We are nurses who work in schools and are dissatisfied because school nurses' professional training is neglected by society. Also we wish to change the wrong stereotype regarding school nurses. Because the government has failed to formulate policies governing school health care, we have organized a grassroots movement of school nurses to march, fight for our rights and negotiate to set policies to change the school nurses, professional situation.
Until now, the school nurse system has faced the problem of the number of students far outnumbering the school nurses available so we can not ensure quality professional services to improve student's health. The education system fragments into separate categories student's health problems, so we find again and again variety of problems neglected by government and society. The labor union professional society and those working as school nurses have different roles, so we don't want our profession to be overlooked in the policy making process. The government was neglected school nurse's professional development and education .We were not willing silently obey and be sacrificed to traditional rules. So we decided to link together to demonstrate moving from hurt to action. On August 19,1995,we took to the streets to demonstrate marching and joining together『School angels screaming ---to ask for respect without neglect school health care legal status ,and paying attention to the burdens on school nurses. 』 A year later, on August 19,1996,we founded this association . We organized people working as school nurses to negotiate with the government to make policies, and work together to fight for students, health care rights and school nurses professional development.
To development the functions of school health care centers, to maintain the health of teachers, students and health-care workers, to assist the school nurses' professional progress, to improve school nurses' rights.
Main Function Fundamental education activities related to school health care. The main goal is to improve the student’s health so they will grow stronger and learning effectively. Medical care by school nurses is a very important element of school health. It is a highly professional service provided within the education system.
Through the process of health education or health guidance, to change the affection related behavior of health care or attitude, and improved the concept and behavior of healthy from child, to push the student learning effect. In the school, school nurses always is the only one worker have professional training of medical care ,so they are not only just provide accusatives health care services, is the key role of maintain and improve whole education system worker and student’s health care. School nurses (including licensed nurses)in overall school health , have a very important role except maintain basic health care work, and also work for changes in the social situation , student often have a lot of psychological stress(ex. Feeling agitated or depressed) so they have crapulous by their cause physiology and psychology. But the care of student of ailing disease always the responsibility of school nurses. They are not only administer every aspect of the school health care center, but they are also the best contact persons and coordinators between school, family and society , which they are also the best worker of primary physical prevent , emotional and society health problem. So in the present school health system, school nurses must carry the responsibility of school health project administration as well as evaluation and following up. They are also responsible for managing health care services, health accelerate and counseling. According to the 【school health work guidelines】published the education administration , school nurses jobs including:
School nurse’s role:
Today, our school health policy is tending to “WHO-Health Promoting School”. There are six dimensions: School Health Policy, School Condition, School Social Environment, Community Relationship, Individual Health Skill, and Health Service. In this program, school nurses play the important role to participate, estimate, push and administer.
School nurses are adequate 『The code of medical agent』, bisect of entry level and advanced decree , the highest to advanced degree have three levels, the salary and benefits is relativity regular officials. The starting salary of licensed nurses in schools begins at NT.36000 the accredit Licensed professional nurses receive approximately NT.42000. According to work seniority and merits, the highest nurse’s salary range from NT.51000 to NT.58000.
It’s relate which apportionment of monthly load of school nurse and school class, because the amount of student relative prevention and traumatize care work is increasing.According to the research report of the education department in 1998, In Taiwan the ratio of school nurses to students in junior school was 1:1207. As of 2005, it is 1:2125 in junior high school , the average is 1:1499. In some schools because of under staffing, school nurses must informally share the administration work, ex; comptroller, human resources, student’s alimental lunch and so on. These added responsibilities cause school nurses to feel burdened, also makes the effect of health work was supplant.
Ordinarily, each school only has one professional nurse. So school nurses must face the whole work situation alone. Although their work hours compared with work in hospitals are more stable, their burden is heavy and their work –load is difficult. The work role regulations are not so clear and the government treat the student’s health care policy are not so ambiguous, and also make school nurses professional roles areblear, so some school nurses not acting professional function, but most of them are very seriously trying to act professionally status and respect, so this unclear role makes them carry the bad reputation of easy job and unprofessional, this is what we must mainly break out. So now we are trying to push to make policies to ensure protect student’s health care policies and school health care administration.
School nurse’s main service is student’s health, so according to student situation by different age and spiritual development, to cultivable self-care ability. Now, each nurse school of university or college and training education process accommodative school nurse professional program is very seldom. In order to be a first line school nurse to care for students , health problems, one must at least heave the following skills :ability to deal with medical emergencies ,body health situation evaluation , health care education , professional nursing evaluation, nursing program, case management psychological problems nursing care and primary counseling and so on. Now the Chung-Tai institute of health science and Technology at the National Taipei college of Nursing has established a specific in- service training program for school nurses. We also conciliate the administration of education to combination student’s health need to arrange regularly the whole yearly to continuing education project.
Actually , if we want to assure the professional quality of the school nurse’s role, we must promote the education of school nurses for graduate degree and professional skills, but this must has follow the profession need in the future and national policy to planning in Taiwan education system . Since happen the government did not have clear picture and regularly continuing education to carry out student’s health policies. Even through the central government has pushed the NGO’s set relate legal work, but basically in Taiwan , it still neglects a student’s health care policy. The government has even gone so far as to transfer the work of school nurses to be under contract to hospitals, and made health care related policy to the medical economy, health care transfer to disease project , so we tried to stop it . To professional nursing care, it shouldn’t just belong to medical doctors and hospitals.
From the standpoint of student’s health care and professional nurse’s rights and development, we still have a lot of work to do.
School nurses always face the stereotype of women fit in what kind of job by society –stably salary, work and vocation imagine to belong the women roles by tradition, and also duty time must to care about their family, so the female nurses always play the role of good wives, good mothers and good daughters-in-law and provide care for everyone in the family.
No matter what the size of a school, almost every school nurse works in the school alone, to take care of all students and teachers health check ups and health education, maintain the student health database, as well as manage and care for emergency wounded patients. The school nurse’s status is fairly low in the school, which they are work under health array in student discipline office, because education policy neglects student’s health care and the principal of the school has the power to decide how much importance and recognition is given to student’s health care. As a result, it is hard to build systematic and long-term projects to ensure the promotion of health care work in the schools. In addition their professional role is neglected.
Sometime in smaller schools will without enough manpower, so school nurse must do a lot of additional work , ex; human resource, administration secretary general of the PTA maintaining student’s insurance, to entertainment VIP, teacher’s health insurance , arranging for student’s lunches, projecting the environment and so on. Since these is a limit to their own professional health-care work. Also the schools do not pay attention to their proper functions. So they face their work with a sense of helplessness and feel lonely. Since they don’t want to break the relationship with teachers and student’s , and since their profession is not paid attention to and understood by the education system, they become the old servants in the school , and also must to care everything , if someone keep others respect which is because their ability not profession.
School nurses is remain in this situation of misunderstanding and neglect by the educational system, it is threat nursing care and women’s role to performing service and sacrificed to double to double limited . This is what we must face and break down.In The women’s Day of 2004, we demonstrate the activity “pay attention women’s needs, and protect student’s health”, against the contract of school nurses, asking
And demonstrate to the 11th presidential candidate political south area campaign of KMT, TPF and asking to agree our demand “To obey the law; stop the unreasonable contract”.
zip code:804605
Address:3F.-2, No. 305, Minghua Rd., Gushan Dist., Kaohsiung City 郵遞區號 , Taiwan (R.O.C.)
TEL:886-07-5524315
FAX:886-07-5524517
WEBSITE:http://www.schoolnurses.org.tw
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E-mail:snac819@ms76.hinet.net