A gap analysis was used to examine the scope of school nursing practice in the United States. An investigator-developed 39-item self-assessment survey of scope of school nursing practice was modified from an existing validated tool, organized around the five principles of the National Association of School Nurses’ Framework: Standards of Practice, Quality Improvement, Care Coordination, Community/Public Health, and Leadership and also explored barriers to practice. The survey was sent to a national convenience sample of practicing school nurses. The survey was completed by 3,108 practicing school nurses. Gaps were identified for all principles and were greatest for Quality Improvement and Community/Public Health practice. All practice items were rated more important than the ability to practice that item ( p < .001). Self-identified barriers including workload, school/district expectations, and state regulations accounted for significant variances in practice across four of five principles ( p < .05, p < .001). Recommendations include support for population-focused evidence–based school nursing practice.

No abstract

Background: Blended learning (BL), the combining of face-to-face and online learning, is gaining prominence in nursing education in response to advances in evidence-based learning using technology, the diverse and evolving needs of nursing learners, and unpredictable events impacting nursing education. Problem: Blended learning requires nursing learners and educators to adapt to new modalities and educators to re-envision learning environments. However, BL lacks an educational framework to guide implementation and is not well explored in the nursing literature. Approach: Universal design for learning (UDL) is applied as a framework for BL in nursing education. Conclusions: Universal design for learning provides a framework for BL to enable nursing educators, learners, and educational institutions to reimagine teaching and learning in novel ways that incorporate emerging evidence and address new challenges. Blended learning, within the context of UDL, offers opportunities for diverse and inclusive learning. Research is needed to guide the implementation of BL best practices within a UDL framework.

Population-based care is an important part of school nursing practice in the 21st century. However, many school nurses may not fully understand what population-based care means. This article outlines what population-based care entails and provides several school nursing examples.

AimsThe aim of the study was to develop and psychometrically test a new instrument to measure the scope of school nursing practice.DesignMethodological study.MethodsData were collected in Spring 2018. Frontline school nurses in the United States (N = 3099) completed the 39‐item Scope of School Nursing Practice Tool (SSNPT) with two domains (current practice and importance to practice). One half of sample data (N1 = 1521) were used for exploratory factor analysis, item analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and Spearman–Brown to estimate validity and reliability of the instrument. Sample data from the other half (N2 = 1578) were retained for future analysis.ResultsFactor analysis resulted in a stable four‐dimension solution: (A) Using the Nursing Process; (B) Applying Evidence to Improve Practice; (C) Connecting with Community; and (D) Leveraging the School and Family Team, accounting for 50.48% (current practice) and 53.31% (importance to practice) of total variance. Cronbach's alpha and Spearman–Brown ranged from .73 to .90 and .73 to .92, respectively. Item–total correlations ranged from .36 to .82.ConclusionInitial psychometric properties indicate the new SSNPT is valid and reliable to assess the scope of practice of frontline school nurses.ImpactSchool nurses play a key role in population health and frequently serve as the sole provider of healthcare in schools worldwide. However, variability in school nursing practice affects the health, safety and educational outcomes of children and youth. No instrument exists that measures the scope of practice of school nurses. Frontline school nurses can use the SSNPT to assess practice, school nurse administrators can use the tool for resource utilization and school nurse researchers can use the tool to examine school nursing practices’ impact on student/community health and academic outcomes. The SSNPT may provide a template for others who wish to examine specialty nursing scope of practice.