School based health clinic

coughdrop.2.go, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2016

I currently work in one and I love it! It's a different animal from when I was a straight Credentialed School Nurse.

Our Health Center is on campus at a high school, but we are ran by the City's Public Health Dept. I am "officially" a Public Health Nurse that works as the First Aid Nurse for the Health Center. We have me, a NP 3 times a week for Reproductive Health Services, Health Education Interns, and Mental Health. Because we are not ran by the school, in order for students to see me they have to have a signed consent form. Mental Health and Reproductive Health are sensitive services and do not need parent permission.

As First Aid nurse I see all illness and injuries. I have standing orders and can give a wide range of OTC products. I also have vaccines and I am part of the VFC program.

Our NP does birth control starts/management and dispenses from the office. We have bc pills/rings/patches/depo and now we do implant insertions. No IUDs and we refer out for those. STI checks and treatments are also done in house and we send out the specimens.

Health Education does most of the reproductive health education before the student can see the NP and we have a condom club students can sign up for.

Mental Health is moving away from crisis/drop ins and trying to focus on prevention and long-term counseling with students.

Our Clinic only sees high school students and not open to the general public. There are Health Centers close by that are open to the public.

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Jan 22, 2016

The more I find out about these places the more interesting they sound! The clinic we will open will have a provider 5 days a week and be open to the public (the school probably couldn't give us enough students considering how small it is).

I have printed off all of the AAP's Bright Future recommendations to brush up on those a bit. I think it will be a cool thing for this community to have for sure.

schooldistrictnurse · Jan 22, 2016

Our school district partnered with a local hospital conglomerate to provide a NP in a Clinic in our schools three days a week, split between the HS and MS buildings. She can see HS students with a self-referral but she can see any other students with parent approval ( and parents must accompany)(free) She does not do reproductive health but can see students for quick strep testing, pink eye, UTI testing, pretty much what you might see in a quick care clinic. She also sees staff for free. She was the one who spearheaded the drive to have staff submit their MMR status and offered boosters. She (and the hospital system she comes from) have been an unbelievable resource. It was heavenly for me to have someone who "gets it." Our business manager felt that it lowered our insurance costs by reducing staff ER or Urgent Care visits, reduced lost time. I was skeptical but the money end wasn't my area. So that's how one suburban district has incorporated an NP.

coughdrop.2.go, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2016

Good luck! It's a great job. The students get annoyed with filling out the paperwork and having to make appointments. What they don't realize is that we are teaching them to navigate the healthcare system. They are use to their parents dealing with the medical side and only know to show up at a certain time and place for their appointments.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2016

Good luck! It's a great job. The students get annoyed with filling out the paperwork and having to make appointments. What they don't realize is that we are teaching them to navigate the healthcare system. They are use to their parents dealing with the medical side and only know to show up at a certain time and place for their appointments.

Which is awesome! I try and get students to realize this in HS. Heck, my 12th health seminar class is all around how they can and will manage their own health care decisions once they leave for the wide, wide world.