Texas School Nurses Organization

President's Message

Not long ago, I read a quote by Margaret Atwood- “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” This made me stop and think of all the miraculous things that happen in life if we just roll up our sleeves and dig in. No doubt she is referencing working in the garden- weeding, cultivating, planting. We may not see the end result at the end of the day, but that smell of dirt is a reminder of wonderful things to come.

Our lives, personal and professional, are very much like working in a garden. Nothing is going to change in a positive way unless we dig in - weed, cultivate, and plant. Everything we do each day will touch the future.

We are now at a point in the school year where we may be counting the days until we are out for summer. Just make sure that you are making the days count. Don’t forget to keep weeding, cultivating and planting. And, hopefully, at the end of the day, we all “smell like dirt.”

Sláinte (health) to you,

Lisa Sicilio, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN

NASN Position Statements

Position Statements are evidence-based papers summarizing the historical, political, and/or scientific aspects regarding a topic related to school nursing, school health services and/or NASN about which NASN should take a stance. It is the official position of the organization that can be shared with members, community media and legislators.

Below are the 8 most recently adopted position statements in January 2018. To access the entire list, go to NASN Position Statements.

Healthy Communities - The Role of the School Nurse (Adopted January 2018)

IDEIA and Section 504 Teams - The Role Nurse as an Essential Team Member (Adopted January 2018)

Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents in Schools - The Role of the School Nurse (Revised January 2018)

Reimbursement for School Nursing Services (Revised January 2018)

School-located Vaccination (Revised January 2018)

School-sponsored Trips - The Role of the School Nurse (Revised January 2018)

School Violence - The Role of the School Nurse (Revised January 2018)

Skin Cancer, Prevention of due to Ultraviolet Ray Exposure - The Role of the School Nurse (Adopted January 2018)

Social Media

We have integrated social media into our daily lives as a source of entertainment and information. It also has the potential to advance your career as a nurse and the nursing profession in general.

On a professional level, it has many important benefits: from the collaborative exchange of ideas or discussion of health issues; to the invaluable promotion of nursing and better health and health care for all.

American Nurses Association (ANA) has created a set of principles to guide us when using social media, allowing nurses to get the best out of it while safeguarding themselves, the profession, and their patients (see principles attached below)

May is Mental Health Month - Tool Kit Now Available

The theme for May is Mental Health Month in 2018 is Fitness #4Mind4Body. Information will focus on increasing understanding of how the body's various systems impact mental health based on recent research. From food to fitness to gut flora, we will be diving into the elements that make up personal wellness. Topics will include:

The connection between gut bacteria/flora and mental health;
The role of stress and inflammation in the development of mental health disorders;
The preventative and recovery promoting aspects of physical activity;
The importance of sleep; and
How nutrition and food can affect mental performance and mood.

NASN Election 2018 - Still time to Vote!

NASN elections- Voting through April 15, 2018.

To vote online, follow these easy steps:

Go to the online election system.
LOGIN
Select the VOTE button -- if you do not see the VOTE button, you need to login.
Complete the online ballot.

NASN News

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) in conjunction with Diane Davis, (DNP student at Georgetown University), has launched a survey to all school nurses regarding scope of school nursing practice. The survey closes this Friday, April 6th. Please forward this survey to your colleagues. Upon completion of the survey you will be eligible to enter a random drawing for a $25 gift card. The data is important in moving school nursing forward. You can find the survey here. If our state gets 30% participation of our members in the Scope of SN survey we will receive our state's results for our own planning and insight. Again, this survey is open through April 6th (this Friday). The survey is for frontline school nurses (NASN members or NOT).

Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced the Nurses for Under-Resourced Schools Everywhere (NURSE) Act in both the Senate and House. The bills numbers respectively are S 2532 and HR 5251. For more information on the NURSE act, please find it here. Now is the time to reach out to your state representatives and ask for their support on behalf of 5.3 million students in Texas (Texas Education Agency, 2017) and 50.7 million students in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Let’s get someone from Texas to co-sponsor this bill in recognizing the vital role of school nurses in providing healthcare so students can be safe, healthy and ready to learn.

President's Challenge $50 for 50 Years

By Nina Fekaris, MS, BSN, RN, NCSN

I would like to challenge every school nurse to step up to this year's President's Challenge $50 for 50 Years of NASN! Contributing $1 for every year NASN has been serving the needs of students and school nurses.

Monies raised will provide the needed financial boost to conduct research; research that will provide evidence showing the positive impact of school nurses on student outcomes. ALL of your President's Challenge monies goes into the NASN Endowment Fund, which is used to support research and NASN special projects. This research will move school nursing forward.

The stories you tell about how you helped a child get the glasses they need to see and learn, helped a family get medications for a child, showed a community that a healthy diet and daily exercise will help improve their lives, provided the necessary personal touch are wonderful. NOW, we need the data to back up our stories!

Help make an impact today by contributing $50 to celebrate 50 Years of NASN, and show us you care about student health and learning!

DONATE NOW

In your service,

Francis Luna, BSN, RN, NCSN

NASN-TX Director

Francisluna.tsno@gmail.com

National School Nurse Day is May 9th!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 is National School Nurse Day! We honor more than 95,000 school nurses in the United States who make a difference in the lives of children every day! The theme this year is School Nurses: Advocates for 21st Century Student Health. School nurses lead the way to advance health and support education by ensuring that students are safe, healthy, and ready to learn. Let’s celebrate our school nurses today and always! Learn more at: www.schoolnurseday.org

MORE to come in the MAY Newsletter- including the Governor's Proclamation!

Time to Recognize Excellence

Do you know a great nurse? Share all that she (he) does for students, faculty, and community by nominating that nurse for Texas School Nurse of the Year. One applicant per region, must be submitted through the Region President. For application go to: http://www.txsno.org/abouttsno/awards/schoolnurseoftheyear

Is your School Nurse Administrator head and shoulders above the rest? Do you want to recognize him or her for their leadership in school health? Then recognize them for the School Nurse Administrator of the Year award. For more information go to: http://www.txsno.org/tsno/abouttsno/awards/schoolnurseadministratoroftheyear

Applications due by June 15th.

Texas Health Steps Online Provider Education

Get free CE on your schedule with Texas Health Steps Online Provider Education. View an alphabetical list of course titles, or check out the course finder below to learn more about the range of topics and formats we offer.

Healthiest Nation 2030

Everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life in a safe environment. To make this happen, we must tackle the causes of poor health and disease risk among individuals and within our communities. Your help is needed to get there.

Meningococcal Disease Statistics and Disease Facts

Statistics and Disease Facts

Approximately 600 – 1,000 people contract meningococcal disease in the U.S. each year.*
Of those who get meningococcal disease 10-15 percent die.
Among those who survive, approximately 1 in 5 live with permanent disabilities, such as brain damage, hearing loss, loss of kidney function or limb amputations.
21 percent of all meningococcal disease cases occur in preteens, teens and young adults ages 11–24.
1 in 5 U.S. teens have not yet received their first dose of the meningococcal vaccination against serogroups A, C, W and Y and remain unprotected.
Less than one-third of first dose recipients have received the recommended booster dose.
Many teens have not received the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine since it was just permissively recommended by CDC in 2015.

USDA Summer Meals Webinars

Summer meals are critical to the health and well-being of our children. Register for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 2018 Summer Meals Webinars to learn more about this important program.

Click on each link to register for the specific webinar that interests you.