Curriculum: School Nurse Services Credential

Courses are provided in a hybrid format. In addition to two face-to-face sessions/semester, most course meetings will be virtual and synchronous (online via Zoom). Course content is organized in an online learning management system called Canvas, which can support online discussion and submission of assignments in electronic format.

Joan Edelstein, Lecturer
Joan Edelstein is a professor emerita, having taught at San José State University for 22 years. She is currently on faculty both in the School Nurse Credential Program at San Francisco State where she teaches school health policy, and Sacramento State where she teaches seminar, clinical, and school health policy. Dr. Edelstein began her school nurse career as an Asthma Nurse on a CDC grant, developing the first school district asthma management policy in the country. She served as Health Services Coordinator for Oakland Unified through an MOU with Alameda County Public Health Department. She received an Excellence in School Nursing Award in 2021 for the Bay Coast Section of the California School Nurses Organization. Dr. Edelstein coordinates and leads the biweekly Alameda County school nurse meeting in collaboration with the Alameda County Office of Education and assists school nurses statewide in developing district policy to advocate for student health.

Julie Greenfield, Clinical Instructor

Mary Jue, Lecturer, Program Coordinator
Ms. Jue was a staff school nurse and administrator in the San Francisco Unified School District for 17 years. Her most recent position was as a Director in the Student and Family Services Division, overseeing Health and Nursing Services. As a school nurse leader, Ms. Jue has an Administrative Services Credential, was a Superintendent Leadership Fellow in SFUSD, served on the Board and was School Nurse Administrator of the Year in 2015 for the Bay Coast Section of the California School Nurses Organization.

Leonard Kaku, Lecturer, Clinical Instructor

Kim Walker, Lecturer
Ms. Walker was a school nurse in the San Francisco Unified School District for 26 years until 2021. When at SFUSD, she worked primarily in the Wellness Initiative at the high school level, followed by five years in a mentoring and coaching role for new school nurses. Ms. Walker is a Nationally Board-Certified School Nurse, a Nationally Board-Certified Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist, and a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She currently serves as Secretary for the Bay Coast Section of the California School Nurses Organization.

Jacqueline Wong, Lecturer
Ms. Wong is a refugee born during the fall of Saigon and is the first woman of color Executive Director of First 5 California. Ms. Wong has three decades of experience working as an advocate for equity, health and education for children, youth, and families. Her formal training and background as a social worker have made it possible for Ms. Wong to share her expertise with diverse communities, specifically helping children thrive to achieve their full potential. She was elected in 2016 to the Washington Unified School District Board of Education and has had the privilege of serving as the President three times. She also serves on the CA School Board Association, representing the Greater Sacramento Area and Mono County.

Faculty bios coming soon.

Semester One

Semester Two

Prerequisite: Admission to the School Nurse Services Credential Program

Provision and application of concepts needed for nursing practice in the schools. Focuses on the three major competencies of school nursing practice: providing health and wellness services, providing direct client care services for school-age children (pre-K through age 22), and professional management of school nursing services. Emphasis is on the foundations of school nursing practice, legal and ethical issues, and management of episodic illness and chronic health conditions.

Prerequisite: NURS 850

Provision and application of concepts needed for nursing practice in the schools. Focuses on three major competencies of school nursing practice: providing health and wellness services, providing direct client care services for school-age children (pre-K through age 22, including students with special healthcare needs), and professional management of school nursing services. Emphasis is on health promotion programs for preschool through adolescence, issues relating to adolescent health, the role of the school nurse in behavior assessment and management including considerations for students receiving special education services, and health service program coordination and management.

Prerequisite: Admission to the School Nurse Services Credential Program

Presents techniques related to the physical assessment, in the school or home setting, of the child, age birth through 18 years. Emphasis is on the common morbidities and mortalities of these age groups including the interrelationship of the physical, emotional, and socioeconomic causes of health problems and illnesses. Requires an otoscope and stethoscope. Individual practice is required outside of class.

Prerequisite: Admission to the School Nurse Services Credential Program

Theory and practice of detecting idiopathic scoliosis, visual disorders resulting from inadequate refraction, ocular mal-alignment, and color deficiency in the school setting. The pathophysiology of said conditions will be presented, the nursing role delineated, and opportunities for paired screening practice provided.

Prerequisite: Admission to the School Nurse Services Credential Program

Presentation of science behind vaccine-preventable illnesses, as well as immunization recommendations and schedules. Presentation of the critical role school nurses play in providing students, families, and school employees with accurate immunization information and access to immunization resources, promoting vaccine compliance and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Prerequisite: None

The interactions among school districts, community healthcare providers, and healthcare insurers, healthcare decision making at the population level, and the social and economic environment of healthcare are explored. Concepts and theories of public policy-making, relevant political systems in the context of health care delivery in the U.S., and effective leadership models for influencing healthcare and health policy are explored.

Prerequisite: NURS 850 and concurrent enrollment in NURS 851

Application of a planned sequence of supervised clinical experiences in one or more California public school districts offering nursing services to infants, children and adolescents for the purpose of developing a clinical leadership role in school nursing. Focuses on the three major competencies of school nursing practice: providing health and wellness services, providing direct client care services for school-age children (pre-K through age 22, including students with special healthcare needs), and professional management of school nursing services.