My son attends a relatively small school. As I am by nature a chatty person, I have gotten to know most of the teachers and staff through open house nights and other school functions. One of the people I talk to on a fairly regular basis is the school nurse. She is a very kind older lady, Grace, who has been a nurse almost as long as I have been alive.

She has worked all over the country, depending on where her husband was transferred in the military. Nursing, especially school nursing, is a true passion of hers. She is a member of several nursing associations and groups, and she was recently telling me about the school nurse shortage. I thought it odd that there would be such a shortage, considering it seems like an ideal job for a nurse. However, she said there are shortages in the nursing field in general, and many of the younger nurses want a high impact, more exciting career – which is not usually part of the job description when one becomes a school nurse.

There are numerous reasons why the role of school nurse needs to be filled. Often, especially in poorer communities, a school nurse is the only healthcare provider a child may see all year. Additionally, many students throughout the country have specific medical requirements that must be handled by a qualified professional. These can include dispensing medications, monitoring medical conditions, and assisting students with special needs. With nearly 25% of schools in the United States lacking any type of school nurse, many of these children are not having their needs met. They are also affecting other students whose teachers are trying to fulfill the role of the school nurse instead of being able to focus on education.

Of course, lack of interest is only part of the problem. Some states, or individual school districts, do not require a school nurse in every school. However, as communities have become more aware of the need for a school nurse in all schools, it has still been difficult for schools to fill these positions. Small districts, and even larger districts in poor neighborhoods, often find a lack of local interest in the position. This has led to an increase in the request for travel nurses to fill in at these schools. Sometimes, per diem nurses are used during periods when physicals or other assessments are needed. In fact, our school employed several per diem nurses recently to do the physicals at our school so they could all be completed quickly instead of over the course of a week. After our temporary nurse assisted at my son’s school, she went on to assist at other schools in the district until all of the testing had been completed.

Grace is hopeful that the variety of positions available for travel nurses will help reduce the difficulties associated with the school nurse shortage. After seeing this system in action, I am also hopeful. What do you think about temporary or per diem nurses in your child’s school?

School Nurse Shortages is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. What Does a School Psychologist Do?
2. Child Services at School
3. How School Psychologists Can Maintain Professionalism

School psychologists have a lot to deal with in a middle school setting. Drug abuse, sexual harassment or activity, low self-esteem, bullying, and eating disorders are all topics being addressed by middle school students. Even some of the younger students who are just entering sixth grade have been developing eating disorders.

Eating disorders are becoming more prevalent in younger children for a variety of reasons. The overt sexuality, adult themes, and mature attire in popular culture are being targeted at younger and younger audiences. The message most young girls are receiving is that thinner is better. They begin to believe that, if they are thinner, they will be prettier and more popular.

Many of the issues school psychologists are addressing, such as low self-esteem and eating disorders, go together. By teaching girls to find their self worth in ways not associated with how they look, the emphasis switches to aspects the girls can change more easily and in a more healthful way. Small group sessions with at-risk girls, where the girls talk about body image and brainstorm ways to feel better about themselves, removes the pressure that would be felt in larger groups. An abundance of extracurricular activities allows girls to find activities they can focus on instead of body image.

The school psychologist and the school nurse discussing nutrition, healthy body image, and good exercise goals can be provided to general classes. Giving students the correct information can help prevent problems before they fully develop. Evening classes can provide parents with the same information, since good nutrition starts at home. Throughout the year, schools can host classes for parents on how to identify eating disorders as well. Often, parents believe the changes in their child are due to the normal transition from child to adolescent, and they miss some of the early warning signs that their child is developing an eating disorder.

Unfortunately, even with all of the preventative work a school psychologist may provide, there will still be children who develop eating disorders. When this is discovered in the school, it will fall to the school psychologist to contact the parents with the information. This can be a very difficult task, especially if the parent or child is in denial. Maintaining close contact with eating disorder associations, specialists, support groups, and clinics can help provide parents the resources they need to help their child. At the end of the day, it is important for those who work in education to remember that they must try their best to help the children they care for everyday, but there is only so much one person can do. Empowering the family to help themselves may be the most helpful thing you are able to do.

What tactics and resources do you use to help children and families deal with eating disorders?

