The ESProfessionals:
An Action Guide to Help in Your Professional Development

Local Association Success Stories:
Promoting Whole School Health

Rockwood Association of Nurses
St. Louis County, Missouri

"Our administration has come to respect the job of the school nurse and realizes the importance of a health professional as part of the educational team. We are integral to the health of the entire school environment, and they know it." -Diana Elliott, RN, BS Lead Nurse, Rockwood School District, Rockwood, Missouri

That Was Then

In her 17 years as a school nurse for public schools in the Rockwood School District, Diana Elliott has witnessed a growing respect for school nurses. It's not just about putting band-aids on scraped knees or tending to the sniffles anymore. Communities are catching on to the fact that school nurses work for the health of not only the students but also the entire school.

To help achieve a healthy school environment, the Rockwood Association of Nurses implemented a school improvement plan -- and they believed that professional development for school nurses was essential in order for the plan to be a success.

This is Now

According to Diana, all of the nurses in the district worked together to achieve a requirement that each full-time nurse has seven "contact hours" (similar to continuing education units for teachers) and every half-time nurse has three contact hours. "We knew that it was important to police ourselves. The health field changes every day, and we wanted to be on top of any new innovations that related to our jobs. A continuing education requirement would help ensure this."

As a result of their commitment to professional development, nurses in the Rockwood school district are on the cutting edge of new techniques and technologies in nursing. For example, in early 2003, a neurologist talked with the nurses about Strattera, a new drug on the market being used to treat Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD).

As part of a coordinated school health program, the nurses have also partnered with facilities such as Saint Luke's Hospital in St. Louis County. Together they created a wellness program, which includes a blood pressure monitoring program.

"We have actually found several staff members who had high blood pressure and didn't realize it," Diana explains. "This kind of program can save staff members' lives, and there's no question that this helps the schools that employ these workers." The growing respect for the Rockwood school nurses is apparent. They began with $125 per year negotiated for professional development, and that figure is now up to $300 per year.

This is How

In 1990, the Missouri State Board of Education adopted new accreditation standards for school districts to be implemented through the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP). Districts that adopted the Coordinated School Health Program model could choose to develop a plan for all eight of the components, which would serve as the School Health Services Plan for MSIP requirements. According to the Missouri School Improvement Program: Standards and Indicators Manual (July 1997), "The school nurse can play a key role in developing a plan which meets the needs of students and staff and also meets the Missouri School Improvement Program requirement."

The Rockwood school nurses then made the eight health components of the Missouri School Improvement Program the keystone of their school programs. They implemented programs addressing the areas of health education, school environment, counseling and guidance, community and parent involvement, staff health, health and nutritional services, and physical education.

Speakers for the health education programs are now obtained from a variety of areas, including the Suburban Nurses Association, Diana explains. "We have both state and national organizations that we can draw from. Many of these are available at no cost to the school district."

Words of Wisdom

"School nurses must realize what a difference they make. For example, the American Lung Association came to our school district at our request to demonstrate their 'Open Airways' program, which trains nurses to teach children to manage their asthma. They even put a nebulizer in every school at no charge. Suddenly, children with asthma were missing fewer days of school as well as going home to educate their parents about managing asthma. What administration isn't going to respect such accomplishments?"

Contact

Diana Elliott, Past President-Rockwood Association of Nurses
kenu1@rockwood.k12.mo.us

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