Description

Blue Ridge School is an all-boys, all-boarding college preparatory school serving approximately 185 students in grades 9-12 on a 750-acre campus along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, approximately 20 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia.

This position requires a licensed Registered Nurse to work in the Student Health Center as part of a multi-nurse team. The Student Health Center is staffed through a combination of daytime, evening, overnight/on-call, and weekend nursing coverage, with clinical guidance available through a local physician.

The Day Nurse serves as the primary Student Health Center nurse from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and provides approximately seven weekends of on-campus coverage during the school year, Friday 8:00 p.m. through Sunday 8:00 p.m. This is a 10-month position from August through May and does not normally work during Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, or Spring Break.

During assigned shifts, the nurse provides assessment and treatment of illness and injury, medication management, health education, referral coordination, parent communication, and follow-up care for students. When requested, the nurse may also provide basic medical guidance to faculty and staff.

Because nurses frequently work independently during assigned shifts, the successful candidate must be comfortable exercising professional nursing judgment and determining when additional medical evaluation or emergency care is required. The nurse must also enjoy working with teenage boys from diverse backgrounds and cultures and function collaboratively as part of the Student Health Center team.

Qualifications:

• Current Registered Nurse license in Virginia, or eligibility to obtain Virginia licensure before beginning employment.
• Working knowledge of adolescent growth and development, common school-age health concerns, disease prevention, and appropriate referral practices.
• A genuine desire to work with teenage boys from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Experience in school nursing, adolescent health, pediatrics, urgent care, emergency nursing, public health, or a related setting preferred.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, documentation, and time-management skills.
• Comfort working independently and exercising sound nursing judgment while also functioning collaboratively as part of a multi-nurse team.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and community-relations skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with parents who may live a significant distance from campus.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook and a willingness to learn school health and student-management software such as Magnus.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Support compliance with applicable school health policies and federal, state, and local health requirements.
• Provide triage, assessment, and nursing care for students and, when requested, basic medical guidance to faculty and staff while on duty.
• Identify students who require emergency care, physician evaluation, specialist referral, or other outside medical services and make appropriate referrals.
• Schedule outside medical, dental, optometry, and other health appointments as needed.
• Coordinate transportation for students to scheduled outside health appointments.
• Provide follow-up evaluation and care for students as indicated.
• Maintain prescription medications, medical supplies and appropriate inventory, security, storage, administration and documentation.
• Administer and document prescribed medications in accordance with physician orders, school procedures, and applicable nursing standards, and follow up appropriately when a student misses a scheduled dose.
• Work collaboratively with athletic trainers, coaches, Student Health personnel, and medical providers in the assessment, care, referral, and follow-up of student-athlete injuries, including suspected concussions.
• Ensure that employees with a legitimate need to know, including Dining Services, receive necessary student health and allergy information in a manner consistent with privacy requirements and school procedures.
• Communicate medical issues and changes in student health status to parents or guardians in a timely, professional, and appropriate manner.
• Coordinate with faculty, Residence Life, and other appropriate personnel to locate students when medical follow-up, medication administration, or other health needs require it.
• Provide complete and timely handoff communication to evening, overnight/on-call, and weekend nurses regarding students who require continued monitoring or follow-up.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and current medical information for each student in the school's health-record system.
• Maintain basic cleanliness and readiness of the Student Health Center, including laundering bed linens as needed.
• Provide health counseling, education, disease-prevention guidance, and wellness support to students and staff as appropriate.
• Maintain professional competence through continued learning and professional development.

Weekend Coverage:

During assigned weekends, the nurse is required to remain on campus and be available to respond to student health needs. The nurse is not required to stay in the Student Health Center and may move freely throughout campus and use school amenities when not providing care. Routine weekend responsibilities include scheduled medication administration, evaluation and treatment of illness or injury, determining when EMS or outside treatment is necessary, communicating significant concerns, and providing appropriate documentation and handoff.

Reporting and Clinical Guidance:

The position reports administratively to the Director of Campus Safety and Security and practices under applicable nursing standards and the clinical guidance of the school's consulting physician. Clinical nursing decisions remain within the nurse's professional scope of practice.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervisory responsibilities are not inherent to this position but may be assigned to highly qualified and proficient individuals with commensurate compensation. The role requires close coordination and effective handoff communication with other nurses and members of the student health team.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

•         Current Registered Nurse license in Virginia, or eligibility to obtain Virginia licensure before beginning employment.
•         Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN) certification preferred.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

The position requires the ability to respond throughout a residential campus and may involve frequent walking, standing, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, bending, kneeling, and assisting students with injuries or illness. The nurse may occasionally respond to athletic fields, residential areas, or other campus locations. The role includes routine exposure to illness, injury, bodily fluids, and other conditions commonly encountered in student health care. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the position.