This document discusses the information needs, resources, and environments of school nurses. It notes that nationwide, only 12.5% of schools have a full-time nurse, while 45% have a part-time nurse and 30% have no nurse. In Washington state, only 20.8% of schools have a full-time nurse. The goal nurse-to-student ratio is 1:750 but the US average is 1:1151 and Washington's ratio is even higher at 1:2031. Electronic health records are presented as a potential partial solution to help school nurses manage student health information and meet their needs. Relevant resources for school nurses are also listed.

1. Beyond Band-Aids: The Information
Needs, Resources, and
Environments of School Nurses
Gina Kessler
LIS 528
Winter 2012

3. School RN Coverage
Nationwide Washington
12.5
25 20.8
Full-time Full-time
45
Part-time Part-time
None None
30 66.7
Source: NASN, 2007

4. Nurse-to-Student Ratio
• Goal is 1 : 750
• US has 1 : 1,151
• Washington has 1 : 2,031
Source: NASN

5. Partial Solution:
Electronic Health Records

6. Current Situation

7. Selected Resources
• National Association of School Nurses http://www.nasn.org/
• Gregg, A. L., &Wozar, J. A. (2003). Delivering Internet health resources to an
underserved health care profession: School nurses. Journal of the Medical Library
Association, 91(4), 398–403.
• Johnson, K. H. &Bergren, M. D. (2011). Meaningful use of school health data. The
Journal of School Nursing, 27, 102–110. DOI: 10.1177/1059840510391267
• Miller, L. C., Graves, R. S., Jones, B. B., &Sievert, M. C. (2010). Beyond Google:
Finding and evaluating web-based information for community-based nursing
practice. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 7(1), article 31.
doi: 10.2202/1548-923X.1961
• Suszka-Hildebrandt, S. (2001). Handheld computing: The next technology frontier
for school nurses. The Journal of School Nursing, 17(2), 98-102. doi:
10.1177/105984050101700207