The Relentless School Nurse: School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence

The power of social media can never be under-estimated. Through my work in gun-violence prevention,  advocacy, and activism, I was invited to contribute an article to Current Trauma Reports (CTS). They were curating a special edition dedicated to gun violence and its impact on the community at large. Dr. Peter Masiakos, a Boston pediatric trauma surgeon is the section editor for this special collection. Peter and I connected through Twitter and he asked if I would submit a manuscript looking at the impact of gun violence in schools. Please follow him on Twitter, @peter_masiakos,  you will be informed, enlightened and educated in real time about what is trending in gun violence prevention.

This “Topical Collection on Gun Violence” is a call to action according to Dr. Masiakos and will include:

Having the voice of nursing in this special edition of Current Trauma Reports is an honor. I wanted to include nurse researchers, nurse faculty and the leadership from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) to join me in this important endeavor. Dean Donna Nickitas from Rutgers-Camden Nursing, Donna Mazyck, Executive Director of NASN and Professor Sunny G. Hallowell of Villanova University Nursing were my co-authors.  I owe them endless appreciation for joining me on this project. 

Here is a link to the our article: School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence

A special debt of gratitude to Dr. Peter Masiakos who extended this enormous honor and opportunity for the voice of nursing, specifically school nursing to be heard. This is all of our lanes and the collective will of healthcare providers across the country are joining together to address gun violence through a public health lens. It is a superhighway of practitioners, policy makers, first responders, educators and activists that are sounding the alarm that gun violence is a public health epidemic.