Evidence-Based Practice and School Nurse Practice: A Review of Literature.

School nurses report that evidence-based practice (EBP) is not a part of their daily practice, and most have had no formal education regarding EBP or its implementation. The purpose of this review is to identify what strategies might be effective to educate school nurses about EBP as a first step toward establishing EBP in school nurse practice. Three scientific databases were searched, and eight pertinent manuscripts were identified. A review of the manuscripts indicates that EBP learners should be addressed in terms of the level of education needed (EBP "user" vs. "practitioner") and that a multifaceted approach to learning that addresses EBP knowledge, skill, and attitude is most effective. School nurse leaders and educators should work to provide learning opportunities to develop school nurses knowledge and skill using various learning modalities and delivery methods. EBP mentor relationships should be developed to bridge knowledge into practice.

Establishing a School Nurse Mentoring Network.

Often, nurses new to the school setting find they have more questions than answers about school nursing practice but no mentor to ask. Questions often arise regarding medication administration, health records, health requirements to attend school, student illness, school health legislation, and state reporting requirements in the school setting, plus many more. This article outlines how one Regional Office of Education (ROE) in central Illinois partnered with a Certified School Nurse to establish a mentoring and networking program to foster relationships and information sharing among school nurses.

Legal Issues 101: Students With Disabilities.

This article is the first in a series of "Legal Issues 101" topics addressing some common questions and misconceptions around the law and school health. In this article, the authors address frequently asked questions on topics related to the school nurse's role and their students' rights as it relates to the special education process, the individualized education program (IEP), and Section 504 Accommodation plans. Readers are encouraged to expand their knowledge on this multifaceted topic further using the resources and references provided within the article.

Standardizing Care of the Late Preterm Infant.

BACKGROUND: Late preterm infants are infants born between 34 and 36 6/7 weeks gestation. Compared to term infants, late preterm infants are at increased risk for breastfeeding difficulties, hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and hypothermia due to their relative physiologic and metabolic immaturity. PROBLEM: Medical record reviews performed at a level III maternal and newborn hospital in central Illinois revealed only 64% of late preterm infants admitted to the newborn nursery received care per the unit late preterm infant policy. The aim of this quality improvement project was to increase nurse adherence to the policy to 80%. METHODS: Between May 2022 and September 2022, several interventions were implemented for maternal-child nurses and support clinicians: an education offering, creation of a late preterm infant-specific breastfeeding log, and electronic medical record updates. Post-intervention medical record reviews measured policy adherence through documentation of feeding sessions, hypoglycemia, hypothermia, and hyperbilirubinemia. Descriptive statistics were performed to determine improvement. RESULTS: Nurse adherence to the late preterm infant policy increased to 90% over the period of the project. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Late preterm infant care protocols should be in place in all newborn nurseries. Late preterm infant policy adherence can be supported through electronic medical record prompts, use of a late preterm infant-specific breastfeeding log, and continuing education.

Undesignated Glucagon in Illinois: An Issue of Access and Equity.

School nurses must identify and advocate for change when student safety is at risk. Using a population-focused approach (one that addresses the needs of a whole group rather than an individual), one Illinois nurse successfully sought legislation to address the need for undesignated glucagon in all Illinois schools. This article will tell her story and describe the steps all school nurses can take to make a population-level change through legislative advocacy.

A Novel Approach to Fostering Academic-Practice Partnerships: The DNP Project Executive Summary.

BACKGROUND: Practice partnerships are vital to academic nursing for opportunities for robust student clinical experiences. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholarly project provides benefits for both students and practice partners; however, traditional academic dissemination methods such as student posters and publications are not internal communication formats used by practice partners. METHOD: An assignment was developed for DNP students to write an executive summary of the completed scholarly project for their practice-partner organization stakeholders. RESULTS: Students used business writing skills to develop a one-page document summarizing the implementation and results of their project for a document applicable to the business of health care. CONCLUSION: Incorporating an executive summary of the DNP scholarly project emphasizes the value of student-led initiatives to organizations and can strengthen academic-practice partnerships. This innovative approach to dissemination of outcomes delivers a practical business communications document that is valuable to practice mentors and organizational leaders. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(3):156-158.].

Establishing a Nurse Champion Education Program for Perinatal Home Health Nurses.

