Journal List > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > v.28(2) > 1058459

Yoon and Lee: The Emergency Care Experience and Demand for Support of School Nurse

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores school nurses' emergency care experiences and their needs for systemic institutional support.

Methods

Data were collected in 2016 from the interviews with five focus groups comprising thirty school nurses. Qualitative content analysis was then performed using the collected data.

Results

The study found that school nurses were vulnerable to over-reaction in uncertain situations as the school's sole health service provider. The study's findings are divided into ten categories. 1) Major obstacles to overcome as the sole health service provider, 2) Assessing an uncertain situation and making appropriate decisions, 3) Providing limited first aid while maintaining control over the situation, 4) Referring or transferring a student to a hospital that creates tensions and raises cost, 5) Becoming an advocate for information disclosure and treatment, 6) Ensuring follow-up actions and proper transfer of responsibility, 7) Making preparations for future emergency, 8) Responding to conflicts arising from over-reaction as a safeguard and professional expertise, 9) Need for the development of standardized manual for school emergency care, 10) Need for practical case-based training.

Conclusion

The findings of this study should contribute to the development of the programs aimed at improving school emergency care and the professional competence of school nurse.

References

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Table 1.
General Characteristics of Participants
Variables Categories Total (N=30) Group A (n=7) Group B (n=5) Group C (n=6) Group D (n=6) Group E (n=6)
n or M±SD n or M±SD n or M±SD n or M±SD n or M±SD n or M±SD
Age (year) <30 39.53±10.37 32.29±7.63 38.40±10.31 34.33±4.32 38.50±4.28 55.17±5.42
30~39 6 4 0 2 0 0
40~49 14 2 4 4 4 0
50~59 4 1 0 0 2 1
>59 5 0 1 0 0 4
1 0 0 0 0 1
Education Doctoral degree 1 0 0 0 1 0
Master's degree 3 0 0 1 2 0
Bachelor's degree 25 7 5 5 3 5
Associate degree 1 0 0 0 0 1
Experience in school (y) 8.16±9.83 0.62±0.19 1.65±0.60 3.81±2.38 10.15±3.25 25.14±7.19
Experience in hospital (y) 4.69±3.26 4.54±2.83 7.67±1.95 3.85±2.98 2.77±1.98 5.42±4.51
School Elementary school 14 3 3 3 2 3
Middle school 8 2 1 1 2 2
High school 8 2 1 2 2 1
Size of school <500 693.87±303.66 775.29±495.87 535.00±378.98 616.50±86.10 748.00±143.25 762.50±225.21
500~999 7 2 4 0 0 1
>999 20 4 0 6 6 4
3 1 1 0 0 1
District office of education Gangnam, Seocho 2 1 0 1 0 0
Gangseo, Yangchon 3 0 1 0 2 0
Nambu 2 0 0 0 0 2
Dogbu 3 0 2 0 0 1
Dongjak, Gwanak 2 1 0 0 0 1
Bukbu 4 1 0 2 1 0
Seobu 5 1 0 2 2 0
Seongdong, Gwangjin 1 0 0 0 0 1
Seongbuk, Gangbuk 3 2 1 0 0 0
Jungbu 5 1 1 1 1 1

Group A=Novice group,<1year of experience in school; Group B=Advanced beginner group, 1year≤and<3years of experience in school; Group C=Competent group, 3years≤and<6years of experience in school; Group D=Proficient 1 group, 6years≤and<16years of experience in school; Group E=Proficient 2 group,≥16years of experience in school.

Table 2.
Categories of School Emergency Nursing Experiences and Demand for Support by Participants
Theme Categories Sub categories
The emergency school nursing rendered and their key characteristics Major obstacles to overcome as the ․ Unforgettable experiences causing anxiety and fear
sole health service provider ․ Important things for the sole health service provider to overcome
․ Excessive complaints happening due to complex cause and response
Assessing an uncertain situation and making appropriate decisions ․ Insufficient assessment data and limited decision making ․ Unclear decision criteria
․ To assess and decide comprehensively
․ To consider parental standards
․ To make decisions comprehensively based on their own experiences
Providing limited first aid while ․ To control situation as an only health professional
maintaining control over the ․ To give first aid with the limited range and resources
situation ․ Lack of confidence in first aid
Referring or transferring a student to ․ To Arrange how to transfer and refer to hospital
a hospital that sets off tensions and ․ Inconsistent transfer and hospital referral provoking conflicts
raises cost ․ Provoking various burden
Becoming an advocate for ․ To provide accurate and sufficient information based on a detailed
information disclosure and record
treatment ․ To be a therapeutic advocate
Ensuring follow-up actions and ․ Lessons learned and satisfactory follow-up to customers.
proper transfer of responsibility ․ Transfer of responsibility
Making preparations for future ․ To prepare school emergency plan by itself
emergency ․ To secure emergency resources by itself
․ To care for child with special healthcare needs and noncooperation
from parents
․ Improve professionalism through personal efforts
Responding to conflicts arising from ․ To over-reaction
over-reaction as a safeguard and ․ Professional conflicts
professional expertise
School emergency nurses' demand for support Need for the development of ․ Importance of standardized emergency nursing
standardized manual for school ․ Standardized emergency nursing manual
emergency care
Need for practical case-based training ․ A school emergency nursing case-based training
․ Systematic practical training
TOOLS
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