September 22, 2022

In the recently released NASN School Nurse Chat 3-part series on OTC Medicine Safety, NASN Executive Director Donna Mazyck, MS, RN, NCSN, CAE, discusses OTC medication administration and safety in schools and safe storage, carry, and disposal practices with a group of experts. 

To improve the structure, processes, and outcomes of medication administration in schools, we encourage you to view the School Nursing Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline: Medication Administration in Schools. To help school nurses implement evidence-based recommendations offered in the guideline, check out the Medication Administration in Schools Implementation Toolkit. 

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NASN is pleased to present the Building Family Confidence in the COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit - Framing Strategies for School Nurses, designed and written by the FrameWorks Institute, as part of the Champions for School Health project, which aims to increase confidence in and access to pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations. 

This toolkit offers evidence-backed tips and techniques to support more productive conversations and communications about getting children vaccinated. The resources can equip you to build the confidence of families who have not yet vaccinated their children against COVID-19.

Whether you are a seasoned school nurse or in your first year on the job, NASN’s Back-to-School Toolkit highlights the resources you need to promote the health and well-being of students all in one convenient place. The toolkit includes NASN’s Framework for 21st Century School Nursing™, advocacy tools, NASN’S School Nurse Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines, a Back-to-School Checklist for School Nurses, and so much more!

Are you a DNP student, DNP faculty, nurse who has a DNP, nurse who is contemplating one, or a school nurse interested in clinical scholarship and change leadership? NASN invites you to join the new DNP School Nurse Net Community. Martha Bergren, the Executive Editor of The Journal of School Nursing, is the moderator of this supportive virtual community of fellow clinical scholars and implementation specialists aiming to increase the dissemination and translation of evidence into practice and to catapult policy change for the improved health of children, families, and school communities. 

School nurses must identify and advocate for change when student safety is at risk. Using a population-focused approach, one Illinois nurse successfully sought legislation to address the need for undesignated glucagon in all Illinois schools. The NASN School Nurse article, Undesignated Glucagon in Illinois: An Issue of Access and Equity, tells her story and describes the steps all school nurses can take to make a population-level change through legislative advocacy.

In The NASN School Nurse September Podcast, NASN School Nurse Editor Cynthia Galemore interviews author Lee Anne Siegmund about the article, "Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drugs and Substances: The Role of the School Nurse."

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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.

• Four Reasons We Need School Nurses Now More Than Ever (Source: rwjf.org)
• Dallas ISD nurses connect families with immunization resources to keep students healthy (Source: thehub.dallasisd.org)
• Goodbye to COVID Vaccine, Testing Mandates. What That Means for Schools (Source: edweek.org)
• Miracle near 29th Street: Bryan High School junior survives sudden collapse with help from students, teachers, nurses (Source: theeagle.com)
• Maughan Awarded Jeffress Trust Grant to Build Virginia School Health & Equity Research Consortium (Source: nursing.gmu.edu)
• WGU Washington graduate program aims to fill school nursing gaps (Source: crosscut.com)

Improving Care Coordination for Students with Chronic Health Conditions Toolkit

Care Coordination is one of the five principles in NASN’S Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice^TM. In April 2018, NASN convened the Strategy to Action Roundtable to identify key components of a collaborative approach to manage chronic health conditions in school-age children. The resulting white paper, Translating Strategies into Actions to Improve Care Coordination for Students with Chronic Health Conditions, ended with a call to action for meeting participants to work together in the school community. The roundtable also resulted in a call to action for NASN to develop additional tools and resources to support school nurses in leading care coordination for students with chronic health conditions. This toolkit answers that call.

The CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations, including all primary series doses and boosters for their age group. You can help families or students check if they are up to date here and find out if and when they can get a booster. People can visit vaccines.gov (English) or vacunas.gov (Spanish) to search for vaccines nearby.

• For resources to help educate the public about COVID-19 vaccines, visit the Department of Health & Human Services We Can Do This campaign.

View the CDC's Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning highlighting the prevention principles to minimize the individual and societal impacts of COVID-19. Additionally, the CDC has published guidance on Ventilation in Schools and Childcare Programs including an Interactive School Ventilation Tool that shows how particle levels change as you adjust ventilation settings. 

On June 22, 2022, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) recommending substituting the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV-13) with PCV-15. Documented benefits for certain persons younger than 19 years old are the driving influence for the recommendation. Learn more about this guidance, the research, and the students that may expect to see this substitution.

The ANA Innovation Awards, sponsored by Stryker, recognize and highlight the innovative work happening across the nursing profession. Awards will be presented to a nurse and a nurse-led team whose product, program, project, or practice best exemplifies nurse-led innovation in patient safety and/or outcomes. Applications must be submitted by November 4, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. ET. 

Join us for the fourth and final 2022 Attendance Awareness Campaign webinar, What Works to Sustain Engagement and Attendance?, on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET. Diverse speakers will describe local and state bright spots that showcase successful strategies for sustaining student and family engagement and student attendance. You'll hear strategies to address the educational disparities exacerbated by the pandemic. Learn more and register today.

September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month. Hispanics or Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic minority population in the U.S. Health disparities continue to severely impact our nation’s health. Learn about health initiatives important for Hispanic health from the CDC.

See NASN's resources on cultural responsiveness and equity.

According to the CDC, Hispanics are more likely to develop chronic health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. The threat of COVID-19 has increased health risks for people with these underlying conditions. During this observance month, let's bring attention to the importance of COVID-19 vaccination and help promote vaccine equity. See CDC's COVID-19 vaccine equity for racial and ethnic minority groups resources.

Created by the World Heart Federation, World Heart Day informs people around the globe that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 18.6 million lives each year, and highlights the actions that individuals can take to prevent and control CVD. There are many ways to get involved, find resources, and more here.

• Illinois Association of School Nurses Annual Conference - 65 Years of Improving Child Health Outcomes: School Nurses Leading the Path Towards Health Equity - September 30-October 1 - Learn more and Register

• Florida Association of School Nurses Face to Face 27th Annual Conference - Celebrating School Nurses in Supporting Student Success - October 14-15 - Learn more and Register

• Kansas School Nurses Organization - 46th Annual Governor's Conference for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect - October 11-20 - Learn more and Register

• Tennessee Association of School Nurses Fall 2022 Conference - Advancing the Professional Practice of the School Nurse: One Life at a Time - November 2-3 - Learn more and Register

• Texas School Nurse Organization Conference -Promoting student health by building resiliency - November 4-6 (Save the Date) Learn more and Register

• Virginia Association of School Nurses Fall Conference - 36th Annual Fall Conference - November 5-6 (Save the Date) Learn more and Register

• West Virginia Association of School Nurses Annual Fall Conference - Back to Basics - November 10-12 - Learn more and Register

• Annual North Carolina School Nurse Conference - School Health: A Time to Reflect, Celebrate, and Refocus - December 8-9, 2022 - Learn more and Register

• Overseas School Health Nurse Association Spring Conference 2023 - March 26-27, 2023 - Learn more and Pre-register