Steps for ME1 New School Nurse

Steps for ME1 New School Nurse

STEPS FOR MENTORING EXPERIENCE ONE (ME1) NEW SCHOOL NURSE Welcome to School Nursing, a most challenging and fulfilling professional career! During the first few weeks of school, your School Nurse Mentor will be helping you to become familiar with your school/district/state procedures, policies, and requirements. As time goes on, s/he will help assure that you have completed the certification process and understand what you will need to do to attain the basic school nurse certificate and complete the mentoring and induction process to earn the continuing license. S/he will introduce you to other staff members and assist you with securing the resources that you may need to set up your health room to be effective in your new position. Some of the ways Mentors assist you: Provide 1:1 coaching for Mentoring Experience One (ME1) Familiarize you with school, district and state policies and procedures Show you the School Nurse Regulations Answer burning questions Help you in securing needed materials and supplies See that you have the appropriate technology, books, and professional material Discuss specific guidelines, responsibilities, and events that are unique to your building and school population Help you with electronic documentation and other important files Identify locations in the school that you will need to know library, cafeteria, playground, and others. Assure that you understand emergency policies and procedures Help you familiarize yourself with medication and treatment protocols Introduce you to Core Praxis, DEEDs, PDMS and DPAS II Set up your mentoring portfolio and Mentoring Experiences Ask questions, get clarifications, and ask for assistance when needed. The purpose of the program is not only to help you professionally, but to assure that you have the support that you need to be successful. Mentoring Experience One (ME1) of the program parallels the Comprehensive Induction Program for New Teacher s Year One that uses Danielson's Framework: The Classroom Environment. The goal of the program is to introduce and familiarize each new school nurse 1

with a unique and specialized area of nursing. The purpose of this experience is to help you to get a clear picture of your health room, school, and community environment. Nursing standards require that all nurses reflect on their practice, self-evaluate, and work on improvements of professional performance. The journey is a personal one. The length of time that you take to complete mentoring experiences is flexible. You should not be concerned if you and a colleague do not take the same amount of time to complete each area. DOCUMENTS USED IN MENTORING EXPERIENCE ONE (ME1): Must be included in the Induction Portfolio School Nurse Orientation Checklists (I-III) - These lists were created by Delaware School Nurses as a way to trigger discussion and information sharing as part of the orientation and induction of school nurses. Orientation I is to be completed before the start of the school year or immediately after hire. Orientation II is to be completed within two (2) weeks after Orientation I. Orientation III is to be completed within two (2) weeks after Orientation II. Include completed copies of each Orientation Checklist in your portfolio. New School Nurse School and District Resources Form - This is a list of individuals and contact information in many areas of the school community. Your Mentor will help you with this form. It will be a great resource. A copy must be included in your portfolio. New School Nurse School and District Resources Worksheet This worksheet provides guiding questions to use when you meet with key resource personnel within your school or district for the purpose of discussing mutual interest/concern. You will document these conversations on this worksheet. A copy must be included in your portfolio. Mentor Formative Observation Logs - These documents are to be completed by your Mentor during your observations. You will be given a copy of the log. The observations are to be a non-evaluative collection of data for reflection and improvement of practice. Copies must be included in your portfolio. Formative Feedback Discussion Logs (to be filled out by the Mentor) - These documents are to be completed as you and your mentor discuss your practice after each observation. You will be given a copy of the discussion log. This document is to celebrate your successes, identify your challenges, and determine what support and resources you may need to become more effective. Please note that this feedback document is not a formal evaluation. Copies must be included in your portfolio. 2

PROCEDURAL STEPS FOR TWO OBSERVATIONS AND FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSIONS: 1. Arrange with your Mentor to discuss how and when your school nurse practice will be observed. The Mentor will record notes of what he/she sees and hears during a minimum of 30 minutes. 2. Your Mentor will schedule a meeting soon after your observation. At that meeting, the Mentor will complete the discussion log as you discuss and review your current practice. At that point, you will be asked to choose one area of your practice as for the next School Health Practice observation. An example might be medication administration, because you noted that the students missed doses, came late, or your documentation was lax. At the conclusion of this meeting, you and your Mentor should determine any needs and/or resources you may want related to this area of practice and agree as to how and when they will be provided. 3. You should plan on refining your skills in the selected component for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. As you implement your plan, note changes that you see. If you implement the plan and feel that things are still challenging, let your Mentor know at once so that s/he can assist you. 4. Schedule a second observation date with your Mentor. Again, if appropriate, you may video this session. During that time the focus is on the component of focus that you selected. 5. Meet with your Mentor to complete the second discussion log and any notes or questions that you wish to share. Decide if this area of practice needs more changes or concentrated practice. At this point you will determine your next steps in the induction program process. If performance is in the "proficient' range you should move on to another area in which you need practice. If you still identify areas as "basic," you may want to refine your practice in these areas while working with your Mentor. Your Mentor is there to provide support and feedback. S/he may see improvement in the component you selected, but may want you to consider refining other areas before you move forward. Such suggestions are made to help assure that you are ultimately successful in your practice and in the formal evaluation by your administrator. However, in the end, it is your decision as to whether you continue to work on this area or move on. 3

SIGN OUT: At the end of this mentoring experience, you are to complete the Verification of Services form. This should not be done while you and your mentor are meeting. This is a personal statement. You only need to check the statements and sign the form. There is an opportunity for you to note any concerns that you may have. It is important that you be honest about your feelings. Send this form, with copies of the ME1 documents, to the Site Coordinator and keep a copy in your portfolio. NEW NURSE DOCUMENTATION COLLECTION: The basic documents should be kept in a portfolio (A binder labeled Comprehensive Induction Program for School Nurses) that must be kept for four years after the first Continuing License is issued. It is recommended that the portfolio become part of the nurse s permanent professional file. Documents for ME1 to be completed and kept in the portfolio: ** School Nurse Orientation Checklists (I-III) - These lists were created by Delaware School Nurses as a way to trigger discussion and information sharing as part of the orientation and mentoring of school nurses Orientation I is to be completed before the start of the school year or immediately after hire. Orientation II is to be completed within two (2) weeks after Orientation I. Orientation III is to be completed within two (2) weeks after Orientation II. New School Nurse School and District Resources Form New School Nurse School and District Resource Worksheet Two Mentor Formative Observation logs Two Mentor Formative Feedback Discussion Logs with notes Verification of Services Form: New School Nurse - Mentoring Experience One Verification of Services Form: School Nurse Mentor - Mentoring Experience One Mentoring Experience One Check-Out Form The DEEDs certification of completion for ME1 must be included in the portfolio. 4

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: *** If you move to another district/charter school during the period of time when you hold an Initial License, you are required to present the specified documents related to each of the Mentoring Experiences. Failure to provide the documentation may result in your not securing a position or being required to repeat some or all of the missing paperwork. Nurses must complete required coursework through the University of Delaware and the Department of Education for Mentoring Experience Two (ME2). A certificate of completion will be added to the portfolio as proof of ME2. A copy of this certificate is to be included in the portfolio. After each of the first three years of school nursing, the new nurse's portfolio should contain copies of his/her summative DPAS II evaluations. School Nurses moving from the Initial License to a Continuing License must have proof of two successful summative evaluations. Failure to have this part of the program completed may result in a required extension of the Initial License or the inability to secure a Continuing License. Please verify with your Mentor to assure that you are moving through the correct path of evaluation. You are to receive a summative evaluation at the end of each of your three years on the Initial License. A lesson analysis or informal observation is not a summative evaluation. In the event that administration does not provide you with a summative evaluation at the end of the year you should notify your nurse Mentor and the Site Coordinator. 5