National School Nurse Certification

[faith52]

I need to inquire about how to get certified by the National School Nurse Association in NC. I have three years to get this done. Can anyone tell me what the requirements are and is this a home study course?

Thanks for any info :)

[bergren]

The link for the national certification is http://www.nbcsn.com/

There are prep days sponsored by NBSCN - followed by a testing date, but the test can be taken locally also, in your case, Raleigh. Right now the web site is out of date, and no prep days are listed for the rest of 2004. However, the national conference will be in DC next June and there is frequently a prep day as a pre conference offering followed by the test the following day. There is a handbook and list of sample questions that can be downloaded on the web site: http://www.nbcsn.com/2003handbook.pdf

The web site also suggests preparation tips:

- Identify weak areas from the Content Outline and utilize appropriate resources for review;

- Read and review immunization schedules, contraindications, and concerns; and

- Review a growth and development chapter in a current pediatrics nursing textbook

I also suggest reviewing the standards of school nurse practice (http://www.nasn.org/resources/store.htm) and the regulations and federal laws that govern school nursing practice: Nurse practice act, delegation, medication administration, IDEA, FERPA, 504s, etc. Check any CEU offerings in the Journal of School Nursing from years past. In fact, if you are new to school nursing and do not have back issues of the Journal, I would borrow a colleagues collection and just read random articles from time to time. Also purchase NASN publications that pertain to your own practice (http://www.nasn.org/resources/store.htm)and borrow those that you feel you do not need in your library to review. If you are presently a NASN member, you can read the Journal articles back through the year 2000 on the electronic archives. Know about the common dieases that affect students: fifths, chickenpox, lice, tinea capitus, asthma, diabetes, anaphylactic allergic reactions to food and insects, etc etc. Attend your local conferences and workshops from now until you take the test.

I would also contact your state association http://www.nasn.org/community/affiliates.htm and see if they provide any preparation or support.

The NCBSN Liasons for North Carolina (http://www.nbcsn.com/liaisons.htm#liaisons*)are:

North Carolina

Phyllis Williams [email protected]

Sandra Wilson [email protected]

[angel34]

Did you come to state conference in September? I had a display on certification and spent the first day of conference discussing certification. On NC School Nurse website www.snanc.org all of the Liaisons for NBCSN are listed with e-mails. My first suggestions is to digest all the information on NASN website, position statements, issue briefs, become a member of NASN, to get access to hot issues, ie HIPPA. Looking forward to hearing from you! :uhoh21: