A message from SWOSNA President:
January 2010,
Dear fellow members of SWOSNA,
An old pastime around the New Year festivities is reflecting back over the outgoing year. It begins with endless feature, via television, radio, cable, newspaper, magazine, and other media outlets that will highlight the multiple looks of 2009. The media may review those that have passed on, or those that have divorced, new births, new politicians, new records that have been broken, or those that are announced as the best dressed, worst dressed or most sexy. I must admit, I become intrigued by many of these lists at the end of the year. I have been known to purchase a People magazine close to the end of the year, looking at what the big stars have been up to the past year. After I read all the stories and look at all the pictures, I put down the magazine and pop back into the today’s world….my world.
My world is primarily being a school nurse. My world is focused on the health of school age children in the United States, in a rural school district of 4,000 students. My world frustrates me almost daily when it comes to pediatric healthcare. You see, many of my students have great difficulty accessing quality, comprehensive healthcare. My world recognizes that access to quality healthcare is vital to the health of children. In addition, my schools are keenly aware that the health status of students is critical to their success in school, and further will influence their abilities to become productive citizens. My world has even listed access to healthcare as a priority focus area for children (Healthy People 2010). In addition, my world has studied this problem and are keenly aware of the many factors that are related to poor access to primary care for this population, notably lack of or limited health insurance, lack of transportation, lack of providers, and inconvenient appointment times for working parents. All this wouldn’t be so bad if I had mostly healthy students, but you see, my school reflects the average health of school age children in the United States (U.S.). In my world, children in the U.S. have some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and asthma in the world (IOM, 2004), resulting in further health morbidity and premature mortality.
My world is a little sobering, but there is good news. Access to health care for school age children is amendable to early intervention and follow-up. Along with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), I believe that school nurses are vital to maintaining the health of children. The standard established for promoting the health of children is a 1:750 school nurse to student ratio (NASN, 2006). In many parts of my world, the ratio is one school nurse per every 3000 students (Praeger, 2002). In addition, few states mandate the hiring of school nurses in school systems (NASN, 2006).
Today, this year, 2010, it has never been more important to unite as fellow school nurses. Speak out about the health of your students. Collect data. Do research. Become a strong advocate for your community and professional organizations regarding access to health care. Now is the time in our world that we can make the greatest difference.
Here’s to 2010, may it find you, your family, your students, your staff, your community, and our world a new beginning of empowerment, of unity, of good health and peace.
Sincerely,
Crystal D. Thornton RN, MSN, CPNP-PC
Licensed School Nurse
Little Miami Local Schools
President of SWOSNA
Daytime: 513-899-5275 ext. 45431
Fax: 513-899-5050
Cell: 513-314-5027
thornton4@aol.com
References
.
Institute of Medicine [IOM], National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2004).
Report brief: Children’s health, the nation's wealth: Assessing and improving child health. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from, http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/ Master/23/ 164/0.pdf
National Association of School Nurses (2006, June). School nursing management of students
with chronic health conditions. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www.nasn.org/
Default.aspx?tabid=348
National Association of School Nurses (2001, June). The role of the school nurse in school-based
centers. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www.nasn.org/Default. aspx?tabid=245
Polit, D.F. & Beck, C.T. (2008). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (8th ed).Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Williams.
Praeger, S., Zickler, C., & Mosca, N. W. (2002). Care of students with special needs in schools: Application of professional school nursing practice standards. Scarborough, ME: National
Association of School Nurses.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services
Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (2005). The national survey of children's health 2003. Rockville, Maryland. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/thechild/intro.htm
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