Korean School Nurses’ Perceptions of the Scope of Practice and Workload: A Qualitative Study for Developing Workload Indicators Specific to School Nursing

This study explored Korean school nurses' perceptions of their professional roles and workload within the updated National Association of School Nurses (NASN) School Nursing Practice Framework. Four focus group interviews with 23 school nurses from elementary, middle, and high schools were conducted in July 2022. Sessions were held online, audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes and 13 subthemes were identified, each mapped to the NASN framework's five core domains-Standards of Practice, Care Coordination, Leadership, Quality Improvement, and Community/Public Health. This study is the first to apply the NASN framework to examine how Korean school nurses interpret their roles and manage expanding responsibilities. Findings underscore the need for system-level guidelines, standardized workload indicators, and appropriate school nurse staffing models to ensure sustainable school health services and support the professional wellbeing of school nurses.