Eating Disorders in Middle Schools is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. Anxiety Disorders: Help the Patient Understand it’s Not Their Fault
2. What Does a School Psychologist Do?
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ESOL and ELL are acronyms that are used interchangeably and the preference for one over the other largely depends on geographic location. ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages and ELL stands for English Language Learners. Both describe students, usually children, in the educational system who are learning English as a second language.

The amount of money devoted to these children depends greatly on the population of the school district they will be attending. Larger districts typically have large ESOL populations and more funding to help teach those children. Small towns often have fewer ESOL students and much smaller budgets.

Teaching students a new language while they are trying to learn everything in that language can be very difficult and frustrating at first. In many larger schools, there is a significant minority demographic speaking the same foreign language. This makes purchasing materials and software easier and more affordable. Even in many smaller schools, there may only be a handful of ESOL students all who speak the same language. However, in a very small town, there may be many years with no foreign language speakers. This means that the materials the school has available may be out of date or nonexistent when new students do arrive.

Living in a large city, this is not something that had ever really occurred to me. I have, in the past, taken for granted the resources available at the local schools in my area. Diversity was a way of life for me and not an unusual occurrence. However, as I have widened my social and work networks online, I realize that small towns really do have a more difficult time educating ESOL students. Not because they are less devoted to educating all children equally or because they think less of students from other countries, but because the funding is not as readily available.

If a small town school has one student that is learning English, they will probably be able to afford either workbooks or basic software. If more students arrive speaking the same language, they can build up their collection which benefits both students. As that student population demographic rises, so do the resources. It may be a slow process, but there is some potential. On the other hand, if the small school gets several ESOL students who all speak different languages, it is virtually impossible to provide more than rudimentary assistance in their native language. The students would be taught primarily using the immersion method, meaning almost all of their instruction would be in English. Some educators prefer this method altogether; however, it is much more difficult in the beginning.

If you are considering becoming an ELL or ESOL teacher in a small town, it is important to realize you may not have all of the resources at your disposal that would be available in a larger school district. Be prepared to look for alternative funding methods and to do a great deal of creative work on your own. However, having a smaller population to work with does allow for more face to face time with each student, which makes the overall transition to English much easier.

Have you found any great free ESOL resources you would like to share?

ESOL in a Small Town is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. Learning to Speak – How a School Speech Therapist Helped a Child Communicate
2. School Nurse Shortages
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The first step in preventing the spread of lice in a school setting is for the school nurse to remind teachers of the signs of a lice infestation. Teachers must look for students who are constantly scratching their head, especially on the back of their neck or behind their ears. Adult lice are about the size of a sesame seed and may be gray, white, or tan.

If a student is suspected of having lice, the child should be sent to the school nurse who will then comb through the child’s hair to verify infestation. If the child does have lice, she will be kept in the clinic until a parent or guardian can retrieve her. Once the child has been taken home, the school nurse must begin working to identify other children and prevent further spread.

All students the child comes into contact with should be inspected by the school nurse. Students in the same class, that ride the same bus, or that have the same lunch period should all be sent to the nurse. If the student has been in contact with a large majority of students the school nurse may need to inspect the entire student population. This can be accomplished by scheduling appointments for the students and may require the nurse to have assistants. If multiple students are found to have lice, sending a letter home is in order. Without identifying the student or students affected, parents should be made aware that lice have been discovered in some of the students at school. A request should be made of parents to have them also check their child as well as any other children in the home. If someone in the home also has lice, that person may unknowingly give it back to a child who has undergone treatment already.

Finally, the most important role a school nurse may play when there is an outbreak of lice in the school is that of a comforter. Many adults have biased attitudes about lice that are not factual and that can influence their children. Having lice is not a serious medical condition, and it is not found only on children with bad hygiene. Additionally, the school nurse should make sure parents know it is not necessary to cut or shave a child’s hair, as the medications for lice eradication are quite capable. It is important, however, that the school nurse reinforces the importance of checking other family members, as reintroduction of lice typically occurs in the home.

Have you had lice or had to tell a child and her family they needed to treat for lice? How did it affect you or how did it affect the children and family?

Preventing a Lice Outbreak is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. What Does a School Psychologist Do?
2. Child Services at School
3. Eating Disorders in Middle Schools

Child Services is the state agency that provides services for children and families. The entity has different names in the various states, some of which include Child Protection Services, Department of Youth and Family Services, and Department of Children and Families. Some of the services these agencies provide are placing children in foster care, childcare, mental health services, and abuse prevention.

