As with all other professional roles, some school nurses are wonderful resources, and others...not so much. I think the best ones care about children professionally (not in an over-involved, personal way), are extremely knowledgeable and competent in their own profession, and know what their roles are in the school. Where I've seen issues, it's usually been in one of these areas. A typical scenario is if the nurse (or other professional role) attempts to act outside of his/her expertise, such as by making unfounded determinations regarding the presence or absence of mental illness. Another one is when the staff member loses objectivity about a child, due to personal relationships (either positive or negative) with the child or the child's parent, for instance, either discounting or blindly believing uncorroborated reports about a child's behavior, based on preconceived notions.
