School nursing

School nursing, a specialized practice of public health nursing, protects and promotes student health, facilitates normal development, and advances academic success. School nurses, grounded in ethical and evidence-based practice, are the leaders that bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potentials. School nursing, a specialized practice of public health nursing, protects and promotes student health, facilitates normal development, and advances academic success. School nurses, grounded in ethical and evidence-based practice, are the leaders that bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potentials. According to the National Association of School Nurses, there are approximately 61,232-73,697 Registered Nurses (RNs) working in elementary and secondary schools (K-12) in the United States depending on the survey sample ( - need these references: HRSA,2010; ACS, 2013), which represents between 2.1-2.8% of Registered Nurses in the United States. According to the American Federation of Teachers, there are approximately 45,000 school nurses employed in the United States. School nurses are often the only health professional serving students in an educational setting. In 1892 Amy Hughes was working in Bloomsbury Square as the Superintendent of Queen's Nurses. She was asked to visit a local elementary school to advise about nutrition. Hughes was surprised to find that the students were suffering with minor ailments that was contributing to school days lost to sickness. Hughes would in time arrange for Queen's nurses to visit schools. She is credited with being the first School Nurse in the UK. The statutory provision of school nursing in all schools in the UK arose out of the Boer War. A large proportion of army volunteers - between 40% and 60% - had been found to be medically unfit for service, so in 1903, the government set up the Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration to study the causes. In 1904 the Committee reported back, saying that there was no general health problem, but treatable conditions had been left untreated, meaning that the conditions had worsened to they extent that they became debilitating. The Committee recommended that: