“What does a School Nurse actually do?” “Are you a REAL nurse?” “You have the best job, it must be SO easy.” “What do you actually do all day?” How many times has someone said something like this to you? Often times our roles / responsibilities are not well understood by teachers, administrators, parents or even other nurses. How do you explain to everyone that your responsibilities include more than putting on Band-Aids and giving out icepacks?
Before becoming a School Nurse, I had no idea what School Nursing was really like. Nothing in my nursing education or career had prepared me for this. Being a nurse is HARD; being a School Nurse is a different kind of hard. It is challenging on SO many levels that I never expected. We are usually the only medically trained person in our school. Often times we cover multiple schools.
The School Nurse program in Louisiana was established in 1979 by Louisiana RS 17:28. The Louisiana School Nurses Organization was formed in 1968. We currently have approximately 300 members across the state. I have been a member of LSNO since 2013. I have had the opportunity to attend our annual conference every year since 2014, and this has been invaluable to me. Our conference not only provides needed continuing education, but it provides for social and professional networking. By networking at conference, I was able meet other School Nurses that I could reach out to with questions, advice, etc.
Having an organization such as LSNO to advocate for our profession at the state level is so important. LSNO has many accomplishments throughout the years, but our biggest accomplishment of all is the organization itself and the membership. In a world of budget cuts, lawsuits and an increasingly medically fragile student population, School Nurses have a voice because of LSNO.
LSNO is celebrating 51 years in School Nursing with our 50th Annual Professional Growth Seminar March 19-22, 2019. It will be held in Marksville, Louisiana at the Paragon Hotel and Casino. Our theme this year is “Stay Calm and Suit up.” This continuing nursing education conference provides school nurses with information on issues pertaining to school health to perform best practice and professional growth. We are hoping this year will be our best conference to date. During our conference we are hosting our 2nd Annual One Mile Fun Run. More information can be found at http://www.lsno.org/continuingeducation/lsnoconference.
LSNO has many accomplishments throughout the years, but our biggest accomplishment of all is the organization itself and the membership. In a world of budget cuts, lawsuits and an increasingly medically fragile student population, School Nurses have a voice because of LSNO.
You can find out more information via our website http://www.lsno.org. Follow LSNO on Twitter @SchoolNursesLA and check us out on our Facebook Page!
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