Most of these tasks are provided outside of the school setting; however, when a child is being abused, Child Services may be forced to come to the school to obtain the child. When abuse or neglect has been determined, Child Services will often coordinate with the school therapist or the school nurse to come to the school at a specific time to take the child. This can prevent a hostile reaction from the parent that might cause a scene if removal were to take place at the home.

The difficulty in removing a child from the custody of his or her parents in the school setting is privacy. School officials must find a way to coordinate with agency staff so that the awareness of students and staff is limited. This can be accomplished in several ways. Students can be called to the office and told they are being “checked out.” This is a fairly routine occurrence in any school and would not cause other students or staff to become suspicious. Also, it would give the child time to go to her locker and gather what personal effects she would normally take home at the end of the day. This is ideal, as the child may be too upset to go back for items once she finds out she is being removed from the custody of her parents. Typically, this option is the easiest simply because Child Services often is not able to provide much warning to the school.

Other options include having a favorite teacher or the school nurse find the child and bring him to the front office to be taken by Child Services. This works well for schools that have large gathering areas for students. Fellow students are less likely to notice someone leaving when there are other, more interesting, activities to hold their attention. Alternately, to disrupt as little of the school day as possible, the child can be called to the office during the last five minutes of class and then be held until the other children have left for the day. This only works well, however, if the child typically rides the bus. If a caregiver usually picks up the child, this could develop into a nasty and very public scene.

Ideally, a school therapist as well as the school nurse would be on hand to ease the transition into placement with Child Services. They should also be the ones to coordinate and schedule the removal, as they will be the ones most familiar with the child and his or her schedule.

Child Services at School is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. Learning to Speak – How a School Speech Therapist Helped a Child Communicate
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The mandatory reporting of child abuse is one of the worst parts of any school healthcare worker’s job. Whether you are a school nurse, school therapist, or hold any position with daily contact with students, it is a task you will likely be called upon to complete.

Signs of Child Abuse

• Antisocial behavior
• Change in behavior
• Change in performance at school
• Difficulty concentrating
• Overly fearful
• Overly passive or withdrawn
• Reluctant to go home
• Repeated welts or cuts
• Self-mutilation
• Severely immature behavior
• Sexually inappropriate behavior
• Substance abuse
• Uncontrolled aggression
• Unexplained bruises

One of my good friends, Liz, became a school nurse. When a teacher would suspect physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse, he or she was to contact my friend. Teachers were encouraged not to report abuse to authorities on their own because of the difficulties it could cause. Instead, the school nurse and school counselor were to be informed so they could talk with and monitor the child.

Once the school officials were informed, an investigation was necessary. A physical exam by the school nurse and an emotional inventory by the school counselor were typical. No matter what the outcome, asking the questions and looking for the signs is a difficult task. Liz knew that her final decision would play an important, possibly even life changing, role in the child’s future. If she decided there were no signs of abuse when the child was being abused, the child would continue to be in danger. If she decided there were signs of abuse when the child was not being harmed, the family life would be severely affected, and the relationship with the school could be irrevocably harmed.

These are the types of decisions she had to make on a regular basis, and the stress was enormous. Several of her colleagues were not able to stay in school settings because they could not handle the emotional stress of dealing with abused children and of having to make such enormous decisions every day. Liz chose to look at dealing with child abuse as a blessing rather than a curse of her job. When she did intervene and correctly report child abuse, she knew she had saved that one child from being harmed further. She believed that if she was able to save even one child, all of the stress from the other cases would be well worth it.

The mandatory reporting of child abuse, and the investigation that precedes and follows it, is something not a lot of school nurse candidates think about. Unfortunately, child abuse is a reality, and often the only help a child may receive is from school staff. Becoming a school nurse is more than dispensing medication and attending to scrapes and sprains. The most important job of a school nurse is constant vigilance in looking after the overall well-being of all the students in the school. Helping to stop and prevent child abuse is one very important aspect of that job. Are you ready to save a child?

Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. Child Services at School
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When you work closely with students and families, such as a school psychologist does, you might encounter situations where it’s important to keep your professionalism in check. However, that can sometimes sound easier than it really is.

