Mid-Prairie Community Schools is looking for a Middle School Nurse. The Mid-Prairie Community School District is located 15 miles south of Iowa City, encompassing 217 square miles and serving around 1,500 students. The district's territory covers Washington, Johnson, Iowa, and Keokuk counties. Mid-Prairie Community School District caters to students from Pre-K to 12th grade, and has an elementary and middle school building in Kalona, Iowa, along with a high school building and an elementary building in Wellman, Iowa. Teachers and administrators work closely with families and community partners to ensure that students are well-prepared for college, career, and community life. For more information, please visit the district website at mphawks.org.
The Iowa school nurse must hold a current registered nursing license recognized by the Iowa board of nursing to professionally practice, promote and protect the health of the school population using knowledge from the nursing, social and public health sciences. All students, as a healthcare consumers, have the right to nursing care that meets the legal standards of healthcare regardless of the practice setting (Nation Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2005). The school nurse retains accountability to provide the consumer this right of protection by following safe parameters to work as defined in the Iowa Nurse Practice Act (Iowa Administrative Code 655-6). Any health service provided to students in the school setting that constitutes nursing or any activity representing nursing is a regulatory responsibility of the Iowa board of nursing.
The school nurse is the licensed professional practitioner in the school community to oversee health services, policies and programs. The school nurse practices to provide students healthcare to minimize absenteeism and promote equal access to education. Nursing services assist parents or legal guardians to reasonably meet compulsory regulations of attendance for their child with mental or physical health needs (Iowa Code 299). Using professional nursing judgment and clinical knowledge, the registered nurse provides health care to students and staff, performs health screenings, develops individualized plans of care, provides health education, provides case management, coordinates referrals for students to the medical home or private healthcare provider, and assists the education team in early identification of learners needing accommodations or specialized instruction (American Nurses Association and National Association of School Nurses, 2011).
