Case study: School-based care for a girl and her primary caregiver experiencing difficulties in managing diabetes treatment.

PURPOSE: To describe the use of the nursing process and standardized nursing language by the school nurse to facilitate the monitoring of the therapeutic regimen of a girl with type 1 diabetes mellitus and her caregiver.

METHODS

Data were collected through clinical reports, observation, and physical examination of the girl and through interviews with her and her caregiver in accordance with Virginia Henderson's conceptual model.

FINDINGS: Clinical reasoning informed the selection of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses. NIC nursing interventions were selected taking into consideration the available scientific evidence related to the care of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSIONS

The school nurse is a key figure in improving and supporting the monitoring of the prescribed therapeutic regimen for children with chronic disease.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: This case demonstrates the importance of adopting a conceptual model to guide the nursing process, as well as showing that standardized nursing languages are suitable for school nursing practice.