To promote, protect, and enhance professional school nurse practice through advocacy, evidence-based education, collaboration, and partnerships that support each student’s well-being and readiness to learn.

This newsletter takes NASN’s Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice approach.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful summer with family and friends. Back-to-School is around the corner and can be very challenging in organizing your thoughts, time and energy effectively. Let NASN’s Back-to-School Toolkit ease your load by providing you tools for students, families and in your school nursing practice. This reminds me that creativity is an essential part of the critical thinking process in nursing. Creativity is the ability to develop and implement new and better health care solutions for your students, families and school community. I encourage all school nurses to please read, Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child-Calling School Nurses to Action in NASN School Nurse (July 2016) or listen to the NASN Podcast. TSNO members and co-authors, Laurie Combe and Brandy Bowlen highlights their creativity in utilizing the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community (ASCD & CDC, 2015) model in providing a coordinated and collaborative approach for the whole child in their school community. Let this inspire and encourage you in advancing your creativity to the next level.

The NASN Framework for the 21st Century School Nursing Practice has been available since 2015. Now is more important than ever to have this posted in your clinic as parents come to visit with you at the beginning of the school year. This dynamic and visual tool offers you a starting point of discussion of the Role of the 21st Century School Nurse and how its health care is student-centered. Let’s speak that same narrative and promote our specialized nursing practice with our parents and in your school community.

I’m pleased to announce TSNO membership is currently at 2,138 strong. My challenge to all TSNO members is to recruit one new member this school year. We can double in size if we all work together in making TSNO stronger, more visible and heard louder at the Capital on legislative issues that effects student’s health care in Texas. So let’s make this a reality, give a fellow nurse colleague an application today and invite them to join.

I wish you all an amazing school year!

Francis Luna

President

14th Annual Conference 2016 Texas School Nurses Organization Conference Brochure now available!

Registration opens September 1st!

Is your School Nurse Administrator head and shoulders above the rest? Do you want to recognize him or her for their leadership in school health? Then recognize them for the School Nurse Administrator of the Year award. The deadline has been extended to September 26, 2016!
Access Guidelines and Application Form.

"Sunny was a nursing leader who crossed the Nursing and Education disciplines to build school nursing in Texas. She was foremost in realizing that we needed to keep school nurses current in the minds of all, not just ourselves. she worked with a group of School Nurse Administrators to develop our original school nurse logo with the apple and the nurse's cap. She said that visibility is the essence, so no job was too small. If there is a need - do it. Become a valuable resource to your district. Branch out of the clinic, become a leader - "Sparkle NURSES Sparkle." Vincy Dunn RN, MSN, FNASN

Access Criteria and Application here.

Purpose: To promote continuing education for the school nurse.

Award: Provides up to $1000 stipend to one Texas school nurse to attend NASN conference or AHI & NASN Advances in School Nursing.

Application must be postmarked NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 15!

Be sure to check out the scholarship criteria and applications for the CNE Scholarship, Education Scholarship, and the NBCSN Exam Scholarship Reimbursement. Application Deadlines are October 15th.

All nurses using a standard for credential display ensures that everyone understand just how important and significant our education, licenses, certifications and honors are.

How to display your credentials.

"is the promise that nurses are doing their best to provide care for their patients and their communities and are supporting each other in the process so that all nurses can fulfill their ethical and professional obligations. It is important tool that can be used now as leverage to a better future for nurses, patients and health care."

Buy your copy online

"Individuals with disabilities may use service animals and emotional support animals for a variety of reasons. This guide provides an overview of how major Federal civil rights laws govern the rights of a person requiring a service animal. These laws, as well as instructions on how to file a complaint, are listed in the last section of this publication. Many states also have laws that provide a different definition of service animal. You should check your state’s law and follow the law that offers the most protection for service animals. The document discusses service animals in a number of different settings as the rules and allowances related to access with service animals will vary according to the law applied and the setting."

~ https://adata.org

Case Study- Assessing 17-year-old’s Mental Health

Then check out more on the Case Studies site to explore our case study topics below to test your knowledge about the best way to respond.

Do’s and don’ts of charting (not just for nursing students!)

• Do report critical values according to parent or doctor

• Do use blue or black ink

• Do be concise and to the point

• Don’t state your opinion- stay objective

• Don’t erase or alter a chart

• Don’t chart ahead of time

• Don’t write a novel

CDC recommends that schools implement policies and practices to create a nutrition environment that supports students in making healthy choices.

