November 3, 2022

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. Her story describes steps school nurses can take to make a population-level change through legislative advocacy.

In the NASN School Nurse November Podcast, NASN School Nurse Editor Cynthia Galemore interviews authors Jennifer Jacobs and Catherine Yonkaitis about the article "Undesignated Glucagon in Illinois: An Issue of Access and Equity."

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A new article about the study examining school nurse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicidal Ideation Among School Nurses in Prekindergarten through Grade 12 Schools, was released in The Journal of School Nursing. CDC collaborated with NASN and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC) to administer the first nationwide survey focusing on the mental health outcomes of school nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

School nurses play a critical role in keeping students healthy and ready to learn, often serving as liaisons between school personnel, families, healthcare professionals, and the community. Their mental health is integral to supporting the health of students and school staff and, ultimately, the well-being of families. There are school-based policies and practices that can help reduce workplace stressors and increase workplace supports for school nurses. Visit CDC Healthy Schools for specific findings and recommendations from the School Nurses Mental Health Study.

• To ensure you receive the latest full issues and up-to-date research, please sign up for JOSN's email alerts.

The online directory "shows" up on the NASN website in three different ways and is very private. Learn how you control whether or not you are visible in the online directory, why you should be visible, and manage your discussion list signature by reading this new NASN blog.

NASN is now accepting nominations for Fellow and Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of School Nursing. View descriptions and application procedures for these prestigious recognitions. Nominations are due by December 31.

NASN is seeking presenters for the NASN2023 annual conference, Building for the Future: Health, Advocacy, and Leadership. School nurses, researchers, and all focused on supporting students and school health services are encouraged to submit presentations. All submissions are due November 16, 2022, at noon ET. Learn more and submit.

Become familiar with the candidates stepping forward to lead NASN. In the upcoming election, NASN members will select a president-elect, secretary/treasurer, and a nominating committee member. All candidates have completed the nominating committee process. The election will be conducted online from March 15, 2023, to April 15, 2023. Meet the Candidates.

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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.

• Wisconsin DHS invests $8.3 million to hire, retain and train school nurses (Source: channel3000.com)
• More than cough drops and crackers: How school nurses are at the frontline of keeping students in classrooms (Source: kentuckyteacher.org)
• The Relentless School Nurse: A Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being from the U.S. Surgeon General (Source: relentlessschoolnurse.com)
• WCS Stop the Bleed training helps student, brother save another's life (Source: wataugademocrat.com)
• Save My Family, the impacts of social media on kids (Source: idahonews.com)
• Mission CISD nurses receive life-saving training (Source: krgv.com)
• Moral opposition to childhood vaccines increasing at local schools, data shows (Source: wright.edu)
• Perry Farm bench dedicated to BBCHS nurse known for caring nature, positivity (Source: daily-journal.com)

School Nurse-Led Case Management – Application of the Nursing Process

School nurses, refresh your perspective about how the application of the nursing process guides the provision of School Nurse-Led Case Management (SNLCM) for vulnerable students. This free course offers evidence-based current information, tools/resources, and strategies to support the confidence and competence of the school nurse role in promoting health equity for students with a known (asthma) and suspected (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - ME/CFS) health condition using SNLCM. Learn more and complete the course.

• See also: The School Nurse-Led Active Surveillance Manual, which guides school nurses in addressing health-related absences.

Many students enter school with a previously diagnosed chronic health condition necessitating school nurse management during the school day. 

School nurses should establish a consistent method of collecting an initial entry-into school health history intake and periodic updates for all students. This NASN School Nurse article, The Entry-Into School Health History Intake: The Starting Point for Care Coordination, discusses principles surrounding identifying students with health conditions, along with providing a sample intake form that is adaptable for both paper and electronic formatting collection of data.

• NASN Resources referenced in this article: NASN's Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™, Improving Care Coordination for Students with Chronic Health Conditions Toolkit, and the National School Health Data Set: Every Student Counts!

• Sign up for New Content email alerts for NASN School Nurse issues and articles.

