Reflecting on a school nurse legacy was first posed by a question Beth Mattey presented at the New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA) 2016 Fall conference. Truthfully and embarrassingly, I had never considered the concept of school nursing legacy before. When I saw the question, written boldly on a presentation slide, it got my attention. In fact, I have not stopped reflecting on this question since. It seems to be a moving target, one that expands and changes directions as my self-reflection deepens.
What I am convinced of is this self-reflection exercise could change the trajectory of school nursing. Imagine the impact if school nurses made this an actionable goal, creating steps to realize our own legacy. The collective power of multitudes of school nurses taking action on identifying and creating their legacy would have a seismic impact on securing school nursing as the specialty practice we know it to be.
The steps are straightforward but do require personal and professional reflection. Mapping Your Legacy was a powerful workshop I attended at #NASN2017. The presenter, Kristin Wike, was eloquent, entertaining and invited us to write down our specific goals and action steps for success. Kristin referred to it as Legacy Mapping, I think of it as a GPS, more like a roadmap than a flowchart. Either way, it is important, impactful and worthy of consideration.
Answering these questions may bring clarity, a time to pause the chaos in which we have grown accustomed to in our health offices. Will you plug your school nurse legacy into your own GPS? Why did you choose this route? Where will it lead you?
As always, Robin, you have given us all something to ponder. At first glance, the word legacy scares me. Not a concept school nurses typically discuss, but I can see the merit. Instead of considering legacy as a grandiose accomplishment or profound triumph, maybe we should focus on the small things we do in our offices on a daily basis….listening…welcoming…caring…teaching…empathizing…. I think I will plug these into my legacy GPS. Should be an interesting journey. Thank you!!
Hi Lori! Thank you for your message and I am so glad it resonated with you! Seeing your comment really made my day! Your reflection on legacy is exactly right, it is not grandiose at all, but the professional trail we leave behind as we go on our way. It is cumulative! Love your GPS coordinates…listening, welcoming, caring, teaching empathizing! I feel a blog post percolating!