“School nurses straddle two statutory and regulatory frameworks, health and education. Because school nurses practice nursing in an educationally focused system, they face unique legal, policy, funding and supervisory issues that may also have ethical dimensions”. Examples of challenges to school nurses’ ethical foundation include:
· Unsafe school nurse to student workloads,
· Accountability for care delegated to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP),
· Documentation expectations that do not align with the standards of nursing practice.
· Assignment of nursing tasks to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel without the input of the school nurse, and
· Attempts by non-licensed school administrators to direct practice.
As such, school nurses must have not only the skills to communicate within both the healthcare and education arenas, but also the requisite knowledge and skills to interpret applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards, as well as apply ethical theories and principles common across all nursing specialties.