State School Nurse Consultants Research Articles

State School Nurse Consultants Issue RN Action Agendas.

The National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC) recently issued two action agendas for school nurses. The first action agenda promotes school nurses using their credentials in all communications, documenting their expertise and asserting their legal authority to practice professional nursing. The focus is on the baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse (RN) being the entry level preparation for school nursing. The second action agenda suggests school nurses can increase school administrator support by explaining their specialty practice and offers several marketing strategies. School nurses are invited to access the RN Action Agendas at the NASSNC website link provided.

The Roses and Thorns of Legislative Advocacy in School Nursing Leadership.

State School Nurse Consultants provide leadership and technical assistance in many areas related to safety, education, and well-being of students. One area of assistance includes health surveillance and disease prevention. During the pandemic, summer of 2020, the legislative co-chairs of the New Jersey State School Nurses Association advocated for a State School Nurse Consultant position at the New Jersey Department of Education. The story of their relentless pursuit of legislation that would support this position is shared in this article archiving one of the most tumultuous times in recent school nursing history. Successful passage of a law to establish the position of a State School Nurse Consultant was only the initial step in a life-lesson about advocacy, patience, and collaboration. Learn about the roses and thorns of school nursing legislative advocacy and consider joining your affiliates' legislative team!

Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicidal Ideation Among School Nurses in Prekindergarten through Grade 12 Schools - United States, March 2022.

School nurses are integral to creating safe environments in U.S. schools. Many experienced increased work burden and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. CDC collaborated with the National Association of School Nurses and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants to distribute a 121-item online, anonymous survey to school nurses nationwide during March 7-30, 2022. Among the 7,971 respondents, symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD, and suicidal ideation were measured, and prevalence ratios were used to identify associations with demographics, workplace characteristics, and support. Results found high levels of work-related stressors and indicated that employment characteristics, COVID-19-related job duties, and other workplace stressors and supports affected school nurse mental health. The survey findings underscore the mental health challenges many school nurses experienced during the 2021/2022 school year. The findings can inform supportive policies and practices to reduce workplace stressors and increase workplace supports for school nurses.

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

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.

Health and Academic Equity in Schools: Is Nursing Far Enough Up Stream?

When the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the National Academy of Medicine announced the Town Meeting discussions of the Future of Nursing 2030, the president of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants felt that the voice of School Nursing was crucial to informing the national discussion on health equity and health promotion. Sharonlee Trefry, State School Nurse Consultant, wanted to be sure that the leadership team of the Future of Nursing 2030 heard about the needs of the nation's 56.6 million elementary and secondary public and independent school students. Serving in an even greater role today with regard to promoting equity in healthcare and educational access, school nurses recognize and address social determinants of health every day all day working to grow the next generation of healthy citizens.

Erratum.

Johnson, K. H., Maughan, E., Bergren, M. D., Wolfe, L. C., Cole, M., & Watts, H. E. S. (2017). What's Up With Step Up!? Year 2! NASN, 32(2), 100-105. (DOI: 10.1177/1942602X17691808) In the March 2017 issue of NASN, the following abstract and keywords were not included in the manuscript. This has been updated in the online issue: Step Up & Be Counted! (Step Up!) is a joint initiative of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC). The aim of Step Up! is for all school nurses across the nation to collect and submit specific, uniform data points for all their students. The program was initiated in 2014. In the second year of data collection, 2015-16, school nurses from more states contributed data, and many states reported on a larger number of school nurses reporting data. This article reports the progress we have made in data collection and reporting in year two.

What’s Up With Step Up!? Year 2!

Step Up & Be Counted! (Step Up!) is a joint initiative of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC). The aim of Step Up! is for all school nurses across the nation to collect and submit specific, uniform data points for all their students. The program was initiated in 2014. In the second year of data collection, 2015-16, school nurses from more states contributed data, and many states reported on a larger number of school nurses reporting data. This article reports the progress we have made in data collection and reporting in year two.

The Role of the Designated State Data Champion.

Step Up & Be Counted! (Step Up!) is a joint project of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC). The goal of the initiative is to develop a National School Nurse Standardized Data Set that will be used by nurses across the country to uniformly collect data the same way. The data will be used to determine the health of children and youth, the care that is delivered in schools, and the impact of school nurses on academic success and well-being. This article focuses on the role of the Designated State Data Champion in the initiative.

What’s Up With “Step Up”? Step Up and Be Counted

The health and well-being of children who attend school is not collected in any national data sets. To effectively advocate for the health needs of children where they live, learn, and play, it is essential to build a National Uniform School Nurse Data Set. In 2014, school nurses nationwide were invited to join the Step Up and Be Counted! initiative. To prepare nurses for data collection and reporting, an informational website was established, a marketing campaign was launched, and a data collection tool was developed. Trainings were held at the national conferences of both the National Association of School Nurses and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants, and locally by state school nurse consultants and champions. The goal of the 2014-2015 academic year was to establish the processes for such a large-scale effort. In Year 1, only three initial data sets were collected from participating school nurses from 37 states. The first year yielded much data, and challenges have been identified and addressed.

