution of the United States of America in 1789, the country has established basic rights and principles as a framework for Americans to live and work by. This chapter explores the process of creating a law (both federal and state), the difference between statute, code, policy, practice, and one's own liability according to those mandates. The chapter is a guideline for practicing school nurses, with the recommendation to consistently refer back to the school board policy of their respective district as well as state code and statute. It describes the process by which an idea becomes legislation and analyzes the importance of malpractice insurance. The chapter identifies resources available to every school nurse to assist in the decision-making process. It helps the reader to examine and implement a change in practice to comply with statute and policy.

The certified school nurse (CSN) not only uses the acronyms in healthcare delivery, but also incorporates acronyms from education. As the CSN is an active participant at Section 504, Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) and Child Study Team meetings, they need to know the vernacular to sit at the table and be a valuable contributor interpreting information discussed, identifying student needs, and addressing any special accommodations the student requires to be successful in academic and non-academic settings. This chapter will enable the reader to recognize standard acronyms used in the field of school nursing and develop a ready reference for acronyms for the school venue. It describes the acronyms as they pertain to school health services and education and presents priority topics, such as individual education plan, 504, I&RS. The chapter provides an understanding of nursing responsibility for individual healthcare plan, emergency care plan, and emergency egress plan.

With access and the ability to monitor student well-being, school nurses can play a key role in identifying potential weight-related problems. Understanding the risk factors and signs associated with weight-related problems may increase the identification of an issue and the referral to appropriate resources for treatment. This chapter provides diagnostic criteria, symptoms, and informational resources for various weight-related problems. The chapter describes the common behavioral and physical signs of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and obesity. It compares the biological, psychological, and behavioral risk factors associated with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and obesity. The chapter describes the potential health consequences of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and obesity. The chapter helps the reader to identify resources for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and obesity where students and their families can learn more about these disorders and potential treatments.

School nursing came into existence in 1902, at the encouragement of Lillian Wald, director of the Henry Street Settlement in New York City. Nursing currently finds itself in the midst of a paradigm shift for which those early days of school nursing may provide direction. Nursing curricula are deliberately moving toward the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Healthy People initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nurses are uniquely prepared to lead this work, bringing humanism to the clinical situation, as well as decision-making based on science and evidence. This chapter describes the meaning of population health to school nursing. It enables the reader to appreciate the national and international impact of the SDGs and Healthy People. The chapter helps to identify approaches to instituting this new paradigm in professional education and school nursing practice and anticipate the outcomes of a successful paradigm shift in school practice.