Differentiation in Roles of School Nurse and Unlicensed Assistive Personnel

Abstract

School nurses provide a vast number of health services for students, teachers, and staff. Despite school nurses' important contributions to the health status of students, through the years their positions have been gradually supplemented by Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP)/ Health Clerks. With the number of UAPs increasing in the school setting, roles and responsibilities of school nurses and UAPs need to be clearly differentiated in order to utilize the UAP's services legally and efficiently. This research used a descriptive survey to investigate the perceptions that differentiate the role of school nurses and UAPs among school administrators, nurses, UAPs, secretaries, and office clerks in a selected Northern California school district. The study described their views about the responsibilities of school nurses or UAPs for specific tasks in health services. A job description was developed based on the results of the survey to provide clear guidelines of the UAP's responsibilities to school personnel.