School Nurse

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School Nurse

By EveryNurse Staff on January 12, 2023

School Nurse

School nurses work at every level of education, from preschool through high school and college. One of the school nurse’s primary duties is to treat students who became sick or injured during the school day. Additionally, school nurses administer medication to students with ongoing health conditions such as juvenile diabetes or seizure disorders and implements care plans for students with physical and emotional disabilities. Federal law mandates that all schools make accommodations for students with such challenges, and a school nurse helps schools meet that responsibility.

What Is a School Nurse?

The school nurse’s original role was to routinely check students for illness and determine their potential for having a contagious condition that required immediate treatment and isolation from other students. After the invention and widespread implementation of vaccines and antibiotics, the role of the school nurse evolved. While concerns over communicable diseases have largely abated, today’s school nurse encounters various issues that nurses in the earliest days of the profession could not have foreseen – or understood.

Although today’s children possess conveniences very different from those in the earliest days of education in the United States, their lives are more stressful in many ways. Schools require skilled nurses to manage students with mental health issues, behavioral problems, chronic illness, learning disabilities, and other common conditions. Because of its focus on a particular population and the skill set required to work in this field, the nursing industry as a whole recognizes school nursing as an area of specialty practice.

What Does a School Nurse Do?

A school nurse provides physical and emotional support to students, parents, teachers, and administrators. School nurses work closely with school staff to create a safe school environment for children and work with parents on the prevention of illness through educating about good hygiene practices and appropriate immunization schedules.

School nurses also provide instruction on how to use the emergency equipment in their schools such as CPR masks, emergency kits for asthma attacks or allergic reactions; provide first aid when necessary; counsel both children and adults who have personal problems; coordinate activities that promote healthy behavior such as nutrition education classes.

School Nurse Roles and Duties

A school nurse fulfills many duties, but their primary role is to ensure the health of students, faculty, and staff in a school environment. School nurses oversee student health such as maintaining immunizations and documenting illness conditions, while also providing care for students with chronic illnesses. They also assist teachers in administering medications to students who experience side effects or allergies. Lastly, they serve as educators by teaching prevention tips and assisting with injury management procedures.

Much like a pediatric nurse, a properly trained school nurse might possess special skills that make them invaluable when caring for children with chronic illnesses or those suffering from poverty-related disorders like asthma or diabetes.

Additional tasks of a school nurse may include:

  • Ability to assess injuries and illness and respond with appropriate intervention methods.
  • Become part of the educational team that designs an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for students with disabilities.
  • Assist students with feeding disabilities by completing gastrostomy tube feedings, catheterization, and tracheostomy care.
  • Conduct vision and hearing screenings as well as other routine health checks.
  • Discuss the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases with older students and implement prevention programs.
  • Create strategies to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug use by students.
  • Find resources for students in crisis.
  • Help students manage chronic diseases by teaching them self-care skills.
  • Administer medication.
  • Work with the principal and teachers to create the health education curriculum.
  • Act as the point of contact for parents and the community for health-related concerns.

Level Up Your Career

Four Steps to Become a School Nurse

A nurse must become a registered nurse and undergo extensive training to gain the necessary expertise to work at a school with children who may have a variety of health issues. In their position, school nurses usually work independently; therefore, it’s essential that their training prepares them to act as the single resource for an entire student population and to express proper judgment in not only medical procedures but also in medical emergencies. It is important that school nurses are knowledgeable about first aid and emergency procedures which include bleeding, vomiting, seizures, overdoses, and poisonings.

1. Earn Your Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

BSN degree is designed to give future nurses a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of nursing. A BSN degree’s core curriculum spans a range of topics, including caring for populations throughout their lifespan, from newborn through pediatric to adult nursing care. Student nurses often also study psychiatric and gerontological nursing. A nursing degree requires courses in anatomy, microbiology, public health, nutrition, pharmacology, mental health, pathophysiology, and other foundational topics.

2. Pass the National Council Licensure Examination

All registered nurses seeking licensure in the United States must first pass the NCLEX-RN exam, a computerized test scored by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). To help protect the public in health care settings, the examination contains questions that test nursing candidates to ensure they have received the training and possess the skill set necessary to become a successful nurse.

Before taking the NCLEX exam, students must first apply for a nursing license from the nursing board in their home state. Only students who meet the criteria for state licensure can take the NCLEX examination. After applying for a license and receiving confirmation of eligibility, the applicant is approved to register for the exam.

3. Earn Clinical Experience

A minimum of 1,000 hours of clinical experience or a total of three years of full-time academic experience is required to be eligible for certification as a school nurse. This experience helps nurses build the necessary skills to perform independently in a school setting. A registered nurse with a bachelor of science degree who passes the national exam may practice in various settings, from hospitals to doctors’ offices. After achieving the clinical experience milestone, a candidate may sit for the school nurse certification exam.

4. Pass the School Nurse Certification Exam

The School Nurse Certification Exam , administered by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, is a multiple-choice, 250-question exam, designed to ensure that nurses employed in schools are qualified to meet the requirements of the job. Test-takers are given four hours to complete the exam. The purpose of the test is to measure a nurse’s understanding of the type of health concerns typically encountered in a school setting and the interventions that help keep student populations healthy. Nurses are also tested on their understanding of the types of ethical issues unique to this setting.

For each sitting, the exam questions are compiled from various topics, so the exam is always different. Nurses must retake the exam every few years to maintain certification, depending upon the state in which they reside. Additionally, school nurses are required to complete a number of hours of continuing education, which varies by state.

School Nurse Salary

According to Salary.com, the median wage for a school nurse was $51,626 per year as of May 27, 2021. Salary varies considerably according to the city and state where the school nurse finds employment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that demand for registered nurses is projected to grow by seven percent through the year 2029, which is faster than the average rate of growth for all professions. 

Additional Resources for School Nurses

School Nurse FAQ

Yes, school nurses are RN’s. Although their responsibilities can vary from taking care of first aid needs, ordering flu shots, ensuring students take their medications to aligning with student support groups like social workers. School nurses play an important in ensuring that their students are healthy and help create a healthier school environment.

Yes, being a school nurse is a demanding job. In many cases, school nurses are caring for the whole student body as well as their own students. School nurses must have a true passion for children and those with a nurturing personality do best as school nurses. School nurses also need good organization skills because they deal with a lot of paperwork and different groups of people from various levels of school administration to students and their families.

The primary pros are work/life balance, being able to celebrate Holidays, and the opportunity to positively influence children’s lives. The primary con is the salary is lower than what RN’s in hospital settings typically earn. 

The rewards of being a school nurse are worth the struggle. No matter how hard it can be, seeing students grow and succeed is all that matters to a school nurse. School nurses are required by almost all states to have an RN license with either a specialized or specific endorsement in school nursing. Despite the challenges, many school nurses cite less stress working in a school vs. the more traditional hospital settings as they work normal hours and get to enjoy weekends and holidays.

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