Professional development is essential for the ongoing professional growth of nurses and ensures employers and patients that staff have current knowledge in the field. But what happens when there's no budget for professional development? This quality improvement project describes the use of a nurse champion intervention for a professional development program for perinatal home health nurses at a nonprofit health organization. A nurse champion mentors and advocates for nurse colleagues during a change project. In this case, the nurse champion partnered with nurse educators from the supporting hospital and instituted a program to provide regular professional development content to perinatal home health nurses. Results showed their level of confidence in providing prenatal, labor and delivery, and early pediatric education improved. Level of confidence in providing postpartum education stayed the same, and level of confidence in providing neonatal intensive care unit education decreased. The Nurse Champion Education Program was a budget-friendly solution that fostered professional nursing development. Although this intervention was applied to a specific population, all home health nurses could benefit from a nurse champion education model in their professional setting.

School Nursing: Scope and Standards: What Is New and Important in the Fourth Edition?

Scope and standards documents can seem abstract or academic but, in reality, they are important representations of the practice of nursing, in this case, school nursing. This article will highlight the latest updates and changes to the School Nursing: Scope and Standards of Professional Practice, Fourth edition, including a discussion of the newest standard-Advocacy.

School Nursing Associations: Restructuring for Contemporary Practice.

School nursing associations are the professional organizations that help members collaborate with each other, keep up-to-date with trends and advances within the profession, advocate the positions of the profession, and provide a place of connection with stakeholders and government entities. Participation by members in professional associations is waning across the country affecting the work they can do. The Illinois Association of School Nurses took a proactive approach to reorganize and revitalize their organization and membership.

Lesson Plan Basics: Teaching in the Classroom With Confidence.

The ability to confidently teach a lesson to students, staff, or families is a skill all school nurses need to have. When a lesson plan is developed, a clear "road map" is created that guides the lesson and documents what is taught. Using the eight components described in this article, school nurses can develop a comprehensive lesson plan and teach with confidence.

College-Bound: Transition Planning Strategies for Students With Type 1 Diabetes.

Transition planning is mandated for students who receive special education services; however, it is not required for students with chronic conditions. Students with chronic conditions nearing graduation would benefit from more intensive attention to their post-high school self-care needs and responsibilities. Students with type 1 diabetes must be able to understand the necessary self-care of one of the most complicated and intensive chronic conditions yet there are no evidence-based strategies for how to help students transition from the support provided at school to independence at graduation. The need for a student with type 1diabetes to independently manage their diabetes is even greater as the student leaves home for college. School nurses, who are also certified diabetes educators, created a support group for seniors with type 1 diabetes. The group focused on life after high school and provided the students with a detailed checklist to help improve knowledge and prepare students for the transition to college. Participants felt better prepared to move on to college armed with their checklist and other resources to help when away from home.

Finding the Best Evidence to Support Care of Students With Chronic Conditions: CLUE #2: Acquire.

Every day, school nurses make practice decisions that impact the care provided to school children. Our professional standards require that we stay up to date with best practice options, yet there is neither time nor money to attend a continuing education offering for every practice concern we encounter. Learning how to acquire the evidence that leads to best practice can ensure our practice is current and that our students have the best chance to have positive health and academic outcomes. This article explains where to find good evidence and how to access it.

What Does the Evidence Say Is Best for Your Student? CLUE #3: Appraise.

School nurses are often faced with various requests from parents, teachers, and even healthcare providers. How do you know what requests should be honored? What does the current evidence indicate? This article is the third in a series of articles outlining the steps of evidence-based practice. The article explains and provides tips for accomplishing the third step: Appraise the evidence. Appraising the evidence means better understanding what the literature says and how strong the evidence is. This is an important step in evidence-based school nursing practice.

Did Your Evidence-Base Program Work? Share the News! CLUES #5/6: Assess and Alert.

The work of the school nurse does not end with the institution of an evidence-based intervention. The steps of EBP tell us that we must "Assess" the effectiveness of an intervention to determine if it is having the desired effect. When we find success in our EBP changes we must come full circle and share or "Alert" stakeholders and other school nurses by disseminating our work. School nurses can share their success through written and oral presentations to insure that we add to our collective school nursing knowledge.

Evidence-based Practice: Making the Research Relevant to Your Situation-CLUE #4: Apply.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is often thought to be synonymous with research and literature. This article focuses on the fourth step in the EBP process: Apply. In this step, we fully integrate the EBP Venn diagram, which illustrates that EBP occurs at the intersection of evidence and data, clinical expertise and resources, and population's values and cultures. Only when school nurses include each component into their practice decision will true EBP occur.

What Does Evidence-Based School Nursing Practice Even Mean? Get a CLUE.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a phrase used frequently in nursing, policy, and education. This article explains three components of EBP, why it is important for school nursing, barriers to practicing EBP, and solutions to practicing EBP. This article is the first in a series of articles for NASN School Nurse that will delve into what EBP is and how it applies to school nursing using practical examples.