School nurses will get a primer on school-required child/adolescent vaccinations in NASN’s webinar, Immunization 101: A primer on school-recommended vaccinations, on January 18 at 3 p.m. ET. Presenters will be Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, and Mary Beth Miotto, MD, MPH, FAAP.

Participants will be able to understand the child/adolescent vaccination schedule, identify the required immunizations for students to attend school, verbalize the components of a legal immunization record, and more. Register for the webinar.

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NASN School Nurse continues to advance the practice of school nursing by publishing evidence-based, clinical resource articles and providing information on emerging issues, innovation in school health, and NASN resources.

See the January 2023 issue of NASN School Nurse, featuring these articles and more:

• The Entry-Into School Health History Intake: The Starting Point for Care Coordination
• The Roses and Thorns of Legislative Advocacy in School Nursing Leadership
• Revisiting the National School Heath Data Set: Every Student Counts!

There is a need to begin recruitment into the nursing profession at an early age. Don't miss the NASN School Nurse January Podcast. Cynthia Galemore, NASN School Nurse Editor, interviews authors Alexandra Randolph, Beth Mattey, and Richele Lawson about the article "Moving Upstream to Address Health Inequity: A Middle School Program to Introduce Students to a Career in Nursing." Listen here.

School nurses are uniquely positioned to support LGBTQ students, and one approach is involvement in Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs). The Journal of School Nursing (JOSN) article, Supporting and Establishing GSAs in Chicago Public Schools, shows that support for GSAs is important to aiding LGBTQ students and suggests ways in which school nurses can harness their expertise to be involved with GSAs.

• NASN membership includes a subscription to JOSN.
• Meet the Editor of JOSN, Dr. Martha Dewey Bergren, during the interactive web meeting for authors and aspiring authors, Peer Review - What Is In It for You?, on January 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET to learn the benefits of conducting professional peer reviews and to identify peer review resources.

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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.

• District 194 licensed school nurse honored with Helen Keller Sight Award (Source: hometownsource.com)
• 'There's nobody': Nurse shortage is hitting K-12 schools in Massachusetts (Source: wbur.org)
• CDC Urges Teachers, Administrators, School Nurses to Adopt LGBT Curriculum, Endorse Transgender Identity (Source: dailysignal.com)
• School Nurse Hailed For Saving Student From Choking In East Brunswick (Source: patch.com)
• Challenges evolve for Santa Fe school nurses as pandemic eases (Source: santafenewmexican.com)
• Massachusetts schools faced with school nurse shortage (Source: whdh.com)
• White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger, and Health  (Source: njea.org)

Using the WSCC Model to Implement Wellness Policies and Sustain Chronic Health Condition Management in Schools

School nurse involvement with school wellness policies is critical to ensure the overall health and well-being of students are addressed. The ‘gold standard’ model school wellness policy developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation was updated in June 2020. This course offers information on the updated model wellness policy that includes recommended language to address all 10 components of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model and the (2020) NASN supplemental language to address chronic health condition management – positioning the school nurse to be able to fully participate when schools review and refresh current school wellness policies.  Learn more and complete the course.

• See also Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Schools: Model School Wellness Policy Supplement, which provides additional supplemental language that you can include in Local School Wellness Policies to address the management of chronic health conditions in schools. The supplemental language, developed through the alignment of the NASN's Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™, addresses components of the WSCC model as they relate to students with chronic health conditions.

Keep your school community safe when it comes to sudden cardiac arrest. This week the SADS Foundation and Project ADAM hosted the School Nurse Forum on Sudden Cardiac Arrest, detailing key points about cardiac arrest, warning signs to look for in children, and resources to create and practice an emergency response plan at your school. Watch the replay.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a well-documented upsurge in child abuse cases. Child maltreatment is significantly under-recognized. When auricular hematomas are found in infants or children, it may be the first indication of child physical abuse. Learn more.

• NASN Resources: See the Prevention and Treatment of Child Maltreatment –The Role of the School Nurse Position Statement.

The CDC's recently released Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Racial and Ethnic Differences in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Children and Adolescents Aged 5–17 Years and Parental Intent to Vaccinate Their Children, suggests providers and trusted messengers should provide culturally relevant information and vaccine recommendations.

• NASN Resources: See the Building Family Confidence in the COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit - Framing Strategies for School Nurses, evidence-based tips and techniques to support more productive communications about getting children vaccinated.

The second webinar of the series, Engaging Families in Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking, is on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at 3 p.m. ET. During this webinar, subject matter experts will offer a variety of approaches for school personnel to work with families to build protective factors in their children to lessen the risk of victimization and methods to support students who have been trafficked.

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month create awareness about human trafficking. Since the practice occurs worldwide and affects all populations and economic classes, spreading awareness is the key to ending this crime.

Here is a list of resources about human trafficking:

• Understanding Human Trafficking
• 20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking
• The U.S. Government’s Response to Combating Human Trafficking 
• Human Trafficking Hotlines
• U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Annual Report
• See NASN's Position Statements on Human Trafficking.

• California School Nurses Organization: 73rd CSNO Conference - Moving Forward REJUVENATED AND RESILIENT - February 17-19, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Maryland Association of School Health Nurses Annual Conference - School Nurse-Navigators "Remember the Past, Navigate the Present, and Prepare for the Future" - March 4, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Vermont State School Nurses Association Spring Conference - March 24 - Learn More

• Missouri Association of School Nurses Spring Conference - School Nurses Planting a Lifetime of Health - March 25-26, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• New Jersey State School Nurses Association Spring 2023 Conference - Reimagining School Nursing - March 25, 2023 - Learn more and Register

• Overseas School Health Nurse Association Spring Conference 2023 - March 26-27, 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. 

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