School Nurse

JOB TITLE: School Nurse REPORTS TO: Principal POSITION STATEMENT: The School Nurse supports student success by providing health care through assessment, intervention, and follow-up for all children within the school setting. The school nurse addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social health needs of students and supports their achievement in the learning process. Qualifications: 1. License in Massachusetts as a Registered Nurse 2. BSN or BA (or higher) in relevant field. 3. Certified by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Non-DESE certified applicants are welcome to apply and must be able and willing to attain DESE certification as a condition of employment. 4. A minimum of two full years of employment as a Registered Nurse in a child health, community health, or other relevant clinical nursing setting.. Essential Duties & Responsibilities: Program Management: Establishes and manages a comprehensive school health program consistent with the Massachusetts guidelines, regulations and statutes governing nursing and school health, and local school district policy. - Consults with School and District Administrators to establish, review and revise policies, protocols and specific programs for comprehensive school health education and services. - Works with School Administrators to develop needs assessments and data collection protocols. - Promotes positive safety practices both within and outside the school buildings, and ensures the school has an emergency plan that is communicated to personnel and students. - Develops and maintains comprehensive school health records for each student. Maintains a current file of emergency treatment instructions from parents/guardians. Keeps a daily log of students seen in health room. - Collaborates with school administrators and personnel in assessing and improving the social and emotional climate of the school community. - Implements communicable disease prevention and infection control based on current guidelines for universal precautions, prevention of blood borne pathogens exposure, and hazardous medical waste disposal; coordinates activities with the local board of health. Nursing Services: Collaborates with the parent/guardian and student, where appropriate, to develop and implement an individualized health care plan for the student: - Develops a nursing diagnosis and care plan with specific goals and interventions delineating school nursing actions specific to student needs and coordinated with the efforts of other providers. Implements plans in a manner aimed at improving health and educational status. - Supervises and administers prescribed medication and treatment, and provides care to ill or injured children on a daily basis during school hours. - Responds to frequently encountered health issues, providing counseling and crisis intervention when required (i.e. adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse, death of a family member, suicide); responds to child neglect or abuse issues (as required by Massachusetts statute). - Provides first aid to injured children; provides everyday care of acutely ill children; manages children with communicable disease. - May provide first aid to staff and, when needed, fill out appropriate paperwork and forward to Human Resources to assist in facilitating the appropriate documentation for accidents and workers’ compensation claims. - Administers CPR - Responds promptly to emergencies. - Notifies parents/guardians of illness and accidents, which occur during school hours and appropriately document accidents. - Acts as a health resource person and has knowledge of community resources and appropriate referrals. - Maintains Health Room and assigned equipment and supplies. - Performs and completes all duties associated with COVID protocols for testing and prevention for students in school. Collaboration: - Participates as a team member, with parental consent when indicated, to share information with other team members about children with special health care problems which may impact their safety, learning and growth; acts as an advocate for the student and family when appropriate; attends Special Education Team and 504 meetings as requested by the Director of Special Education Services. - Serves as a member of the Wellness/Health committee and on the Crisis Team. - Performs other such duties as assigned by the Principal and which may be reasonably expected of a qualified nurse. - All employees of Mount Greylock Regional School District are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times that exemplifies and personifies the mission, vision and values of the District and sets forth a model of behavior that is worthy of emulation by the students we serve.