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NASN Membership Matters

By Sue Zacharski, MEd, RN, BSN, FNASN posted 10-25-2015 19:15

  

We thank you for your participation in the Membership Mondays in October and hope you will continue to grow your membership throughout the year.

This week NASN highlights testimonials from members providing insight on how their NASN membership has influenced their School Nurse practice.

Linda Howard“NASN-TSNO membership has given me access to information, ideas, and leaders that have positively influenced and enriched my specialty practice of school nursing. As a result of NASN-TSNO membership, I have learned to more effectively articulate and demonstrate the value of a school nurse to a child, to a school, and to a community.

NASN-TSNO membership has also opened doors for leadership development and made me more visionary about the future of the specialty practice of school nursing.

My favorite NASN benefits are the SchoolNurseNet discussion boards and library, NASN position statements, and the NASN publications (The Journal of School Nursing and NASN School Nurse). Thank you NASN leaders for setting the standards, providing the tools, and creating the vision!”
Linda Howard, BSN, RN (Texas)

Mary Jo Bugel“I just want to express how impressed I am by the high level of communication among the school nurses on this site [All Member Forum]! You share situations, solutions, information, policies, procedures, etc., in a professional and generous way. I like to think of this message board as a "consultation" board. I have always maintained that practicing nurses need to consult with one another more--and school nurses are ahead of the pack on this one! I share some of your issues with my students so that they know the real challenges faced by school nurses today, which are varied and difficult. Thank you for being an exemplary group of nurses!”
Mary Jo Bugel PhD, RN, NJ-CSN, CNL, CNE (New Jersey)

Mary Barnes“I love being a school nurse--it takes all your experiences in nursing and sharpens your assessment skills. At the beginning, I was overwhelmed but, as I established my resources, organized a lot of reference materials, it all came together. The best nursing conference I ever went to was the NASN [Annual] Conference in Orlando, Florida. The knowledge base of this organization, the support, the ability to obtain information in one central location, was perfect! Thanks to everyone in NASN for such an awesome and valuable organization.”
Mary Barnes, BSN, RN (Texas)

Bobbie Ransom“With much thanks for this service [All Member Forum]. Communicating with my nurse sisters regarding health and nurse concerns is a blessing. One day we may meet the faces associated with the names.”
Bobbie Ransom, RN (Arkansas)

Jennifer Braun“My name is Jennifer Braun and I'm the school nurse for the Garretson School District in Garretson, South Dakota. We are a small rural district of approximately 500 students enrolled in K-12. This is my second year as the [school] nurse, and I love my job! I am contracted for one day a week due to budget constraints. I am happy to be part of NASN and love getting all the great information and news feeds from all the other school nurses. Being the only [school] nurse in the district can be a challenge and this [All Member Forum] provides a wonderful resource for programs and discussion. Thanks and glad to meet you! Have a good day!”
Jennifer Braun, BSN, RN (South Dakota)

There Is Strength In Numbers And NASN Needs You!

If you are not a current member, please take a few minutes to explore the numerous NASN benefits available to support and enrich your school nursing practice. We also encourage you to talk to a colleague about the National Association of School Nurses.

What NASN resources do you value? How do you use them in your practice? Share your experiences!

Login and leave a comment about your NASN experience.

Be sure to TWEET, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK or BLOG about your NASN experience as well.
#NASNstrong  #schoolnurses  #NASN2015

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This blog post submitted by Susan Zacharski on behalf of the NASN Membership Committee.

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10-28-2015 09:09

All of the authors of the final blog for Membership Monday give wonderful testimonials for the value of NASN membership. Membership does matter in so many ways and in ways that we may tend to forget. When I reflect on my NASN membership that spans almost 20 years, I know of countless ways that the resources and information have enabled me to nurture and maintain an evidence-based practice.
As a new school nurse, I wanted to connect with other nurses in my community and in my state, and the unified structure of membership in South Carolina Association of School Nurses enabled me to do that and at the same time created membership in my national professional organization, NASN, where I became aware of the wide-world of school nursing. The double connection to SCASN/NASN grew my skills and knowledge in school nurse practice; and it also grew my strength and confidence to advocate for school health services for all students and to work toward new policies to safeguard the health and safety of students. Professional development and personal development go hand-in-hand.
Through SCASN/NASN, I learned to seek and participate in programs to connect my students to services; and I learned to articulate what school nurses do to support education and advance the health of students. Now the proposed NASN Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice provides a visual to assist in articulating what school nurses do. Thank you, NASN, I am proud to be #NASNStrong, and I am thankful for SCASN/NASN on #MembershipMondays and all days.
Carolyn L. Duff, MS, RN, NCSN
School Nurse, Columbia, SC
Immediate Past President NASN