Weekly Digest from NASN View as Webpage Weekly Digest NASN news & updates March 10, 2022 Registration Open! NASN News and Highlights See more. Upcoming Events See more. Weekly Digest Archive See past issues. Follow on Social ‌ ‌ ‌ President's Message Late last week, the White House released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, a roadmap to help the U.S. move America forward safely in fighting COVID-19, to a time when the pandemic does not disrupt daily life, but becomes something that we can protect against, prepare for, and prevent. The plan outlines activities and investments that will be needed in the fight against the COIVD-19 pandemic. The National Association of School Nurses applauds the plan’s continued investments in public health infrastructure, including investments so schools can hire additional school nurses. As the plan states, “As demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, school nurses are invaluable assets to our school communities, advancing the health and safety needs of students and families in the pandemic and far beyond.” Read NASN's full statement. Linda Mendonça, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC, NCSN, FNASN NASN President BETTER HEALTH. BETTER LEARNING. ™ NASN News and Highlights School Nurse Mental Health Survey We invite you to participate in a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with NASN and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants.  The goal of this project is to evaluate experiences and protective factors during the pandemic and their impact on school nurses’ mental health.  All school nurses who currently work or worked in schools during the 2021-2022 school year are eligible to participate. Your participation in this timely and important project will help provide insight into experiences, stressors, and protective factors among school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing information on your experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, you will help inform key stakeholders so they can take appropriate actions. TAKE THE SURVEY Paid advertisement NASN Position Statement (update): LGBTQ Students It is the position of NASN that, to provide culturally competent care, school staff and communities should institute affirming policies that support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth. These include bullying, health risk behaviors, and rejection from family and friends. These challenges can cause adverse mental and physical health effects such as depression and suicidal ideation. Nurses are uniquely positioned to help LGBTQ youth by creating LGBTQ-affirming spaces, guiding youth toward resources, advocating for school-wide protections,, and assuring youth that their identities and feelings are normal and appropriate. READ THE STATEMENT 2022 NASN Election Opens Tuesday, March 15 Are you a voting member? Don’t miss your chance to vote in this year’s election. Ballots may be cast online until April 15, 2022, at midnight. Candidates listed here have completed the Nominating Committee process and are running for office. Vice President Candidate - Francis Luna Nominating Committee Candidate - Karen Elliott NASN March Podcast: Supporting Students With Long COVID School-age children are not immune to COVID-19 or the pronounced and persistent symptoms associated with a long-COVID diagnosis. Students may present with a variety of symptoms affecting their physical, cognitive, and mental health. The school community should be educated on the school-based interventions and recommendations for creating an individualized safe and successful return to school plan. In this podcast, hear NASN School Nurse Editor Cynthia Galemore interview authors Megan Roesler and Patricia Fato about the article, "Long COVID - The New “Invisible” Illness: How School Nurses Can Support the Nursing and Educational Teams for Student Success." LISTEN TO PODCAST Meet the Editor Bimonthly Web Meeting In the sixth meeting in the web series Meet the Editor, The Journal of School Nursing Editor, Dr. Martha Dewey Bergren, will provide brief tips for authors and will field comments and questions from aspiring authors during this interactive meeting. Learners will be able to list the characteristics of a well-crafted manuscript title and cite the ideal length of a manuscript title. SEATING IS LIMITED to the first 100 slots! Join us at 3:30 p.m. EST on March 15, 2022. REGISTER FOR WEB MEETING Assessing Substance Abuse Risk in Students The NASN learning module provides learners with an understanding of the CRAFFT 2.1 and CRAFFT 2.1+N assessment tools geared toward school-age students to assess potential substance and nicotine use and/or abuse. Content includes the importance of maintaining student confidentiality, the different risk levels identified in the assessment tool, how to administer the assessment tool in the school setting, and reflecting on how to change daily practices. 1.5 NCPD CNE. REGISTER We Want to See YOU! School Nurse Photo Submission Send in your best school nurse selfies or photos and we will feature them on our social media! Show us doing what you love, your school or office, or even a selfie. No photos of students, please! Submit your photos. School Nurses in the News 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.  