CDC has developed interim guidance for kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) district and school administrators for public health actions pertaining to Zika virus infection. This guidance is intended to address concerns about the risk for Zika virus infection in K–12 schools in the continental United States and Hawaii, provide school districts with information for planning school-related activities, and recommend actions that can be taken, in consultation with local public health authorities and government officials, to reduce the potential risk for Zika virus transmission on school premises and among students.

Recently, while discussing leadership with my staff, it was clear that the majority considered themselves leaders. School Nurses lead by advocating for individual students and groups of students, by educating staff about the care of students while at school, by proposing system wide changes that impact all students within their school district and by their involvement in state and federal advocacy efforts.

Today, I make a call to action for Texas School Nurses to engage in advocacy at the state level. The 2010 Institute of Medicine report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health” (2010) called for the creation of new partnerships and strategic alliances which engaged nurses to improve the quality of health care provided to Americans. In response to the IOM report, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and AARP formed the Campaign for Action to advance the nation’s health through nursing. The Campaign called for action coalitions to form within each state to address 7 issues:

1. · Improve access to care
   
2. · Foster interprofessional collaboration
   
3. · Promote nursing leadership
   
4. · Transform Nursing Education
   
5. · Increase Diversity in Nursing
   
6. · Collect Workforce Data
   
7. · Build healthier communities
   

The Texas Team is one of the most active teams in the nation. TSNO is a member organization of this effort and has a representative to one of the regional groups. In a state as large as Texas, school nurses need to a seat at the table in each region.

I am asking YOU to engage with your Regional Team to improve understanding of the key role school nurses play in the future of this nation’s health and to inform decisions about systems change that impact the children we serve. You may contact me at lcombe.tsno@gmail.com if you would like to learn more about this effort and to share your experiences with your Regional Texas Team.

Laurie G. Combe, MN, RN, NCSN

NASN Director, Texas

NASN Executive Committee

Klein ISD Health Services Coordinator

For Free Continuing Education check out the fourth webinar in a COCA Call series about CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. To view a list of other webinars in the series, visit the opioid call series overview webpage

HHSC has updated its Medicaid Medical and Dental Policy web page

by posting a draft Telehealth Services Policy for comment.

Although TSNO refers to and/or may provide direct access to documents and resources other than those owned or developed by TSNO, TSNO is not responsible for the content, format, accuracy or availability of such. In addition, TSNO does not have any editorial or other control over those materials. In addition, TSNO reserves the right to make necessary changes to NASN owned and developed materials without notice.

ELECTED OFFICERS:

PRESIDENT Francis Luna - Region X

francisluna.tsno@gmail.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT Lisa Sicilio - Region 6

lsicilio.tsno@gmail.com

TREASURER Joan Cary - Region X

jrcary@aol.com

Secretary Adalia Del Bosque - Region 1

adalia.delbosque@mcallenisd.net

NASN DIRECTOR Laurie Combe - Region 4

lcombe.tsno@gmail.com

NOMINATIONS COORDINATOR Katie Morton - Region X

katiemorton.tsno@gmail.com

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS:

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Diane Hunt Bullard - Region 20 tsnornplanner@gmail.com

ADVOCACY CHAIR Chanthini Thomas - Region IV

cthomas.tsno@gmail.com

SCHOOL HEALTH ISSUES Karen Schwind - Region 13

karenschwind.tsno@gmail.com

MEMBER SERVICES Art Oaxaca Region 19

roaxaca@esc19hs.net

APPOINTED COORDINATORS:

Membership Coordinator Linda Howard - Region 8

lindahoward.tsno@gmail.com

REGION PRESIDENTS Coordinator Sarah Batson - Region 17

sbatson@shallowaterisd.net

EXHIBIT LIAISON Lisa Formby - Region 16

lisaformby@herefordisd.net

MARKETING COORDINATOR Martha Anderson - Region 14

manderson@hawley.esc14.net

WEBSITE LIAISON Kara Delay - Region 8

kdelay@atlisd.net

Email: lsicilio.tsno@gmail.com
Website: txsno.org
Location: Richardson, Tex, United States
Phone: (979) 694-5800
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Texas.School.Nurses.Organization
Twitter: @TxSchlNurses