The leadership of SNOW – School Nurse Organization of Washington (best acronym ever) has secured seats at the state level school re-entry planning table. There is no waiting for invitations friends, we have to invite ourselves. Whether you work through partner organizations, like AAP, lobbyists through your unions, or state organizations, it can and is happening for school nurses across the country.
What inspires me about the story of SNOW, and their journey is that they have created #WhereIsYourSchoolNurse, to spotlight the movement to have a school nurse in every school. The ratios in Washington state are untenable, many school nurses cover multiple buildings.
In the era of COVID19, it has never been more imperative to have safe staffing. What is happening in Washington mirrors states across this country. Thank you SNOW for your leadership, let’s help them get #WhereIsYourSchoolNurse trending!
The leadership of SNOW shared this video to update its members on what is happening in the planning committee meetings they have attended. This method of communication is powerful, personal, and educational. I look forward to sharing more updates from this group of school nurse leaders.
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.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FAAN