I'm a school nurse whose work changed overnight. The politics have been frustrating — but there's no job I'd rather do. (Source: businessinsider.com) The School Nurse Shortage Is Getting Worse (Source: dicovermagazine.com) School nurses perform a wide array of services (Source: conwaydailysun.com) Rotary Club bestows “Service Above Self” Award to FCS school nurse (Source: The Davison Index) NEWS9 Special Assignment: School nurses (Source: wtov9.com) Charleston school nurse receives national recognition (Source: counton2.com) Wawasee’s Sarah Bauer Named Top School Nurse In Indiana (Source: inkfreenews.com) COVID-19 Updates CDC Guidance: Wearing Masks on Buses or Vans Operated by Schools Effective February 25, 2022, the CDC does not require wearing masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/childcare programs. School systems can determine policies and procedures based on federal, state and local control. Students using public transportation to and from school will need to continue to wear a mask in compliance with the Federal Mask Mandate for Transit through March 18, 2022. Learn more. Know Your COVID-19 Community Level COVID-19 Community Levels is a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high. Hospital beds in use, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area will determine community levels. School nurses can use the map of the U.S. by county to track the community level of transmission for your school(s), which is updated weekly. Prioritizing Case Investigation and Contact Tracing New guidance for state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments includes the advice that universal case investigation and contact tracing are not recommended for COVID-19. Health department jurisdictions should prioritize specific settings and groups at increased risk. STLT health departments may still provide technical assistance and support to K-12 schools and districts that choose to continue with case investigation and contact tracing, particularly if they are implementing test to stay (TTS) strategies. CDC guidance for K-12 Schools, Early Childhood Education, and Higher Education is coming soon. NASN2022 Key Details See the Health and Safety Protocols. Early Bird Special: Register by April 18, 2022 Make your travel plans. See the FAQs. NASN’s 54th Annual School Nurse Conference offers several options for attending in-person, online, or bundling both together. Make plans now to attend and get the best rates before April 18. We are excited to be in Atlanta for this year's conference. Don't forget to make your hotel reservations when you register. We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The cutoff date for the conference hotel rate is June 2, 2022. You may also want to plan some time to sightsee and check out what Atlanta has to offer. The Discover Atlanta visitor's website has a number of activities, resources, and discounts for our conference attendees. We look forward to seeing you in person in Atlanta, Georgia, June 28 – 30, 2022! Managing Chronic Health Conditions CDC ME/CFS in Children Fact Sheets Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in adolescents and younger children is a complicated condition that can be challenging for the child and everyone involved in caring for the child. Check out printer-friendly fact sheets with information about ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, parents/guardians, and education professionals who care for adolescents and younger children. Additional Resources: The CDC has also worked with the Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) to feature web links to content in the pediatric section of the CDC's ME/CFS website. Improving School Community & Student Health USA TODAY Article: Calls for Schools to Stock Naloxone In 2016, NASN put out a position statement encouraging naloxone in schools. NASN also has an online naloxone toolkit for school nurses. In this USA TODAY article published earlier this week, NASN President Linda Mendonca suggested school nurses who want their schools to start stocking naloxone could use the position statement as support. “School nurses should be advocating for the safety of students, whether it be in your school or at the state legislature,” she said. “We all have a role to play here. We need school nurses to advocate and to help protect their school communities.” READ ARTICLE Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship Program Applications Open In 2019, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) launched the first-of-its-kind Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship program. This program trains nurses to work with communities in tackling serious environmental health issues with an emphasis on climate and health equity. ANHE is excited to announce the launch of a second cohort of the Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship Program from June 1, 2022 - May 31, 2023. The submission deadline is March 20, 2022; participants will be notified of acceptance by April 8. ANHE is seeking applicants for both fellows and mentors. There are a total of 24 spots for nurse fellows and 8 spots for nurse mentors. Become a nursing leader in environmental health! Learn more and apply. Please contact Cara Cook at [email protected] with any