POSITION SUMMARY:
The School Registered
Nurse facilitates an organized system of coordinated care by providing
oversight of the physical, mental, emotional and social health for students as
well as the school based community within designated Prince George’s County
Public Schools (PGCPS). The School Registered Nurse serves in a pivotal role
that bridges health care and education. Grounded by standards of practice,
services provided by the school nurse include leadership, community/public
health, care coordination, and quality improvement. The goal of the School Registered Nurse is to
maintain and/or improve the health status of students, thus enabling them to
profit fully from their educational experiences, and to promote optimum health
status and lifestyles for all students through the joint efforts of the home,
school and community.
DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
Provides professional nursing services for
students including first aid for injuries and care of ill students; documents
nursing assessment diagnosis and treatment; ensures timely documentation during
the school day with the use of the School Health Electronic Record (SHER)
system;
Maintains a safe and orderlyenvironment in the
school health room;
Identifies and assesses acute and/or chronic
health problems of students, relative to communicable diseases, chronic
disorders and acute conditions; creates and maintains Emergency Care Plans
(ECP) and Individualized Health Care Plans (IHCP) for students with chronic and
acute medical conditions;
Applies the nursing process in the assessment,
development and implementation of care plans that address the needs of students
in the school setting; utilizes nursing theory and evidence-based practice as
the basis for decision making in accordance with the Maryland Nurse Practice
Act and School Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice;
Administers and manages medications, treatments
and interventions for individuals with acute and chronic diseases at any school
facility according to orders and PGCPS policies and procedures;
Delegates nursing procedures and various nursing
duties, as needed, to unlicensed school based personnel in accordance with the
Maryland Nurse Practice Act and School Nursing Scope and Standards and
Practice;
Provides individual consultation, health
education and support to students attempting to become independent in managing
health related conditions; collaborates with external and internal agencies/departments
of the school community to ensure continuity of care for students’ medical
needs;
Provides counseling and guidance and makes
appropriate referrals for services needed to ensure the physical, mental and
emotional well-being of all individuals in the school-based community; serves
as a resource to facilitate learning positive health and wellness behaviors for
students and the school community at large;
Applies appropriate knowledge of laws,
regulations, policies and procedures from the following agencies, including but
not limited to: PGCPS, Maryland State
Department of Education (MSDE), Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC);
Applies knowledge of current Child Abuse and
Neglect laws, and makes referrals to Child Protective Services (CPS) as
appropriate and in accordance with established policies and procedures;
Performs health screenings in compliance with
MDH and MSDE laws and regulations, policies and procedures;
Maintains student confidentiality in accordance
with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA);
Attends multidisciplinary school based meetings,
including but not limited to: IEP, 504, School Improvement Team (SIT), Immunization
Compliance Team and Covid Compliance Team;
Reviews student immunization status in
accordance with PGCPS Administrative Procedure 5161; makes appropriate
referrals to update immunizations when indicated; identifies non-compliant
students and provides recommendations to school administration to exclude
students who are non-compliant;
Collects data, identifies trends and documents
outcomes in coordination of care to report on the health of students in the
building as requested; prepares reports for both internal and external agencies
as needed and in accordance with the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) and
PGCPS policies and procedures;
Coordinates closelywith the Office of
Health Services and the Prince George’s County Health Department (PGCHD) in the
reporting and management of reportable infectious diseases and outbreaks;
Attends systemic and departmental professional development
and in-service workshops; and
Performs other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of
nursing and child growth and development;
Ability to use critical thinking skills and
nursing judgement;
Ability to handle and maintain highly sensitive
and confidential information;
Ability to work effectively with individuals and
groupsfrom various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds;
Ability to provide health instruction to
students in the classroom and parents and/or guardians at back-to-school
events, staff meetings, health fairs and other community events;
Ability to use appropriate written, verbal and
electronic communication formats to present information; and
Ability to enter data with accuracy into an
electronic database system on a daily basis and ensure that all electronic
student data is up-to-date, secure and kept confidential.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
Grade 10 - Graduation from
an accredited school of nursing with an Associate’s degree in Nursing (ADN)
with at least two (2) years of nursing experience required; previous experience
in pediatrics nursing preferred.
Grade 12 - Graduation from
an accredited school of nursing with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) with
at least two (2) years of nursing experience required; previous experience in
pediatrics nursing preferred.
Grade 13 - Graduation from
an accredited school of nursing with a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) with
at least two (2) years of nursing experience required; previous experience in
pediatrics nursing preferred.
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
Current
Maryland Registered Nurse (RN) License, First Aid, Basic Life Support (BLS) for
Healthcare Providers and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certifications.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Delegates
nursing procedures to unlicensed school based personnel in accordance with the
Maryland Nurse Practice Act (10.27.09.02e2d) and School Nursing Scope and
Standards of Practice.
Serves
as the leader of the team relationship with the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, talk, hear, walk, sit, and use fingers, tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision such as to read handwritten or typed material, the ability to adjust focus, and depth perception. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally push or lift up to 25 lbs.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Driver’s license and a personal vehicle is required inasmuch as there will be a need to travel to sites throughout the school district.
While performing the duties of this job, the incumbent responds in emergency situations as a first responder to students, staff, and visitors in the school building including running/traveling across school grounds/building, up and down stairs, performing CPR and using a defibrillator.