Increasing School Nurse Teachers\u27 Awareness of the Social...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013) and the National Library of Medicine (2013), the numbers of emotional and mental health issues in children have increased significantly. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2017) indicates that the prevalence of mental illness in these age groups is 20 percent. Schools are increasingly implementing social-emotional programs and curricula to address these needs. School nurse teachers provide care for many of these children and are in a position to promote positive outcomes for them. However, many school nurse teachers are not aware of the social-emotional programs and curricula programs that are available. The purpose of this program development project was to increase school nurse teachers’ awareness of the school district’s social emotional learning (SEL) initiatives. This project addressed the clinical question of whether an educational program addressing SEL increased school nurse teachers’ awareness of the SEL initiatives which had been adopted by the Warwick Public Schools. The findings of the study indicated that a presentation describing SEL increased the school nurse teachers’ awareness of the initiatives that had been adopted by the Warwick Public Schools. The implications for advanced nursing practice include education that ensures school nurses have the competencies to provide care for students and families with complex social and emotional needs. They must be able to identify students who are struggling with mental health issues and have the skills to intervene on their behalf