Community health nurses working with high schools

Who are the community health nurses? 

School Health Services are delivered by community health nurses (nurses) in public secondary schools across Western Australia. Nurses, who deliver the school health services, are employed by WA Country Health Service or Child and Adolescent Health Service (in metropolitan Perth).

Most families will have had contact with these health services from birth (through child health services).  Nurses work with young people, families and within each school they are based at. 

Working with young people at school

Nurses provide a point of contact for young people to discuss any emotional, psychosocial and ongoing physical health (e.g. recurring headaches) concerns they have. Nurses will see young people of any age at the school and are trained in assessing adolescent health needs using the HEADSS psychosocial assessment. Nurses can provide brief intervention; assist with access and referral to other services, and provide follow up care.

The school health centre is a place where adolescents can drop in or make appointments to discuss health and wellbeing issues. Young people may independently seek assistance from a Community Health Nurse, but can be referred by parents, teachers or student services teams.

Working with families

Nurses recognise that schools manage most health needs for their students. Nurses can assist, if required, in supporting families and school staff with health care planning and management for children with complex and/or chronic conditions.

Nurses are aware of and, have connections with, extended services in the community and can be a contact point and advocate for families to provide them with health information, referrals  and access to parenting program information as needed.

Nurses also provide whole of school information for individuals and families about health issues through the classroom, school newsletter and school website.

Working with the school

Nurses can provide advice and support to the school around immunisation surveillance and health promotion activities in the school. Nurses are also available to provide support and guidance to school staff if they wish to discuss any health concerns about their students.

At the request of a teacher, and if time allows, a nurse may contribute specialist knowledge in curriculum areas. The teacher is responsible for session planning and overall content and will always be present in the classroom when the nurse is involved.

Nurses can support schools to develop systems for first aid and emergency health care. This may include helping school staff prepare to care for young people with anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes and epilepsy.  

As a general rule, community health nurses:

• May assist schools to establish systems to deal with first aid,  but do not provide first aid (the school is responsible for this);
• Do assist with serious injury or illness, e.g. anaphylaxis, altered consciousness or trauma if onsite
• Do not administer medication
• Do not conduct invasive physical examinations
• Do not undertake long term interventions about psychological or educational problems.

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