Sudden cardiac death (SCD) can occur at any age in apparently healthy people. Early identification and intervention are essential. This article examines SCD in children and adolescents, explaining: who is at risk; the importance of training school personnel for SCD emergencies and having automated external defibrillators (AED) within the schools;…

This statement of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants lists those school nursing services and procedures the organization believes should be reimbursable by Medicaid to school districts. Identified services are in the areas of case finding, nursing care procedures, care coordination, patient/student counseling, and emergency…

Presents suggestions to help school nurses recognize and deal with the causes of children's physical problems in times of trauma and stress and coordinate their responsibilities with other professionals and parents (focusing on the events of September 11, 2001). The article also discusses how to recognize posttraumatic stress disorder in children…

Discusses the effects of violence on today's children and adolescents, focusing on: risk factors for violence (age, gender, and personal characteristics); family violence; violence beyond the family (in the media, in the community, and among peers); effects of exposure to violence related to school functioning, emotional stability, and orientation…

Objective: To study the differences in children's psychiatric symptoms and child mental health service use at two time points: 1989 and 1999. Method: Two cross-sectional representative samples of 8- to 9-year-old children from southern Finland were compared. The 1989 sample consisted of 985 children, of whom 95% participated, and the 1999 sample…

Sports medicine, as a discipline, can be traced back to primitive man. The use of exercise as a prerequisite for conditioning and proper treatment of injuries was first documented in early Greek civilization with the establishment of the Olympics. Today, sports by their very nature invite injury. In 2000, 2.5 million students participated in…

This article presents a dermatological case study involving a 16-year-old male who has acne. The article describes the history, physical findings, and differential diagnosis of acne. It is followed by a discussion of the disease or condition and how the school nurse should handle it. (Contains 1 figure.)

The results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial revolutionized the care of people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The era of "tight control" of blood sugars to decrease microvascular complications dawned. The subsequent technological development of insulin pumps has made it possible for individuals with Type 1 DM, as well as those…

This article reports school nurses' experiences with medication administration through qualitative analyses of a written survey and focus groups. From a random sample of 1,000 members of the National Association of School Nurses, 649 (64.9%) school nurses completed the survey. The quantitative data from the survey were presented previously.…

The school nurse has a crucial role in the provision of school health services. This statement describes the school nurse as a member of the school health services team and its relation to children with special health care needs. Recommendations for the professional preparation and education of school nurses also are provided.

An ostomy is an artificial opening in the body for the purpose of eliminating excretions from a working organ or for providing nourishment. Artificial openings may be from the stomach, intestine, urinary bladder, kidney, or trachea. The stoma is the terminal end of the ostomy, or the opening that is visible on the surface of the skin. This article…

More school nurses are engaging in the generation of research, and their studies increasingly are using qualitative methods to describe various areas of practice. This article provides an overview of 4 major qualitative methods: ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and historical research. Examples of school nursing research studies that…

"The Food-Safe School Needs Assessment and Planning Guide" is a tool that can help schools assess their food safety policies, procedures, and programs and develop plans for improvement. This tool includes a simple, straightforward questionnaire, score card, and planning guide that give administrators, school staff, families, and students a chance…

This study examined the attitudes and experiences of male and female college students relative to breastfeeding education within middle and high school programs of study. Findings revealed that 36.7% of the participants were taught about breastfeeding while enrolled in a specific course in high school; 11.3% received information about…

When school nurses embrace evidence-based practice (EBP), higher-quality care is provided to students, their families, and the larger community. Despite this, school nursing has been slow to embrace EBP. Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs), which capitalize on the combined strengths of clinicians and researchers to study clinical questions,…