When a journalist contacts a nurse for an interview, we have to be ready to meet their tight deadlines. This is one of the media competency nuggets that I have learned through the guidance of Nurse Media Strategist, Barbara Glickstein. I was channeling Barbara when I found out that Mike DeNardo of KYW NewsRadio wanted to interview me about active shooter drills. I had a narrow window to meet his availability and I jumped into the conversation with the intention of sharing a specific message. I have to admit, I was definitely nervous, but I also recognized that this was an important opportunity to speak about active shooter drills to a wider audience.
One of the most touching things about this experience is that my dad ALWAYS had KYW Newsradio 1060 on when he was in the car. He was one of their biggest fans, so for Mike DeNardo to interview me was extra special!
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 21st year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Legislative Co-chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 and 2020 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also writes a monthly column in My American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association. Robin’s work is included as a case study in The Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
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