Implementing an over-the-counter medication administration policy in an elementary school.
A major focus of school nursing interventions is to improve school attendance. In many schools, parents are required to leave work and/or to arrange transportation to bring their children over-the-counter medicines. Many times these children went home, missing class and making it difficult to keep up with class work. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a new policy and procedure allowing school nurses to administer certain over-the-counter medications in elementary schools in a southern New Mexico public school district. "Sent home" rates before implementation of the new policy were compared with sent home rates for 2 years following implementation. Although not statistically significant, findings indicated that over-the-counter medication administration by school nurses does show a trend toward sending fewer students home and, therefore, keeping them in the learning environment.
Foster
Lori S
LS
Department of Nursing, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
Keele
Rebecca
R
D000041:Absenteeism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D009516:New Mexico; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D016134:Organizational Policy; D033282:Parental Consent; D011050:Policy Making; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D012573:School Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012621:Seasons
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs