Changing Roles of the State School Nurse Consultants: How the Pandemic Has Accentuated Their Value and Visibility.

Abstract

State School Nurse Consultants (SSNCs) played a pivotal role in navigating school health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools faced unprecedented challenges in which many school administrators found themselves having to make strategic decisions on school health for the first time in their careers. The work of SSNCs has been recognized and appreciated in an unprecedented way, as they became key gatekeepers in school health, forming new partnerships with State Departments of Health and Education stakeholders; supporting school nursing practice, school nurses' mental health, and pandemic fatigue; providing resources; and organizing many state-wide virtual trainings. SSNCs were strategic in developing state school health policy and providing funding support, increasing school nurse positions in their states. As their roles have changed, SSNCs will continue to be intentional in the promotion of health and disease prevention throughout the years to come.