The Relentless School Nurse: Introductions – How Relationships Begin!

My adventures in blogging began with a 2-hour workshop led by Margaret Cellucci, NASN Director of Communications. Margaret skillfully laid out an introduction to the world of blogging that literally changed the course of my school nursing practice. Through this workshop, an introduction to blogging rekindled my relationship with writing. I had always loved creative writing, but that did not seem to fit into the technical skills needed for scientific writing, which was required for nursing. Or, so I thought…

Blogging led me to be more active on social media, specifically Twitter. Virtual introductions on Twitter have led to actual relationships that have been nurtured over time. One of the most impactful introductions that grew into a relationship is with Barbara Glickstein, a nursing media powerhouse who is on a mission to amplify the voice of nursing.

Margaret had the same fortune as I did, she met Barbara on Twitter!  This is the story of how a virtual introduction grew into a relationship that may just change the course of school nursing practice. I am thankful to share Margaret’s story introducing all of us to the work of Barbara Glickstein. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 1:30 PM to 2:30 P.M., Eastern, Margaret will explain why!

“School nurses and school teachers united can change the world.” – Barbara Glickstein

Margaret Cellucci, Director of Communications, NASN

Just about a year ago, at the time of the March For Our Lives student-led demonstration in support of enacting stronger gun violence prevention measures in March in Washington, D.C., I met Barbara Glickstein, RN MPH MS, through Twitter.

This marked the beginning of a wonderful relationship between the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and Barbara, as well as a host of other school nurses, especially the Relentless School Nurse Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN.

At the time, Barbara produced and hosted HealthCetera, a podcast that airs on multiple podcast platforms. She said, “I want the public to better understand the role of the school nurse. It’s misunderstood and too many communities don’t have any or the school nurse covers several schools.” She said the timing around the marches would be a “good news hook to highlight the role of the school nurse.”

She had NASN at, “I want the public to better understand the role of the school nurse.”

Through Twitter, Barbara had connected with Lisa Kern, MSN, RN, NCSN, NASN Board Member from Florida in relation to Lisa’s Tweets about stronger gun violence prevention. We arranged for Lisa to be a guest on Barbara’s podcast, titled School Nurses Demand Action, and to also address the significant role school nurses play in keeping our students healthy, safe, and ready to learn. In addition, she was granted permission to use Robin Cogan’s School Nurses Demand Action logo that she has used in her Relentless School Nurse blog.

This relationship continues to bloom.

Barbara is what we consider a Twitter Influencer – a key influencer in our industry, not to mention her 35 years as a nurse journalist who has also developed a tremendous reach with the relationships she has established through social media – that we certainly need to connect with.

By December 2018, we had a phone conversation with Barbara to strategize how we can forge a partnership throughout our communication efforts in our work on behalf of school nurses.

This has what has evolved from that conversation … a webinar! We are tapping into her experience through the upcoming NASN webinar. Barbara will be joined by her colleague, Diana Mason, Ph.D., RN for the webinar. They collaborated on the Woodhull Study Revisited.

 Speaking to the Public through Media: School Nurses as Media Makers. Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 1:30 PM to 2:30 P.M., Eastern

A 1997 study found that nurses were cited as sources in only 4 percent of health news stories. Twenty years later, a replication of this study found that nurses were cited as sources in only 2 percent of health stories in the same publications. Let’s reverse that trend and let our voice be heard. This webinar will better prepare school nurses as “Media Makers” able to address topics related to school health, child and family health, and many myriad others. Register today.

Barbara’s Bio:

Barbara is a public health nurse, health reporter and digital media strategist. She is the Founder of Barbara Glickstein Strategies, a training and development company providing leaders in the public, private and social sectors guidance and expertise on leadership and media strategies. Glickstein produces & hosts HealthCetera, a podcast that provides evidence-based news, analysis and commentary where diverse, dynamic, front-line experts discuss the latest real-world effects of healthcare and health policy. She is a research consultant for Carolyn Jones Productions and worked on feature-length documentaries The American Nurse and Defining Hope and the multimedia project http://www.dyinginamerica.org.

 

Learn more about Margaret Cellucci:  Margaret A. Cellucci, BA, began her career in broadcast journalism as a reporter, producer, and anchor for commercial radio in Kansas, followed by a National Public Radio Affiliate in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati. For nearly 30 years, Margaret has been a communications professional, supporting the vision and mission of several non-profit health and education organizations.

Prior to joining the National Association of School Nurses in 2013 as Director of Communications, she worked as a Public Relations Specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education where she was the speechwriter for the State Superintendent of Schools, as well as the editor and designer of the Department’s communication resources, and special event planner. As NASN’s Director of Communications, Margaret manages NASN’s Public Relations/Communication objectives, coordinates all media and social media, manager/editor of NASN’s Weekly Digest e-newsletter and annual report, develops NASN resource e-toolkits for School Nurse Day/Back to School, coordinates partnership communication/promotion, provides Board and Committee support, and collaborates with NASN staff numerous projects and initiatives. Margaret received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Kansas State University and is currently working towards her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).