Listen to The Journal of School Nursing April Podcast

In this month's Podcast, Martha Dewey Bergren, editor of The Journal of School Nursing (JOSN), interviews author Anindita Issa and Erin D. Maughan to discuss the article "Feasibility Assessment of a School Nurse-Led Approach Using Chronic Absenteeism to Establish the School-Based Active Surveillance (SBAS) Process," sharing what was learned from the feasibility assessment of a nurse-led SBAS pilot to track chronic absenteeism using myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) as an exemplar. 

See NASN's NCPD program on ME/CFS and Long-COVID.

Paid advertisement

Last Chance to Vote in the 2023 NASN Election

Vote now to choose NASN's next president-elect, secretary/treasurer, and nominating committee member. Cast your vote before midnight ET this Saturday, April 15, 2023. Meet the candidates and access the online ballot. (Eligible voting members have Active or Honorary membership types.) 

The Value of School Nurses Must Be Recognized

School nurses have faced many professional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The JOSN research article, School Nurse Experiences and Changes to Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic, describes the perspectives of school nurses working through the COVID-19 pandemic, illuminating school nursing pandemic experiences, silver linings found, barriers and facilitators of practice, and actions that may support individual nurses and the specialty going forward. School nurses are encouraged to leverage opportunities for visibility to enhance recognition of their role; policymakers and the public must recognize the value of school nurses.

• In the NASN NCPD program, Self-Promotion and Empowerment to Improve the Social Perception of School Nursing, participants are invited to challenge the social perception around school nursing, learn the importance of self-and professional promotion, and be equipped with tools to develop this skill.

NASN members receive a subscription to JOSN and can sign up for new content alerts to get notified when the latest issue and articles are published online.

The latest issue of the Learn to Return newsletter features a Spotlight on Moses Lake School District and how Liz Pray, Washington State NASN Director and school nurse at Moses Lake High School, pushed for school-based COVID-19 testing to expand access for those in the community who needed it most. This month’s Spotlight covers Liz’s journey to launch testing at the school in the fall of 2021 and her work to sustain testing through the Omicron surge that winter.

Learn to Return is a service of Health Commons Project, a NASN Champions for School Health project grantee, and a Washington-based nonprofit that closes health equity gaps in underinvested communities.

The following are two paid advertisements

This section highlights news stories featuring NASN and school nurses. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

• CDC: COVID-19 mitigation efforts more likely in schools with nurses (Source: k12dive.com)
• School Nurse and Teacher Save Student Who Went Into Cardiac Arrest (Source: nurse.org)
• Lenape nurse receives excellence award (Source: trentonian.com)
• Opinion: Having more nurses in public schools will benefit students’ health (Source: ninertimes.com)
• Heart heroes: New Madrid Elementary students raise $11,000 for American Heart Association (Source: standard-democrat.com)
• Child Abuse: Thoughts From a School Nurse (Source: allnurses.com)
• Region 16, Department of State Health Services host workshop to help school nurses (Source: abc7amarillo.com)

Resources for School Nurses Caring for Students with Type 1 Diabetes

NASN’s Children with Diabetes page contains resources to assist school nurses in providing evidence-based quality care to students with type 1 diabetes (T1D). There you'll find NASN's School Nursing Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline: Students with Type 1 Diabetes providing practice recommendations and strategies to improve the health and safety of the school-age child with T1D, School Nursing Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline: Students with Type 1 Diabetes Toolkit helping school nurses implement those recommendations and more.

See also in the NASN Learning Center: Skills-based Approach to Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Schools: Online. This free interactive educational program helps you apply the NASN Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™ to chronic health condition management in schools and provides 4.25 NCPD contact hours.

View these two previously recorded webinars from the National Environmental Education Foundation in celebration of Earth Month this April: 

• Using Nature to Improve Health and Wellbeing - This webinar introduces how outdoor access improves physical and mental wellbeing, examines community needs and barriers to getting outside, and provides examples of nature-based trauma-informed care programs.  

• Nature-Based Trauma-Informed Care in BIPOC Communities – This webinar explores how BIPOC communities can use nature as a tool for building mental and physical resilience even when nature access is limited.

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and its partners, Child Trends and Mental Health America, are hosting the webinar “States and Districts Working Together to Advance Comprehensive School Employee Wellness” on Tuesday, April 18, at 2 pm ET. Now, more than ever, school leaders are thinking about how to promote well-being among their staff. This conversation will focus on supporting school employee wellness to create meaningful and sustainable improvements. Register today.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, the Social Security Administration will host the 23rd National Disability Forum (NDF), “Focusing on Aspects of Childhood Disability and Childhood SSI – Part I.” The panel will include School Nurse MaryAnn Strawhacker and focus on overcoming potential barriers to Childhood SSI, developing non-medical evaluation evidence, and specific medical evaluation issues. To participate, please register by Monday, April 17, 2023.

On May 11, 2023, the public health emergency (PHE) will expire. There will be changes in COVID-19 healthcare costs, insurance coverage and renewals, and food benefits. These changes are likely to disproportionately impact some refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities. Join this webinar on April 20, at 3:30 pm ET, to learn how the end of the PHE may impact RIM communities and what steps to take before May 11 to support RIM community members. Register today.

April is National Stress Awareness Month, and CDC Healthy Schools is highlighting its classroom resource portal for teachers, BAM! Body and Mind. The portal has many resources to support students dealing with stress to bolster their mental health, covering everything from bullying and COVID-19 to hygiene.

• NASN Resources: Managing stress is essential to a healthy lifestyle. School nurses can experience profound grief, dysfunction, pain, and anguish as they support students, families, and school staff. For Stress Month, check out the NASN NCPD program Coping Strategies and Interventions for Secondary Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout for School Nurses.

• Ohio Association of School Nurses 2023 Annual Conference - Good as Gold, Celebrating 50 Years of Ohio Nurses - April 14-16, 2023 - Learn more

• Louisiana School Nurses Organization: 53rd Annual LSNO Professional Growth Seminar - April 18-21, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Wisconsin Association of School Nurses Annual Conference - Improving the Inclusivity and Visibility of School Nurses - April 26-28, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• 2023 Annual Iowa School Nurse Conference - Back in the Saddle - April 28-29, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Nevada State Association of School Nurses 2023 Spring Conference - Up for the Challenge - April 29, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• 2023 New England School Nurse Conference (Association of School Nurses of Connecticut) - School Nurses: Essential Anchors During Changing Times - May 6-7, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Utah School Nurse Association Annual Spring Conference - May 11-12, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• 2023 Mississippi School Nurse Association Conference - Transformation Through Adversity: The Resilient School Nurse - May 31 -June 2, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• South Carolina Association of School Nurses 21st Annual School Nurse Summer Conference - Riding the Wave of Resiliency - June 11 -13, 2023 - Learn more

• School Nurses of Arizona 34th Annual School Health Conference - Back to Basics: The ABC's of School Nursing - June 12 -13, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• 2023 Georgia Association of School Nurses Annual School Nurse Conference - Restore our Light - June 13 -16, 2023 - Learn more and Register

NASN Calendar of Events

This calendar includes upcoming events hosted by NASN and NASN affiliate school nurse organizations. Access the calendar.

National Health Observances Calendar

This calendar lists special days, weeks, or months dedicated to raising awareness about important health topics. Access the 2023 calendar. 

Acceptance of advertising on the top or bottom ad banner or other ad placements in this newsletter or resource information listed within in no way implies endorsement of advertised or listed products or services by NASN.

No endorsement is intended or implied.