A School Nurse Competency Framework for Continuing Education

Attitudes and Feelings towards the Work of Teachers Who Had a School Nurse in Their Educational Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of the availability of a health professional on the beliefs, attitudes, and work feelings of teaching staff when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a two-phase study: In the first one, the Delphi technique was used to update an instrument used by the authors in a previous investigation in 2020. The second phase was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative study, carried out through an electronic questionnaire distributed among the teaching staff of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain), during the first two months of the 2021/22 academic year, in the midst of the fifth wave of COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The reasons for advantages were analyzed and the dimensions of the questionnaire were compared between the groups studied (with or without a healthcare professional in the center). Out of 640 teachers in the study, 14.7% (n = 94) stated that they had a reference professional with health training in their educational center (a school nurse) for the management of possible cases of COVID-19. Significant differences were found in five of the nine dimensions studied between the groups of teachers analyzed. Teachers who had a health professional, specifically a nurse, during the pandemic indicated that they felt safer in their educational center, as they perceived that they had more personal protective equipment (OR = 2.03, [95% CI: 1.23-3.35]; p = 0.006). They were also more committed (OR = 1.89, [95% CI: 1.04-3.46]; p = 0.038) with their educational work and assumed more obligations (OR = 1.87, [95% CI: 1.01-3.44]; p = 0.045) and risks (OR = 2.82, [95% CI: 1.13-7.07]; p = 0.027). In addition, they presented fewer feelings of burnout (OR = 0.63, [95% CI: 0.41-0.98]; p = 0.041). These results indicate that having nurses in educational centers improves teachers' ability to cope with a pandemic situation.

Analysis of the Demand for Continuing Education of Nurses in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Its Influencing Factors

Infection department is unique in working hours, environment, content, methods, and skills requirements, and continuing education plays an important role in stabilizing and improving the professional level of nurses in the infection department. Understanding the needs of nurses in the infection department for continuing education and the possible influencing factors of participating in continuing education and providing a management basis for managers in a targeted way can make the role of continuing education fully play. In this study, according to the characteristics of the Department of Infection, a questionnaire was designed to investigate the continuing education needs of nursing staff in the Department of Infection and analyze the influencing factors. The results show that the nursing staff in the infection department had a greater demand for continuing education. Age, professional title, working life, hospital level, and marital status were the risk factors that affected their demand for continuing education.

A Grounded Theory on School Nursing Experiences With Major Pandemic Diseases

This study was conducted to develop a substantive theory on school nurses' experiences responding to infectious diseases by applying the grounded theory method to explore their experiences and derive related concepts. Study participants were 20 school nurses with experiences coping with infectious diseases while working in schools. The research question of this study was "What kind of experience did the school nurses have in response to infectious diseases?" The analysis included open, axis, and selective coding. We derived 164 concepts, 45 subcategories, and 17 categories. Further, paradigm, situation, and school infectious disease response control tower models were derived. The results of this study can serve as bottom-up policy data to understand the current situation surrounding school infectious disease management through the experiences of school nurses.

School Nurses' Available Education to Manage Children with Asthma at Schools: A Scoping Review

PROBLEM

Despite reports that asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism and the third leading cause of hospitalization in children under 15 years, little is known about how school nurses are educated and trained to manage asthma in schools. The current scoping review sought to describe the published literature on available asthma education programs for school nurses to manage asthma in schoolchildren.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

This paper used Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) scoping review framework to identify the existing literature on the education and training received by school nurses to provide evidence-based practice care to school students with asthma, aged 5 to 18 years.

SAMPLE

A search strategy was developed and implemented in 6 electronic databases including PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO, from 1980 to 2020. A total of 1012 citations were identified, 27 full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility, and eight studies were finally reviewed and synthesized.

RESULTS

The educational programs throughout four interventional studies consisted of a one-time training session, followed by a practical demonstration. Four out of 8 included studies assessed school nurses' previous exposure to an asthma educational programs through needs assessment surveys. The education delivery methods need to be synchronized with global technological advances and the availability of smartphones.

CONCLUSION

There is a need to highlight school nurses' asthma educational needs and the preferred ways of delivering asthma programs to school nurses. The review also called for ongoing skill and knowledge assessment strategies to ensure the delivery of evidence-based practice care.

IMPLICATIONS

There is a need to standardize asthma education programs delivered to school nurses. Future empirical research is recommended to investigate and evaluate such programs.

Factors Associated with School Nurses' Triage Competency in South Korea

This study examined the factors associated with triage competency among school nurses in South Korea. Using a convenience sampling method, 386 school nurses employed in elementary, middle, or high schools completed a cross-sectional survey that included a modified version of the Triage Competency Scale for emergency room nurses. Information regarding experience working in schools and hospitals, education level, school types, age, emergency nursing care certifications, school locations, and serious emergency experience at school was collected. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0, independent t-tests, analyses of variance, Spearman’s correlation, and ordinal logistic regression. Triage competency was higher for school nurses who were employed in metropolitan regions (odds ratio [OR] = 1.63, p = 0.017) and had serious emergency experience (OR = 1.76, p = 0.008). As the participants’ experience at schools or hospitals increased by one year, their triage competency score increased by 2% (OR = 1.02, p = 0.037) and 14% (OR = 1.14, p < 0.001), respectively. These findings could be used to develop policies and educational programs that promote school nurses’ triage competency. Further, they suggest the importance of establishing an organizational support system to develop guidelines and a feedback system to improve school nurses’ triage competency.

Impact of Nurse-Led Asthma Intervention on Child Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Given the leading role school nurses occupy within the school setting, they are often the most suited health care professionals to lead asthma programs. However, most school-based asthma programs have been conducted by researchers outside the school setting. Thus, we aim to determine what is currently known about the type of school nurse-led asthma intervention programs and their impact on children’s asthma-related outcomes. This article describes published literature on school nurse-led asthma intervention programs for the school-aged population using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework. A search strategy was developed and implemented in six electronic databases from 1980 to 2020. Results showed that school nurse-led asthma programs were predominantly educational interventions. Yet given the positive outcomes of school nurse-led asthma interventions reported across the articles reviewed, it is important to emphasize the leadership role school nurses assume in asthma programs, to promote more positive asthma-related outcomes in school children.

Factors Included in T1DM Continuing Education for Korean School Nurses: A Systematic Review

(1) Background: The aim of this systematic review was to identify key factors for inclusion in continuing education for Korean school nurses to improve their competence in managing students with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). (2) Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. (3) Results: Twelve studies were included in this systematic literature review. The factors identified for inclusion in continuing education on Type 1 diabetes mellitus included 6 competencies. These were strengthening competence in managing students with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, facilitating networking with experts and peers, the perspective of the school nurse as a leader, use of a type 1 diabetes mellitus-specific evidence-based standardized approach of care, supporting self-management to promote healthy learners, and communication and collaboration between key stakeholders. Identified barriers to accessing continuing education on type 1 diabetes mellitus were work demands, difficulty taking time off during the school year, and limited support from administrators. (4) Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, online or e-learning continuing education on type 1 diabetes mellitus must be developed for school nurses who manage students with this condition.