Parents' Perspectives on the Role and Value of School Nurses

This commentary highlights three themes from the stories contained within this issue of Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics. First, we discuss differing perceptions of school nurses' roles and responsibilities. Administrators, parents, and nurses often have different understandings of nurses' roles. We explain why these differences may lead to confusion and conflict. Second, we describe the respective pressures that parents and school nurses often face. Doing so should help parents and nurses better understand one another's views. Third, we explore ways in which parents and nurses sometimes disagree over what is "best" for children. Drawing on work by John Moskop, we argue that resolving disagreement often requires identifying the factual, emotional, normative, and/or practical roots of conflict. As parents of children with medically complex needs, we consider each of these themes in that context. We conclude by affirming the contributors' claims that school nurses play a vital role in the care of children.