Question 1 – Concerns for the School Nurse:
As the school nurse role evolves, there are increasingly more health concerns for the school nurse. Does the locale make a difference in the problems, or are health problems in children and adolescents universal? In some inner-city areas, violence is a prevalent issue. What do you think are the biggest problems in your areas?
Answer:
As school nurses work in evolving nursing environment, they experience health concerns and problems that affect their work. Health problems in schools are relatively similar in several school environments due to the similarity of children’s activities and natural orientation in their childhood and adolescence (Holzemer & Klainberg, 2014). However, the locale also plays a role in the problems because different school environments result in different health concerns in the school. Nurses have to put up with these challenges and cooperate with community nurses and other members of the community to ensure that schools are kept safe from health issues.
The major function of school nurses is to handle acute health problems experienced by children and school workers and staff. However, they may also participate in community nursing by contacting parents and community health officers to handle more serious diseases (Holzemer & Klainberg, 2014). He/she also refers serious cases to hospitals and provides health reports of each victim. The nurses also recommend solutions or coping alternatives for sick children at school. For instance, school nurses may recommend to the teachers that children with hearing problems caused by unintended injuries should sit in front of the classroom. These problems are universal and are experienced by children in all areas.
In some locales, the problems are specific. In my area, children experience unintentional injuries because they walk in a poor terrain. Due to playful nature of children, they usually fall down and get injured unintentionally. Therefore, school nurses often have to handle the health problems caused by unintended injuries through treatment. They also have to communicate and coordinate with parents and teachers to ensure that children understand safety measures to ensure that they minimize unintentional injuries (Holzemer & Klainberg, 2014).
Question 2: Healthy People Objectives for Community Settings:
Describe the community health setting of interest (see Chapters 30-33).
Discuss one specific numbered Healthy People 2020 objective (not a goal) related to this community health setting.
How could a community health nurse help this setting meet this objective?
Answer:
The community setting that may be affected by the objectives of Healthy People 2020 is school setting. This setting provides an opportunity for health offices and nurses to reach members of the community in their health objectives in Healthy People 2010. Development programs in community health are communicated and implemented through children at school (Healthy People, 2014). Children, parents and teachers usually have a contact with schools, so it is easy to implement community health programs through the schools.
One of the numbered Healthy People 2020 objectives that apply to school setting is ECBP-1 which focuses on the increase in proportion of Head start programs for preschool children that provide health education to children (Healthy People, 2014). This health education is provided to preschool children to prevent health problems in terms of violence, unintentional injury, alcohol and drug use, inadequate physical exercise, and unhealthy dietary systems. This objective is important to community health because it ensures that the community, through preschool children, understands how to prevent healthy problems in priority areas.
A community health nurse could help school setting to meet this objective by participating in the preschool health education. The school may invite the community health nurse to explain the causes, effects, prevention, support and treatment of health problems within the priority areas of the program. Community health nurses use their knowledge and skills to explain to children about health problems in the priority areas (Holzemer & Klainberg, 2014). They develop the syllabus in collaboration with the school administration, and develop a schedule to teach the children systematically, using examples, discussions and tests in a classroom environment.
References List
Healthy People (2014). Educational and Community-Based Programs. Accessed July 24, 2014 from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/educational-and-community-based-programs/objectives.
Holzemer, S.P., & Klainberg, M.B. (2014). Community health nursing: An alliance for health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
