Content Information
The school nurse identifies expected outcomes for the plan that are individualized to the interventions provided to the student by the school nurse or delegated to qualified personnel (including services provided in an emergency) as described in the associated documentation related to school district policies or procedures. The outcome measures are the desired result of the intervention(s) provided to the student. The nursing-led outcome that the school nurse develops is communicated with the student, family, or education team (if applicable). The nursing-led outcomes are ambitiously attainable and are individualized to the student. Nursing-led outcomes should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based (SMART). The nursing-led outcomes associated with delegated tasks provided by qualified personnel are supported by existing documentation that aligns with school policy and procedures.
Non-Exhaustive Example of a Nursing-Led Outcome
The student will experience no injury related to medication management or implementation of the EAP provided by qualified personnel during the (selected evaluation time frame).
Student-Led Goals
Student-led goals are developed to be intrinsically motivating and inherently rewarding to the student and address student choice in developing independent skills to improve health outcomes (Orsini, Evans, and Jerez, 2015). School nurses discover what matters to the student and their families about managing the student’s health through partnership, assessment, and communication. Student-led goals strive to improve learning and performance in completing health needs. Health behavior change research suggests that a challenging goal that is intrinsically motivating to an individual or an individual’s family is beneficial (National Committee of Quality Assurance, 2023).
A school nurse, the student, or the student’s family must also consider self-efficacy and the student’s confidence in one’s ability to achieve a specific goal. Setting and achieving challenging goals can enhance self-efficacy. Repeated failure to achieve a goal can result in diminished self-efficacy, decreased satisfaction, and impaired future performance. Consideration of repeated failure to successfully perform a task can lead to complete nonperformance of a task.
A school nurse, the student, or the student’s family must also consider self-efficacy and the student’s confidence in one’s ability to achieve a specific goal. Setting and achieving challenging goals can enhance self-efficacy. Repeated failure to achieve a goal can result in diminished self-efficacy, decreased satisfaction, and impaired future performance. Consideration of repeated failure to successfully perform a task can lead to complete nonperformance of a task.
Lastly, school nurses need to communicate nursing practice using inclusion principles that promote the practice of cultural competency. Health literacy is a non-exhaustive communication aspect of culturally congruent healthcare (School Nursing Scope and Standards, 2022).
When formulating a student-led goal for an IHP, the goal should be:
- meaningful to the student and the student’s family
- addresses cultural beliefs and practices
- ambitiously attainable
- written to prepare the student for the school-to-adult life transition, if applicable
- general statements that focus on deficits in health-related knowledge or skills competency
- in health literate language that is easily understood by the educational team, student, or student’s family
- written to increase the student’s successful participation in the general education setting and allow for inclusion in the general education environment to the maximum extent appropriate with peers
Non-Exhaustive Student-led Goal Example:
The student will identify 1 trigger and 1 preventative skill (handwashing) associated with Anaphylaxis during the (specified) school year