I’ve encountered families where it’s emotionally draining to be in contact with them. While I can’t go into specifics, it’s pretty safe to say that, with some families and students, I’ve wanted to reach out to them and offer more than my services as a psychologist. I believe it’s human nature to want to help those in need, and that’s part of what drove me to get into psychology. Still, you must maintain a level of decorum so that you can do your job and serve the students and schools to the best of your ability. Allowing yourself to get pulled in by the family and the students emotionally can cause a lack of judgment that can be dangerous to everyone involved. It’s difficult at times to distance yourself emotionally, but it’s a must if you’re going to be successful at your job and at serving the community and the schools you work with.

In order to keep yourself from risking your professionalism, take these rules of professional conduct into consideration whenever you feel that you’re getting too close to the situation.

• You are an advocate to the school, the community, and the students you serve. It’s in everyone’s best interest to protect students’ identities when conducting research or working with a family and school.
• You make a distinction between what you say as an individual and as a professional representing the school, community, or students you’re working with. There is a difference between speaking as a private person (individual) and as a representative of the school and students you work with. As you go through training and different situations, you will learn with how to distinguish between the two and when it’s appropriate to be one or the other.
• Refrain from using your position as a school psychologist to enlist new clients from the students and families you serve or to partake in an inappropriate relationship. Your position should not be abused in such a way that would infringe upon your licensing or work to your personal advantage. Your first priority should always be serving the schools and community.

At times you may feel that you may be able to help a family or student through your private practice, but it could be considered a conflict of interest if the person(s) you are helping are part of another ongoing situation that you are also involved in within the schools. In a case such as that, it’s better to refer the family or student to a neutral party or counselor.

Much of maintaining your professionalism is learned through situations you encounter as well as staying current on the ethical standards of the American School Counselor Association. As the times and technology changes, even school psychologists are subject to the flux in standards and practices of today’s schools and communities. I’ve often considered the personal and professional ramifications of becoming personally involved before I do so. Obviously, it’s always in my best interest not to let my emotions or personal views stand in the way of my professional opinion, but as anyone who works closely with families and children can attest, it can be a struggle at times.

How School Psychologists Can Maintain Professionalism is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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I’m often surprised at how many people don’t know what an integral role a school psychologist plays. Overall, the school psychologist’s job is to be an advocate for children in a school setting. They are primarily there to work for and with children in whatever capacity may be necessary. However, it can also go much deeper than that.

What many people don’t realize when they are thinking about earning a degree as a school psychologist is that they will be called upon to work not only with children, but they also work with teachers, parents, and even with the school administrators. Being a school psychologist isn’t simply assisting at risk students or working through emotional issues or problems with various student groups and individuals. The school psychologist performs a wide variety of duties, not just in the schools, but across the community. Here is a breakdown of some of the things you may be required to do as a school psychologist.

• Develop outreach programs for the school district. The programs can be anything from peer mediation in the schools, to crisis intervention. For instance, school psychologists often work within the school district with administrators and teachers to develop a plan to prevent school violence. The plan is one that can be applied across the board, but is also individualized for the elementary and high school levels.
• Assist parents and families by teaching them coping skills and working through emotional problems. They also help parents identify and work with learning difficulties and disabilities. Part of a school psychologist’s job is to make sure the school and parents are doing everything they can to make sure a student is successful at school. If there are problems in the family, the psychologist can offer some counseling or refer a family to counseling, teach parenting skills, and even help them find support groups if necessary.
• Serve as a liaison and assistant to teachers on a variety of levels. Psychologists will administer and record the results of testing and screenings so that teachers are better able to serve the students’ needs. They also provide instruction and aid in creating a successful classroom setting so that students get the full benefit of a constructive classroom. For students who have special needs or disabilities, the psychologist will serve alongside and parents to determine the best course of action for at risk students and those with special needs.

A psychologist’s role is also vital in the community. It is likely that you would work with several schools within a district and gather information and create plans on how to best serve the schools concerning student and social issues. Even students at the university level require some assistance in achieving academic and personal success. The job of a school psychologist is often times part educator, mentor, activist, and strategist. As tiring as all that sounds, I found that, when I was working in a school, I was deeply rewarded each time I witnessed a troubled youth’s turnaround or success. It is a very rewarding position!

What Does a School Psychologist Do? is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

Related posts:

1. How School Psychologists Can Maintain Professionalism
2. School Nurse Shortages
3. Child Services at School