Quality Assurance in School Health

Abstract

School nurses need to become more influential administrators, managers, and entrepreneurs. They must learn to lead and collaborate effectively in designing, implementing, and evaluating coordinated school health programs. Quality assurance is an essential ingredient in this process that requires accurate, timely, and confidential incident reporting and data analysis structures. These structures, in turn, can serve as the foundation of evidence-based practice and overall system improvement. School nurses can and should assume a key role in the process and thereby continue to meet the challenges of the more sophisticated school health services that today's student population requires. In this way, school nurses will continue to protect and advance the health and safety of the students who are entrusted to their care.

Sustaining secondary school nursing practice in Australia: A qualitative study

“…Poor understanding of the school nurse's role (Newell et al, 2003;Rice et al, 2005;Merrel et al, 2007;Buckley et al, 2009;Smith & Firmin, 2009), and a lack of understanding of professional responsibilities and legal requirements of nursing professionals (Newell et al, 2003;Rice et al, 2005;Broussard, 2007;Smith & Firmin, 2009;Sendall et al, 2011), are the most commonly identified challenges discussed in school nursing literature internationally.…”

The health‐promoting school: what role for nursing?

“…(2002) would, presumably, concur with this, as they offer insight into a successful Finnish HPS programme that was not only action research orientated, but nurse directed as well. Furthermore, for school nursing to progress, Newell et al. (2003) also put forward recommendations that its school nurses will need to develop key roles as senior administrators and mangers to lead and heavily influence coordinated school health programmes.…”