» Legislative Issues

National Association of School Nurses 41st Annual Conference

webmaster — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:38:50 +0000

Annual Conference brochures will not be mailed this year in order to be environmentally conscious and better manage resources. Click here to download the brochure to your computer and read through at your convenience.

Professional development is essential in a tough economy and having access to the latest practice, health promotion, leadership, research and legal issues can only be found at the National Association of School Nurses’ annual conference. Now more than ever, school nurses need to define and communicate their role as the critical link between health and learning.

Register today to join your colleagues in learning, networking and recharging!

Florida School Health Advocacy Day

webmaster — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:50:33 +0000

March 27th is Florida School Health Advocacy Day. Join with your colleagues to contacting your Legislators, both State Senators and State Representatives, and informing them of the importance of school nurses to a student’s educational success and safety.

Many of us are going to Tallahassee and speaking with our legislators. We would love to have you join us!

To give everyone a jump start, the Agenda and Talking Points are downloadable here! Also attached is a response to the Governor’s proposal to use 70% of all education funds just in the classroom. It’s important to note the services, including school nursing, that would be limited or lost if it was implemented.

Agenda for March 27

Every Child Deserves A School Nurse

Governor’s 70% in the Classroom

March Into March

webmaster — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:42:14 +0000

Florida’s Legislative session begins March 1st and goes until May 2nd. During this time, legislators will be looking at bills and budget items that will directly impact School Health. consider joining your colleagues in Tallahassee on March 27th for our “March into March to Tallahassee!”

For complete details, check out the Legislative Updates page.

March 2009 President’s Letter

webmaster — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:04:05 +0000

During the first weekend in February, 150 nurses took time from their professional and personal lives to attend our state school nurse conference, School Nursing: Putting the Pieces Together. For two days, they increased their knowledge and professional skills. Check out the Photo Gallery for pictures from the conference.

They came back to their districts and shared some of this knowledge with their colleagues. Check under Clinical Updates for the notes from many of the sessions. Many spent their own money to come to the conference. Some came back from the conference to learn their travel approval had been rescinded. Some were told at the last minute that their travel had been denied.

At a time when more and more families will be using the school nurse as their primary health provider, the opportunity for that nurse to increase her competency was denied. Our legislators are looking closely at the budget because state finances may be even worse next year. If they do not understand what we are doing, if they do not realize that school nurses actively work to keep students in school and engaged in learning, then legislators will see school nursing as a line item that can be cut. What Gov. Crist has proposed and what the final budget will actually be are not the same!

With that reality before us, our Legislative Chair, Mary Jackman, has been working with Dianne Mennitt and Laura Brazell to develop a School Nurse Advocacy Day in Tallahassee on March 27th. Called “March Into March,” we are asking as many school nurses as possible to make the trip to Tallahassee to educate our legislators about school nursing. For many of us, myself included, it will mean taking a personal day to do this, but the stakes are too high not to do it!

We need each of you to do join us on March 27th. Check out the Legislative Page for information on finding who your legislator is, how to contact them, talking points for a conversation, and places to stay. If you can go, it is important to email or call for an appointment to see your legislator ASAP. And if your legislator cannot meet with you, but their administrative aide can, go! Never underestimate the power of personal contact.

And if you cannot go with us? Write a letter, send an email, make a phone call. Make sure that our legislators, no matter what part of the state they represent, know that March 27th is School Nurse Advocacy Day! Help us to deliver an accurate picture of what school nurses do, day in and day out for the students of this state.

Kathy

Kathleen C. Rose, RN MHA NCSN
President, Florida Association of School Nurses
President@FASN.net

Fall 2008 President’s Letter

webmaster — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:27:23 +0000

Putting the Pieces Together

Have you ever put together a puzzle? Finding the edge pieces first so you knew the boundaries and the shape of the finished puzzle. Then gradually adding the pieces to fill up the middle until, satisfied, you looked at a complete picture or frustrated, you looked at a picture with missing pieces and wondered where they were. And if too many pieces are missing, you aren’t even sure what shape those pieces or that puzzle are supposed to be.

School nursing often seems to be a huge puzzle. There are so many pieces and it can be hard to find the edges. At the end of the day, we are sure there must be missing pieces. In the last issue of FASNating News, we discussed the expanding role of school nursing. Our expanding role has made the puzzle even larger.

As a school nurse, your role is to improve the health and educational success of your students. As your professional organization, FASN’s role is to support school nurses statewide by developing and providing the leadership necessary to advance the practice of school nursing. Simply put, our role is to help school nurses put the pieces together. . . and if there is a piece missing, to help you find it.

In this issue of FASNating News are articles from our scholarship winners to the national conference, articles on food allergies, brain injuries, self-inflicted violence and others. There are also articles from some of our partner organizations, resources that can help us put the pieces together. Finally, our own Board has information for us on Advocacy, Legislation, Problem Solving-Response to Intervention, Regional News, Elections, and the quest for next year’s School Nurse of the Year.

This year’s state conference, School Nursing: Putting the Pieces Together, is designed to improve your school nursing skills in all areas whether you are dealing with a student with seizures, asthma, diabetes, allergies or need more information on immunizations or STD’s or looking to address the issues of a professional school nurse. We are planning 2 full days of learning with over 12 CEU’s! This conference is designed to improve the skills of all school nurses in the school setting. Our standards are set high. We looked at the criteria for national certification and at last year’s evaluations as we chose the topics we would cover.

In my office, hanging on the wall, is a beautiful framed picture. When you get up close and really examine it, it’s hundreds of puzzle pieces that have been put together and framed to show the whole picture. Our jobs, as school nurses, are hundreds of puzzle pieces interlocking and put together to make a whole. The goal of FASN is to put a frame around it and place it on display so all can see its beauty. Each day, as you go into work, you bring more of these pieces together. As more and more school nurses join FASN, our frame becomes larger and larger. School nursing truly is a thing of beauty!

Kathy

Kathleen C. Rose, RN MHA NCSN
President, Florida Association of School Nurses
President@FASN.net

October 2007 President’s Letter

webmaster — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:38:30 +0000

When there is a reason to celebrate, my daughter will often shout “Woo-Hoo!” That is what I feel like shouting right now. Last month, I asked you as private citizens, voters, nurses and parents to contact your legislators and tell them, “No!” to any budget cuts in school health services. Our legislators listened. Although $1 million dollars (total) was cut from local health departments across the state, NO school health services monies were touched! Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!

A huge thank you also goes out to our conference committee. We have an awesome conference planned. School Nurses Educate for Life! It all begins Friday night with a keynote address from NASN President, Donna Mazyck. We end Saturday with a panel of school nurses discussing best practices in our state. The hours in between are filled with opportunities for learning, networking and browsing the Marketplace and Vendors, as we all share in some good FASN fun!

The conference will be held February 8-9, 2008, at the Orlando Marriott – Lake Mary. Once again, we will have on-line registration through the area AHEC. Look in the “Conference” link for copies of the brochure, the registration form, the scholarship form and the Poster Presentation form. We’ll even have a link to the hotel so you can reserve your room early. At only $96 a night, you’ll want to be one of the first to get your room!

Get the word out! There has never been a better year to belong to FASN. Make sure your own membership is up-to-date! Thanks to a wonderful partnership with Florida’s AHECs and FASN’s commitment to education, there are over 75 scholarships now available to FASN members for this conference and the number is growing!

It’s not too late to send in an application with your nomination for this year’s School Nurse of the Year. Click on the SNOY link for the form! Rejoicing in School Nursing!

Kathy

Kathleen C. Rose, RN MHA NCSN
President, Florida Association of School Nurses
President@FASN.net