The Relentless School Nurse: Georgia On My Mind

I have been honored to speak at many school nursing conferences over the years. Most of them have been remote because of COVID and work restrictions. My school year is coming to an end like a tall glass of sweet tea, as I was able to travel to Savannah, Georgia, and speak at the Georgia Association of School Nurses (GASN) annual conference. From the moment I landed to the moment I departed, the warm Southern hospitality was extended to me with open arms. 

My heart is full of the kindness, warm welcome,e and responses from the GA school nurses to my presentations. First, I worked with a small group of nurses who chose to learn about blogging as I held a 3 1/2 hour preconference session called; “Growing School Nurse Bloggers”. It was a hands-on workshop where I shared blogging tips and tricks but also allowed time for brainstorming and writing. I also delivered the opening keynote presentation to kick off the conference to a room filled with more than three hundred Georgia school nurses. The theme was “Replenishing and Reimagining Your School Nursing Practice,” the two-hour presentation concluded with two standing ovations, the first time ever for me. The next morning I spoke at the Leadership Breakfast about growing our school nursing leaders.

What I will take away from this life-affirming experience is that school nurses are recovering, it has been a long hard journey, but we are healing. I saw a group of dedicated school nurse leaders from GASN who gave selflessly to create the experience of a national conference for their members. School nursing has leaders at all levels with and without the title. I reminded our colleagues that we are all Chief Wellness Officers in our buildings, even if that is not our official title, we can claim it as our own. 

I am looking forward to seeing many of our colleagues at NASN in just a few short weeks. We will be celebrating and welcoming new NASN Fellows, enjoying a reunion of school nursing friends from across the country. I will be speaking at a general session about the school nurses’ role in gun violence prevention with a focus on promoting safe storage. It is a relief to leave another COVID school year behind, with the hope that the coming year will be one of repair and renewal. I certainly felt the healing beginning in Savannah, Georgia. So, my dear Georgia friends, thank you and I leave Georgia, with all of you “on my mind.”