This is a special edition of The Relentless School Nurse because of the importance of this article written by Gina Rich for Good Housekeeping. One of the most compelling reasons for school nurses disappearing was quantified by Linda Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., director of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research.
Dr. Aiken found that 46% of school nurses surveyed were dissatisfied with their opportunities for advancement. Unlike hospitals, “Schools are really not offering the same level of continuing education opportunities or tuition benefits for nurses,” she says. In addition, while nurses in health care settings benefit from an on-site network of colleagues, school nurses often cover multiple buildings on their own and are much more isolated.
I am still digesting the impact of this finding, something that I have been struggling with for years and I know I am not alone in this frustation. A future blog post will focus on the deeper impact of what it means that at least 46% of us are dissastisfied with opportunities for advancement. Actually, I am quite surprised the number is not greater and I wonder if that would be true the longer school nurses stay in the same position over years and years.
Here is the Good Housekeeping article, please share within your network so that this important information spreads!
Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 22nd year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Director for New Jersey to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Board. 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.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
