I am currently assigned to the programs committee: This committee is tasked with reviewing and rating abstracts for the upcoming conference in June; reviewing, revising or retiring current position statements; creating new position statements based on current health trends. Our committee is specifically looking at writing a position statement on prescription drug misuse along with a suggested Narcan (opiate antidote) school policy in the event of an overdose.
Membership growth: NASN’s “Strength in Numbers” campaign is a marketing effort to promote new membership as well as reinstate lapsed memberships. This word of mouth campaign rewards current members who refer a new colleague for membership or a colleague that is reinstating a lapsed membership by crediting $10 to the referring member.
Membership retention: NASN has begun a membership retention drive with the goal of having a continuous renewal rate of 90% by the year 2017. The retention rate is calculated using two pieces of data: 1) the number of invoices created in the renewal process; and 2) the number of memberships cancelled for non-payment. NASN directors have been asked to make monthly retention calls to members who are due to renew and are at risk of their membership lapsing.
Membership dues: NASN passed a motion to increase membership dues by 5% for each NASN membership category effective April 1, 2015. The rationale is that dues have not been increased in 10 years and rising costs have impacted the budget. The NASN portion of the dues will increase as follows: Active, Associate and Members-at-large from $100 to $105; Retired from $55 to $57.75; Student from $49 to $51.45; and Corporate from $140 to $147. NASN will also conduct an annual review of the membership dues structure and the rate structure for the annual conference prior to the development of the budget.
Legislative Priorities: NASN is advancing legislative priorities by promoting issues that improve the health and education outcomes of children guided by NASN’s mission statement. I had the pleasure with meeting Congressman Steven Palazzo’s Health Affairs Legislative Assistant and Senator Thad Cochran’s Health Affairs Legislative Assistant on Tuesday, Jan. 27th, 2015. I discussed NASN’s key 2015 legislative priorities: 1. Student to School Nurse Ratio Bill 2. Inclusion of Specialized Instructional Support (SISP) language in the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) 3. Reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Position Papers: NASN continually updates their position statements. The most recent updates include the following documents: 1. The Complementary Roles of the School Nurse and School Based Health Centers 2. School Nurse Workload Determining Staffing for Safe Care 3. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: the Role of the School Nurse 4. Unlicensed Assistive Personnel: Their role on the School Health Services Team 5. Individualized Healthcare Plans: The Role of the School Nurse 6. The Role of the School Nurse in Ambulatory Care- position document was retired.
Public Relations: NASN has a new tag line- Better Health. Better Learning. NASN is also currently developing a member e-toolkit to provide school nursing branding resources.
NBCSN: Emeritus status and inactive status will soon be available to NCSN certified nurses. Information will soon be disseminated to NCSN. Current NCSN certified nurses are also able to electronically submit CE credits at the time they get them instead of waiting for renewal time (every 5 years).
Conference: NASN is looking into regional conferences. They are looking into offering 2 regional conferences in 2015. The NASN Regional Conferences are designed to provide a quality, evidence-based learning experience for school nurses and school health leaders in accessible locations. The presentations will focus on the important skills that a school nurse needs to meet and exceed the standards of practice in the ever-changing landscape of nursing care with a special emphasis on the unique practice issues in the school setting. NASN staff and affiliate leaders are working together to determine locations. NASN Annual Conference – “Embracing Today – Transforming Tomorrow” The conference will be held June 24 – 27, 2015 (Preconference day – June 23, 2015) at the Philadelphia Marriott (Downtown) in Philadelphia, PA. Hope to see you there!
Endowment: The President’s Challenge continues: High five to celebrate reaching 1 million dollar goal. We are also asking members to donate 5 dollars to the endowment fund. Purses for Nurses Silent Auction – NASN’s 2015 goal is raise $10,000 from the Purses to Nurses silent auction.
I leave you with this final quote: “The most basic infrastructure for health in a school is a registered professional school nurse (Caroline Duff, 2015).”
Respectively Submitted, Traci Easterling NASN Director