A very special appreciation to health journalist Nicole Fauteux for including me in this comprehensive article about what it has been like to be a school nurse during the pandemic. I am joined by revered colleagues who shared their unique perspectives, contributions to student health and innovate responses to maintaining connections with students during the most consequential time we can remember. The American Journal of Nursing has done a stellar job spotlighting the work of school nurses!
In Alamogordo, New Mexico, the Alamogordo Public Schools’ crisis intervention outreach program, Healing Opportunities, Prevention, and Encouragement (HOPE), addresses the increasing COVID-related mental health needs of local high schoolers by parking their Winnebago outside schools and providing students with information and resources. Shown here are HOPE’s mental health coordinator, school counselors, and executive director. Photo courtesy of the APS graphics department. Source: School Nursing During a Pandemic AJN The American Journal of Nursing121(8):17-19, August 2021
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.
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