Lead School Nurse

Confluence Academies seeks a Lead School Nurse to provide network-wide leadership, coordination, clinical guidance, and quality assurance for school health services across all academy locations. This position serves as the primary nursing liaison among school-based health personnel, network administration, families, healthcare providers, public health agencies, and community partners. The Lead Nurse maintains clinical competence and provides direct nursing services, consultation, and coverage when circumstances require, while supporting the health, safety, attendance, and educational access of students throughout the network.

Reporting to the Director of Student Services and Family Involvement, you will work under limited supervision within established organizational policies and professional nursing standards, exercising independent nursing judgment within the scope of licensure.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, direction, coaching, technical assistance, and professional support to school nurses and other personnel providing health-related services to promote consistent, high-quality nursing practice across all schools
• Coordinate the network school health services program to establish consistent procedures, documentation practices, service expectations, and systems of care across school sites
• Develop, recommend, implement, review, and monitor school health procedures and protocols in collaboration with administrators to align network practices with Missouri requirements, professional nursing standards, Board policies, and organizational expectations
• Monitor health-service documentation and compliance practices including health records, immunization information, medication records, screenings, referrals, individualized health plans, emergency action plans, and incident documentation
• Provide leadership in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the school health program to identify student and school-community health needs and support measurable health outcomes
• Coordinate and provide mandated and recommended health screenings and follow-up processes to identify potential health concerns and facilitate referrals
• Oversee and support safe medication administration practices, treatments, standing orders, emergency protocols, and nursing procedures
• Develop, review, and support implementation of individualized healthcare plans and emergency action plans for students with acute, chronic, medically complex, and disability-related health needs
• Provide consultation and nursing expertise to school teams participating in Section 504, special education/IEP, student assistance, attendance, crisis, and other interdisciplinary processes when student health needs are implicated
• Coordinate nursing coverage and assist in resolving health-office staffing needs across the network to maintain continuity of essential health services
• Provide direct nursing care, assessment, first aid, medication administration, emergency response, and temporary school coverage when needed
• Assess and assist with complex or high-risk student health situations to determine appropriate nursing interventions and coordinate care with families and healthcare providers
• Coordinate communicable disease prevention, surveillance, response, and communication practices in collaboration with public health authorities and administrators
• Support network emergency preparedness and response by reviewing health-related emergency procedures, student-specific emergency plans, AED/CPR readiness, emergency medications, and staff training needs
• Exercise professional nursing judgment regarding delegation of appropriate nursing-related tasks and provide training, competency verification, monitoring, and supervision consistent with the Missouri Nurse Practice Act
• Coordinate orientation, onboarding, professional development, and continuing education for school nurses and appropriate health-services personnel
• Provide or coordinate training for school personnel on student-specific health needs and other appropriate health and safety topics including emergency action plans, medication procedures, CPR/AED, first aid, infection control, and recognition of urgent health conditions
• Assist the Director of Student Services and Family Involvement and Human Resources with recruitment, selection, onboarding, performance feedback, evaluation, and corrective performance processes involving school nursing personnel
• Review health-office operations, supplies, equipment, and resource needs across schools to support safe, functional, appropriately equipped health-service environments
• Collect, analyze, and report school health services data including clinic utilization, screenings, referrals, medication activity, injuries, chronic health needs, and communicable disease trends
• Collaborate with parents/guardians, healthcare providers, school administrators, teachers, counselors, special education personnel, public health agencies, and community partners to coordinate services and address student health needs
• Serve as the primary nursing liaison to network administration to communicate health-service needs, emerging concerns, regulatory developments, and program recommendations
• Maintain awareness of current school nursing standards, evidence-based practices, Missouri school-health guidance, laws, regulations, and professional requirements
• Respond to and support reporting of student health and safety concerns, suspected abuse or neglect, communicable disease concerns, and other reportable matters
• Promote health education, prevention, wellness, and access to community resources
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Clinical Setting

Work is performed across school campuses, offices, and community partner sites. Regular travel among network schools is required. The position generally requires 80% sitting, 10% walking, and 10% standing. Some lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling is required, along with significant fine finger dexterity. The work environment is generally clean and healthy.

Required Qualifications

• Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in the State of Missouri, or eligibility to obtain and maintain Missouri RN licensure prior to employment
• Degree from an accredited professional nursing program
• Demonstrated professional nursing experience relevant to serving children and adolescents and/or working in a school, pediatric, community health, public health, or comparable setting
• Current CPR/Basic Life Support and AED certification, or ability to obtain and maintain required certification within the timeframe established by Confluence Academies
• Ability to maintain all licenses, certifications, clearances, and continuing education required for the position
• Criminal Background Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
• Prior school nursing experience
• Prior leadership, supervisory, lead nurse, program-coordination, or comparable nursing leadership experience
• Experience coordinating nursing or health services across multiple schools, sites, programs, or facilities
• Experience providing professional development, coaching, onboarding, or technical guidance to nurses and other personnel responsible for student health services

Required Skills and Knowledge

• Apply professional nursing judgment
• Assess student health needs
• Administer first aid, medications, and nursing treatments
• Respond to medical emergencies
• Develop health and emergency action plans
• Coordinate services across multiple locations
• Train and coach adults
• Maintain accurate and confidential records
• Analyze health-services data
• Communicate effectively with diverse audiences
• Use clinical and standard office equipment
• Use pertinent software applications
• Read and interpret technical, clinical, regulatory, and legal information
• Compose a variety of documents
• Facilitate group discussions and training
• Analyze situations and draw sound conclusions
• Understand professional school nursing standards
• Apply pediatric, family, community, and public health nursing practices
• Understand stages of child and adolescent development
• Manage chronic and complex health conditions
• Provide emergency care
• Administer medications
• Implement infection prevention and communicable disease control
• Conduct health screenings
• Maintain confidentiality
• Manage student health records
• Apply delegation and supervision principles
• Understand applicable Missouri school-health requirements and Nurse Practice Act provisions
• Understand Section 504 and special education processes as they relate to health services
• Know pertinent Board policies and organizational procedures
• Plan, coordinate, prioritize, and evaluate network-wide activities
• Work independently and collaboratively
• Respond calmly and effectively to urgent and complex situations
• Adapt to changing priorities
• Manage detailed information and data
• Establish effective working relationships with students, families, staff, administrators, healthcare providers, and community partners

Employment Status

This is an exempt position.