Children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster aimed at both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Learn more in preparation to have richer discussions with the community at large.

• The Public Health Communications Collaborative has updated its booster dose toolkit and children and vaccination toolkit to reflect the latest CDC guidance on updated booster doses for children aged 5 and up. 
• Vaccinate Your Family has created many shareable COVID-19 vaccine resources for families, healthcare providers and immunization partners.

Join NASN staff and school nurse leaders Nov. 15-16, 2022, virtually, for the symposium, K-12 COVID-19 Response Across the Nation: What Worked, What We Learned, and What’s Next, connecting with colleagues from across the country and reflecting on our pandemic response successes and lessons learned. 

The event will highlight best practices for leveraging traditional and non-traditional partnerships within and across education and public health to inform holistic and equitable responses. To memorialize the work and broadly share lessons learned and recommendations, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign is publishing a book that will capture symposium proceedings. Learn more.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) offers an array of free downloadable graphics and other outreach materials about COVID-19 vaccines. Watch and share an extensive library of FAQ videos from KFF's THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN series featuring healthcare workers who provide facts and dispel misinformation in English and Spanish. Learn more.

CDC surveillance has shown an increase in RSV detections and RSV-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations in multiple U.S. regions, with some regions nearing seasonal peak levels. Clinicians and public health professionals should be aware of increases in respiratory viruses, including RSV. Learn more and see CDC RSV resources.

In the course, Advocacy and Action: How School Nurses Can Help LGBTQ Students Thrive, a veteran school nurse and an educator, who runs the Human Rights Campaign's Youth Well-Being Project, describes the current crisis faced by LGBTQ youth and offers action steps for school nurses to create inclusive, affirming school communities. This session, first presented at Virtual NASN2021, now available in the NASN Learning Center, offers a review of current literature and evidence-based practices, methods for professional development and partnership building, and helps evaluate current school climate and practices. Participants will take away a toolkit with resources and an implementation checklist to improve their school climate and safety for LGBTQ youth, thereby reducing health disparities that these youth experience disproportionately. 

All children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education. Many medically fragile children require specially designed instruction and qualify for individualized education programs (IEP). Other children manage medical challenges with support and accommodations provided through a 504 plan. When children require medical accommodations to access their educational environment, the school nurse must be involved. The course Documenting the Level of Nursing Services Within the Individualized Education Plan/504 Plan explores the special education process from the nurse's point of view and introduces the School Health Assessment tool. Participants learn to distinguish between school health services and school nurse services and gain confidence in their role on the IEP/504 team. This session was initially presented at Virtual NASN2021 and is now available in the NASN Learning Center. 

Listening to children speak about their grief is the focus of Children’s Grief Awareness Month this November. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief shares resources helpful to create space for children to speak. The National Coalition to Support Grieving Students offers guidance on recognizing Children’s Grief Awareness Day in schools on November 17th.

Get Ready, an initiative of The American Public Health Association, offers a factsheet on seasonal flu and infographics that can help folks determine if they have the flu and how to prevent it.

• NASN Resources: School nurses play a key role in getting the word out about the flu vaccine. See NASN's Seasonal Influenza page. You can also check out the recently added NASN Learning Center course: Distinguishing the Differences and Delivering Care for COVID-19, Asthma and the Flu at School.

• Florida Association of School Nurses' Hurricane Recovery - Robyn Hathaway, President of the Florida Association of School Nurses, has organized a fundraiser to benefit Florida School Nurses affected by hurricane Ian. Learn more 

• Utah School Nurse Association 2022 Virtual Fall Conference - Healthy Children are Better Learners - November 4 - Learn more

• Texas School Nurse Organization Conference -Promoting student health by building resiliency - November 4-6 - Learn more

• Colorado Association of School Nurses Fall Conference - Supporting Student Success: School Nurses Make a Difference - November 4-6 -  Learn more and Register

• Virginia Association of School Nurses Fall Conference - 36th Annual Fall Conference - November 5-6 - 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

NASN Calendar of Events

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

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