questions. Announcing the Release of the Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention Rates of attempted suicide and suicidal thoughts among youth have risen in recent years, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-24 in the United States. This trend has been exacerbated by stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating – and preventable – losses in life reveal real-time gaps in the nation’s mental health services and disparities in access to treatment. To address these needs, NASN has partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), in collaboration with experts from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to create a Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention. This comprehensive document aims to support pediatric health clinicians in identifying strategies and partnerships to support children and teens at risk for suicide. View the Press Release. National Poison Prevention Week 2022 National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW) is the third full week in March each year. It's a week dedicated to raising awareness to poison control centers and the Poison Help Hotline (1-800-222-1222). NPPW 2022 is March 20-26, 2022. School nurses can post and share resources in their schools. All events will be available to view on AAPCC's Facebook page here. March is National Nutrition Month® National Nutrition Month® is an annual nutrition education and information campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign, celebrated each year during the month of March, focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. In addition, National Nutrition Month® promotes the Academy and its members to the public and the media as the most valuable and credible source of timely, scientifically-based food and nutrition information. NASN Resources: Local school districts benefit greatly by having the school nurse involved with or leading the development of their school wellness policy. School nurses are positioned to take the lead in efforts aimed at improving the quality of students’ dietary intake in the school setting. School nurses have knowledge and expertise in the areas of nutrition, weight maintenance, and exercise. View NASN Health and Practice Topic: School Wellness Mark Your Calendar Deadline for NASN Election Nominations Tuesday, March 15 During the next election cycle, NASN will seek candidates for the office of President-Elect 2023-2025, Secretary/Treasurer 2023-2025 and for membership on the Nominating Committee 2023-2025. Learn more and Nominate HIMSS22: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society March 14 - March 18 Explore the power of innovation to re-imagine health at HIMSS22: the premier global healthcare conference. Choose your path to attend: in-person, digital, or both. NASN is excited to be a Collaborator of HIMSS22! View registration instructions Florida Association of School Nurses Town Hall Tuesday, March 22 Join for open dialog, networking and support. Discussions: What are you doing to support your students, families and school nurses? How can FASN support you? Learn more and Register School Nurse Day Wednesday, May 11 Since 1972, National School Nurse Day has been set aside to recognize school nurses. National School Nurse Day was established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting.  The 2022 toolkit will be released soon. NASN’s Annual School Nurse Conference IN-PERSON NASN2022: June 28 – 30, 2022 VIRTUAL NASN2022: July 11 – 13, 2022 NASN2022 BUNDLE: Includes both options NASN’s 54th Annual School Nurse Conference will offer two separate learning events in 2022 to meet the needs of all school nurses, amid pandemic health, travel and economic concerns.  Learn more and Register State Associations of School Nurses' Conferences New Jersey State School Nurses Association Virtual Spring Conference - NJ School Nurses: A Force for the Future - March 19 - Learn more and Register Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners Conference - Moving On and Moving Up - March 24-April 23 - Learn more and Register Delaware School Nurse Association Winter Conference - 911...OOPPSS..Nurses Office, What's Your Emergency? - March 26 - Learn more and Register Ohio Association of School Nurses 49th Annual Conference - Where Perseverance Meets Passion - April 1-April 3 - Learn more and Register Missouri Association of School Nurses: Annual Spring Conference 2022 - School Nurses: Helping Students Soar to New Heights - April 2 & 3 - Learn more and Register Oregon School Nurses Association Spring Conference 2022 - Strengthening the Essentials - April 21-April 22 - Learn more and Register Utah School Nurse Association: Annual Spring Conference - Healthy Children are Better Learners - May 5 & 6 - 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. NASN CALENDAR National Health Observances Calendar This calendar lists special days, weeks, or months dedicated to raising awareness about important health topics. Access the 2021 calendar. OBSERVANCES CALENDAR Acceptance of advertising on the ad banner 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. NASN | nasn.org National Association of School Nurses | 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 925, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]