Fast Facts for the School Nurse, Second Edition: School Nursing in a Nutshell

"Fast Facts for the School Nurse, Second Edition, will direct school nurses to the answers for many questions and to wiser counsel when a dilemma seems unsolvable. It isÖauthored by a school nurse of publicly acclaimed distinction who brings a lifetime of experience to these pages."

óLucille A. Joel, EdD, RN, FAAN, Professor, College of Nursing

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

From the Foreword

This concise reference provides quick access to information busy school nurses need every day to practice competently and efficiently. It is written for nurses who are transitioning to a school setting, yet has much to offer more experienced school nurses. The second edition has been substantially revised to address the Healthy People 2020 initiative to school-age children and their families, and to incorporate information about the push toward formal evaluation of school nurses. It discusses new technology and the effects of head trauma and other sports-related injuries on academic performance. New content, "Top 10 Timely Troublesome Topics for the School Nurse," deals with issues such as getting substitutes and the prioritization of tasks for novice and substitute school nurses.

Authored by a nurse with over 25 years of school nursing experience, this consistently organized reference offers straightforward guidelines to a range of daily tasks and nursing responsibilities and provides clinical protocols for safe management of common childhood illnesses, accidents, and emergencies, along with legal and ethical considerations, documentation, high-risk areas in school nursing practice, and the requirements of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Included are the delivery of culturally appropriate care, screening tools, wellness strategies, care plans for children with chronic disorders and special needs, adolescent sexuality, childhood obesity, drug use, and a food allergies "tool kit." "Clinical Snapshots" throughout highlight critical information. The guide is useful as a supplemental textbook for nursing students studying for state or national certification exams.

New to the Second Edition:

• "Top 10 Timely Troublesome Topics for the School Nurse"
• Correlations of the Healthy People 2020 initiative with school nurse practice
• Meaningful examples ("Clinical Snapshots") relevant to the topic
• The effects of head trauma and other sports-related injuries on academic performance
• Academic requirements for school nursing in each state
• Prioritization of tasks for novice and substitute school nurses

Janice Loschiavo, MA, RN, NJ-CSN, is an adjunct instructor at William Paterson University Graduate Nursing Division and at Caldwell College in the Education/Nursing Division. She had 26 years of experience as a school nurse before retiring from those positions in 2007. Ms. Loschiavo has received recognition for excellence both in teaching and as a school nurse, including the New Jersey Distinguished Alumni Award (2014), the Governor's Teacher Recognition Award in 2006ñ2007, the nominee for Disney Teacher of the Year (2002), the New Jersey State School Nurse of the Year (1994ñ1995), the Bergen County School Nurse of the Year (1994ñ1995), and the state nominee for National School Nurse of the Year (1994ñ1995). While a school nurse, she was responsible for participating in Child Study Team meetings, maintaining health records, conducting health screenings, and providing first aid to students; teaching health classes; conducting faculty inservice training (anaphylaxis, child abuse, and first aid); organizing health fairs; running workshops for teachers and parents; and serving as liaison to the Division of Youth and Family Services. Ms. Loschiavo contributed to the recently published book Health Counseling: A Microskills Approach for Counselors, Educators, and School Nurses, Second Edition, edited by Richard Blonna. Advance for Nurses published her article, "Considering School Nursing?" in January 2013.

Janice Loschiavo, MA, RN, NJ-CSN, is currently an adjunct instructor in William Paterson University’s Graduate Nursing Division, taught at Caldwell University and served as a field supervisor for New Jersey City University. She had 26 years of experience as a school nurse before retiring from that position in 2007. Ms. Loschiavo has received recognitions for excellence both in teaching and as a school nurse, including the New Jersey City University's Distinguished Alumni Award (2014), the Governor's Teacher Recognition Award (2006-2007), the nomination for Disney Teacher of the Year (2002), the New Jersey State School Nurse of the Year (1994-1995), the Bergen County School Nurse of the Year (1994-1995), and the state nomination for National School Nurse of the Year (1994-1995). While working as a school nurse, she was responsible for participating in Child Study Team meetings; maintaining health records; conducting health screenings; providing first aid to students; teaching health classes; conducting faculty in-service training (anaphylaxis, child abuse, and first aid); organizing health fairs; running workshops for teachers and parents. . Ms. Loschiavo contributed to the book Health Counseling: A Microskills Approach for Counselors, Educators, and School Nurses, Second Edition, edited by Richard Blonna. ADVANCE for Nurses published her article, "Considering School Nursing?," in January 2013. In 2016, Ms. Loschiavo wrote and published Life's Lessons for Children, which provides character education lesson plans for students K to 12. In 2020, she wrote and edited the text School Nursing: The Essential Reference. She contributed articles for Today's School Nurse: the Marginalized Child Speaks, Meeting the Challenge -- Prevention Strategies for Controlling COVID-19 were published in 2021 in The Journal of Nursing. Ms. Loschiavo has also delivered numerous webinar presentations reaching hundreds of school nurses.