What Data Do States Collect Related to School Nurses, School Health, and the Health Care Provided?

School nurses collect data to report to their school district and state agencies. However, there is no national requirement or standard to collect specific data, and each state determines its own set of questions. This study resulted from a joint resolution between the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants and the National Association of School Nurses. The study sought to determine whether similar data points were collected so that comparisons could be made among states and to develop a framework to incorporate the data. Thirty-two states provided their questionnaires or reports. There were 855 data points that could be divided into data related to staff and to students. No categories were measured by all states. The most common data points were the number of students, health screenings, and the number of students with particular conditions for whom the district provided services. A framework for data collection is proposed.

National standardized data set for school health-services: step up and be counted!

The National Association of School Nurses and National Association of State School Nurse Consultants Joint Work Group agreed on identified common data points and an initial process for nationwide data collection by school nurses. The emerging process was presented at both the 2014 National Association of School Nurses and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants annual meetings in San Antonio. The time is now to begin the process for ALL school nurses to collect data to begin building a national school nursing data set. This article is the second of a series and outlines the how, why, and when for collecting identified data indicators. It provides the talking points and collection tool necessary to Step Up and Be Counted!

Standardized data set for school health services: Part 1--getting to big data.

School nurses collect voluminous amounts of data in a variety of ways and use the data to describe trends in students' health and patterns of illness in the student population or to identify ways to improve care. NASN identified years ago that a national school nurse data set was needed to enable data-driven decision making for the millions of children who attend school each day across the United States. Informal work has been done in the past 5 years in preparation for the current joint NASN/ National Association of State School Nurse Consultants workgroup. This article is the first of a two-part series related to the importance of data and national efforts to develop a uniform data set that all school nurses can collect. Collecting data, and collecting it in the same way as other providers, will demonstrate what school nurses do as well as provide the data necessary for robust research on the impact of school nurses on students' health.

Influencing School Health Policy: The Role of State School Nurse Consultants

Background: The role of the State School Nurse Consultant has been well defined by the National Association of School Nurses. State School Nurse Consultants serve as a resource to school nurses on issues related to their practice, as well as a liaison between top-level educators and school nurses. The purpose of this article is to describe the role of the State School Nurse Consultant, and to present results of a survey of Louisiana school nurses related to their practice needs.Methods: A survey was administered via Survey Monkey to determine the perceived needs of Louisiana school nurses related to their professional practice. Eighty-eight members of the Louisiana School Nurse Organization participated in the online survey.Results: Louisiana is 1of 6 states that do not have a State School Nurse Consultant. Respondents to the survey indicated an overwhelming need to have a school nurse representative at the state level. Twenty-two of the respondents specifically stated that they would like to have a State School Nurse Consultant within the Department of Education.Conclusions: Budgetary constraints have resulted in a lack of funding for a State School Nurse Consultant in Louisiana. Partnerships with federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and billing of Medicaid for school nursing services are 2 examples of revenue sources for school nurses that Louisiana is investigating. Revenue from these sources may serve to supplement state funds so that this important resource for Louisiana school nurses can be put into place.

What Is the Role of the State School Nurse Consultant?

SSNCs provide statewide nursing leadership to ensure effective school nursing services, develop and promote quality standards, and foster a better understanding regarding the role of the school nurses and the relationship between students' health and their ability to learn (NASSNC, 2008). SSNCs use the nursing process to identify goals and plan interventions for meeting those goals. The interventions implemented by SSNCs are state-specific and are dependent upon assessment findings and available resources. Currently 40 states employ SSNCs. States use a variety of funding resources to secure the services of SSNCs (Taliaferro, 2011). For tips regarding how to advocate for a State School Nurse Consultant in your state, visit the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants' website at www.nassnc.org and click on "Advocacy".

School Nurse Competencies

In the world of increasing accountability, competencies in nursing practice are essential to ensure consistent, safe, and high-quality care for all students. Although this document was developed by school nurses and leaders in Connecticut, the concepts can be applied to all school nurses. Competency in School Nurse Practice is available through the Connecticut State Department of Education Web site at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view .asp?a=2678&Q=320768&pm=1&sdePNa vCtr=[45534]#45539. For further information about competencies and supervision in your state, please contact your state school nurse consultant. To locate contact information for your state school nurse consultant, please visit the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants' Web site at www.nassnc.org and click on "About Us" to gain access to a listing of our members.

How May the State School Nurse Consultant Support School Nursing Research?

How May the State School Nurse Consultant Support School Nursing Research?

What Is the Role of the State School Nurse Consultant?

What Is the Role of the State School Nurse Consultant?

National Association of State School Nurse Consultants: Supervision of School Health Nurses

National Association of State School Nurse Consultants: Supervision of School Health Nurses

State School Nurse Consultants

State School Nurse Consultants

Anne Sheetz Named State School Nurse Consultant of the Year

Anne Sheetz Named State School Nurse Consultant of the Year