Release Date: 12/01/2022
Expiration Date: 12/01/2024
Originally presented at Virtual NASN2021.

Cost: $20.00/Free for NASN members!

Instructions to Complete This NCPD Program
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Program Overview
BACKGROUND: As members of interdisciplinary teams, school nurses provide supports to students experiencing behavioral health emergencies. We conducted this study to describe the frequency of school nursing involvement in caring for students with behavioral health emergencies in elementary and secondary school settings.

METHODS: We used data from the 2019 New Mexico school nurse workforce survey to describe school nurses' involvement in supporting children and adolescents experiencing behavioral health emergencies. We included all respondents who self-identified as working in a public school in New Mexico (N =320, response rate of 61.9%). We conducted descriptive analyses.

RESULTS: Three-quarters of school nurses (73.5%) reported that they had provided emergency management or activated EMS for a behavioral health emergency during the previous school year. The most commonly reported behavioral health emergencies were suicidality, self-injurious behavior, and depression. Almost 40% (39.1%) of elementary school nurses and three-quarters (75.3%) of secondary school (middle and high school) nurses reported that they had provided emergency management or activated EMS for a student with suicide concerns in the previous school year. Two-thirds (67.5%) of elementary school nurses and over half (58.9%) of secondary school nurses reported that they had responded to a student with child abuse or neglect concerns in the previous year.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: In New Mexico, a large proportion of school nurses report providing supports for students experiencing serious behavioral health problems. School nurses are vital members of interdisciplinary school health teams that support child and adolescent health.

Learning Outcomes
As a result of participating in this educational program, learners will be able to: 

• Name two of the most common pediatric behavioral health emergencies encountered by school nurses.
• Describe trends in adolescent suicide rates in the US.
• Name three potential school and community collaborators for student behavioral health supports.
  

Intended Audience
This continuing education program is a practice, skill, and knowledge NCPD program developed to meet the educational needs of registered nurses who are interested in child, adolescent health, community/public health, and school nursing.

Faculty
Mary M. Ramos, MD, MPH 
Associate Professor
UNM Pediatrics

Rachel A. Sebastian, MA
Research Associate
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

Daniel Shattuck, PhD
Associate Research Scientist
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

Faculty and Nurse Planner(s) Disclosures
NASN must ensure that all educational program content is free of commercial interest, bias, influence, and that the integrity of the content is uncompromised. The intent of this disclosure is to provide learners with information on which they can make their own judgments.

The nurse planner(s), faculty, and reviewers disclose there are no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved with the ability to control the content of this program.

Accreditation Statement
The National Association of School Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Accredited status does not imply endorsement by NASN or ANCC of any commercial products discussed in this learning program.

Commercial Support or Grant Funding
This program did not receive commercial support or grant funding.