Pre- and post-intervention, female high school students with signs of depression completed surveys about risk and protective factors. Students participated in a weekly support group that enhanced coping skills and provided emotional support. Before the intervention, students were at risk for suicide. At the end, there was a 55 percent reduction in…

Describes how school nurses can advocate for adolescent female students and help them avoid the female athlete triad that includes disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. The article focuses on consequences of the triad, how to uncover the symptoms, working to improve public support, and creating a successful program through partnership.…

Discusses the current status of immunizations, the latest immunization recommendations, and the important role of school nurses in ensuring that all students are properly immunized with the correct immunizations at the correct time. An alphabetical listing of immunizations provides specific details. The paper also discusses myths versus facts…

By facilitating active participation in treatment, coordinating services, and maximizing community resources, schools can help adolescents build a strong foundation for lifelong diabetes management. This paper presents an overview of intensive diabetes therapy, psychosocial implications of chronic illness in adolescence, the effects of chronic…

School nurses and health office staff have an ethical and legal obligation to protect the integrity of electronic student health records. Various sources, both accidental and malicious, can threaten student health data. School nurses must employ regular and reliable methods to back up student health data.

Asthma is the most common chronic disorder in American schoolchildren, and school nurses play a valuable role in its management. A study was conducted in which school nurses were asked to describe their role in caring for students with asthma and their use of Asthma Action Plans (AAPs). The nurses indicated that they frequently provided direct…

Frequently, a nurse's first and only contact with a graduate school, legislator, public health official, professional organization, or school nursing colleague is made through e-mail. The format, the content, and the appearance of the e-mail create a virtual first impression. Nurses can manage their image and the image of the profession by…

This article presents a dermatological case study involving a 9-year-old female student who is complaining of an itchy rash on her wrist and hands, which is diagnosed to be scabies. History, physical findings, and differential diagnosis are also given. It is followed by a discussion of the disease or condition and how the school nurse should…

This article is a reprint of the National Association of School Nurses' "Issue Brief" on Privacy Standards for Student Health Records. It distinguishes between the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HI-PAA), clarifies which of these laws governs the privacy of…

The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to determine if there have been changes in the type and number of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) medications administered in schools since the introduction of long-acting stimulants. A survey was sent to 1,000 school nurses randomly selected from the National Association…

As a result of various health concerns, children are receiving an increased number of medications while at school. In Pennsylvania, the School Code mandates a ratio of 1 certified school nurse to 1,500 students, which may mean that 1 school nurse is covering 3-5 buildings. This implies that unlicensed personnel are administering medications, a…

In 1987, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of universal precautions in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the demand for medical gloves dramatically increased. Unfortunately, the manufacturing techniques for the most widely-used gloves--natural rubber latex--also changed, in order to expedite production.…

Focus group research is an effective way for school nurses to gain knowledge about a diverse range of issues that children in schools may face. It is a means to gather information about perceptions, feelings, points of view, and manners of thinking from a group of individuals about a specific topic. This article overviews focus groups as a…

School nurses are the health professionals most consistently involved with the health needs of children, particularly in rural areas where primary care providers are less likely to be located. To understand the scope and effectiveness of nursing services for school districts throughout Pennsylvania, the researchers conducted a study in 2005 to:…

Although federal law requires all public schools to be smoke free, lack of compliance with the smoke-free policy is commonly reported. The aims of this study were to describe the indoor fine-particle (PM[subscript 2.5]) air pollution in a rural high school and surrounding public venues. This cross-sectional, nonexperimental study was conducted in…