The Relentless School Nurse: New Jersey School Nurses – Make the Impossible, Possible!

I was actively seeking ways to foster a culture of support and collaboration among nurses. After revisiting this article “The Huddle,” I found it to be particularly inspiring. As a result, I have decided to implement a similar approach by calling upon all school nurses at our NJSSNA 2024 Spring conference to enhance their communication within our association through the adoption of the “Huddle” model.

Our association’s monthly meetings have already begun promoting a culture of recognition by encouraging shout-outs for school nurses who demonstrate exceptional work at the school or county level. This emphasis on positivity, alongside addressing concerns, sharing compliments, and highlighting achievements, is proving to be a more compassionate and constructive way of engaging with our school nurse community and nurturing leaders.

It’s a quality improvement tool to improve communication, clarify misunderstandings and fostering relationships. – Eileen Gavin

The concept of “The Huddle” was repeated throughout our conference, including providing private spaces for Huddling during break periods and as an alternative to the Friday evening dance party. We saw groups of attendees “huddling” throughout the conference and there was a buzz of positivity and excitement. The Huddle encourages a sense of belonging and inclusion, asking us to meet and greet new colleagues and invite conversations and connections. 

The conference speakers delivered important, innovative, and timely messages ranging from Stress First Aid, Obesity, Tube School, School Safety, Tics and Mosquitos, Sleep Hygiene, Social Media’s impact on Nutrition, School Law, Suicide Prevention, and much more.

I encourage school nurse affiliates to share their conference experiences. Being together is the antidote we all need to battle the isolation and loneliness that school nurses can sometimes experience in our daily work. Being with like-minded colleagues is a healing balm for our school nursing moral injuries that we have encountered. Remember to learn more about “The Huddle,” and bring “huddling” to your state too! It works!

Cheers to my dear colleagues, who once again, created a conference experience that we can all be proud of bringing to our members. Anna Tupe, past NJSSNA president, reminded me after the conference ended and the attendees left the room; “This is the moment we only get once, it’s that feeling of a really hard job, well done.”  We did it friends, School Nurses – Make the Impossible, Possible!