The role of the School Nurse

WORK ACTIVITIES

School nurses work with students, teachers and parents to promote good health and well-being in school age children and young people.

As a school nurse my duties include:

• promoting healthy living;
• supporting children who do not want to attend school;
• puberty issues and education;
• helping parents with concerns about your child’s development;
• carrying out developmental screening (hearing and vision test);
• issues concerning bed wetting, sleeping habits and nutrition;
• contributing to personal, social and health education;
• administering vaccinations;
• accessing and supporting students requiring psychological help;
• supporting children with mental health problems;
• the Norwegian health system /where to go?

I also work closely with other agencies, for example social services, in cases of Child Protection and families experiencing difficulties.

The school nurse provides health education by providing health information to individual students and groups of students through health education and other classes. The school nurse assists teachers deliver the health education curriculum. Health education topics may include nutrition, exercise, oral health, prevention of sexually transmitted infections and other infectious diseases, immunizations, adolescent pregnancy prevention, parenting, and other matters.

I offer the standard school health program from the Stavanger municipality.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the school health program or have any concerns about your child’s health or development.

Email:

melanie.nicolle.wilson.eigestad@stavanger.kommune.no

Telephone: 51 50 70 69

Year Groups

PYP 1

Students up until the age of five are seen by the health nurse at the health centre in the residing municipality.

PYP2

Please contact the school nurse if you will not be here for PYP 3 and need the DTP- Polio vaccination in PYP 2.

PYP 3

I visit the class and talk about healthy living, good and bad secrets, violence in home and sexual abuse.

All the pupils get individual appointments for height and weight measurements. The DTP-IPV (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (whooping cough) and Polio) is also offered. Please accompany your child to this appointment.

PYP 6

The MMR vaccine is offered (Measles, Mumps and Rubella). If your child has already had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine, he/she will not need this offer.

Puberty education is delivered in cooperation with the class teachers.

MYP 1

The HPV (Human papillomavirus) vaccine is offered to all the girls.

MYP 2

Height and weight measurements.

I visit the class and discuss on topics such as:

• What influences our health?
• What promotes a physical and psychosocial class environment?
• Healthy living and achieving balance in everyday life.
• Sexuality and violence and the consequence this has on peoples’ lives.

Students are then asked to fill in a questionnaire about their well-being.

MYP 4 AND MYP 5

The DTP-polio booster vaccine is offered

Useful links and Information

Head Lice

Information about headlice can be found here

https://www.fhi.no/en/el/insects-and-pests/head-li...

There is also a publication in many different languages available to download from here -

https://www.fhi.no/en/publ/brosjyrer/head-lice-bro...

Immunization

A useful website about the childhood immunization programme in Norway and other public health issues is: www.fhi.no/en (Norwegian institute of public health)