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Actions the school nurse can undertake to reduce the
interference of mental health problems
on school performance: |
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| 1.
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Provide mental health
promotion activities at school to enhance self-esteem, problem-solving techniques,
positive coping skills, and anger and nonviolent conflict management |
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| 2. |
Educate school staff
to enable them to identify the signs and symptoms of mental health problems |
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| 3. |
Provide on-going assessment,
intervention, and follow-up of the physical and mental health of the school community |
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| 4. |
Communicate care, concern, and a
desire to talk about problems. Your responsibility is not diagnosis or therapy, it
is the development of a compassionate and forthright conversation that ultimately helps a
student in trouble find understanding, support, and the proper therapeutic resources. |
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| 5. |
If the information you receive
is compelling, communicate to the student:
 Your tentative sense that that he or she might have an eating
disorder.- Your conviction that the matter clearly needs to be
evaluated.
-
Your understanding that participation in school, sports, or other
activities will not be jeopardized unless health has been compromised to the point where
such participation is dangerous.
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| 6. |
Avoid an argument or battle of
wills. Repeat the evidence, your concern, and if warranted your conviction that
something must be done. Terminate the conversation if it is going nowhere or if
either party becomes too upset. This impasse suggests the need for consultation from
a professional. |
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| 7. |
Through the process of detection,
referral, and recovery, the focus should be on the person feeling healthy and functioning
effectively, not weight, shape, or morality. |
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| 8. |
Do not intentionally or
unintentionally become the student's therapist, savior, or victim. Attempts to
"moralize," develop therapeutic plans, closely monitor the person's eating,
adjust one's life around the eating disorder, or cover for the person are not helpful. |
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| 9. |
Be knowledgeable about community
resources to which the student can be referred. In discussing the utility of these
resources, emphasize to the student that, since eating problems are very hard to overcome
on one's own, past unsuccessful attempts are not indicative of lack of effort or moral
failure. |
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| 10. |
Faculty should arrange for
some type of follow-up contact with the student. If you are often involved
with students with eating disorders, consultation with a professional who specializes in
eating disorders may be needed. |
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©
2005 National Eating Disorders
Association
Permission is granted to copy and reprint materials for educational purposes only.
National Eating Disorders Association must be cited and web address listed. www.NationalEatingDisorders.org
Informational and Referral Helpline: 800.931.2237 |
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| Additional Articles Below on Guidelines for The
Role of The Educator Meeting With and Referring Students Who May Have Eating
Disorders. |
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Tips for
School Nurses:
National Association of School Nurses Guidance |
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What Should I Say?
Tips forTalking to a Friend Who May Be
Struggling with an Eating Disorder |
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Athletes and Eating Disorders:
What Coaches, Parents, and Teammates
Need to Know |
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