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New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA) is celebrating the conclusion of our 2024 Spring Conference. Our second in-person since COVID as we continue to rebuild our strength, endurance, and school nurse community. Our intention is always to bring the quality of a national conference to our state. And I can say, based on the feedback from attendees, and the feeling in the space that we delivered!
The theme of NJSSNA2024 was “School Nurses Make the Impossible, Possible.” Our brilliant marketing team drew a parallel between school nursing and the creation of sea glass. It was a theme throughout our conference. Just as sea glass evolves from sharp, discarded fragments into smooth, polished gems through the relentless forces of nature, school nurses navigate challenging circumstances in educational settings to create positive outcomes for students. We do make the impossible, possible!
Like sea glass, school nurses face adversity and pressure in their daily roles, yet we can adapt, heal, and transform challenges into opportunities for growth and healing. Through our dedication, compassion, and expertise, school nurses play a crucial role in supporting the health and well-being of students, often turning seemingly impossible situations into moments of triumph and resilience.
Our conference highlights were many but included two NASN leaders. Our Saturday morning opening session began with greetings from NASN CEO, Terri Hinkley, and our closing afternoon keynote speaker was NASN President-Elect Lynn Nelson! We brought back our Friday night of celebration and learning and danced the evening away. There is no substitute for in-person conferencing. While Zoom has served us all well through COVID, face-to-face communication and being together in real life is priceless.
Eileen Gavin, NJSSNA President, set the tone for our conference by introducing “The Huddle,” an evidence-based communication tool she read about in NASN School Nurse Journal. Read Eileen’s introduction of this initiative, that NJSSNA is adapting for our executive board and we hope will spread throughout our state.
I was actively seeking ways to foster a culture of support and collaboration among nurses. After revisiting this article “The Huddle,” I found it to be particularly inspiring. As a result, I have decided to implement a similar approach by calling upon all school nurses at our NJSSNA 2024 Spring conference to enhance their communication within our association through the adoption of the “Huddle” model.
Our association’s monthly meetings have already begun promoting a culture of recognition by encouraging shout-outs for school nurses who demonstrate exceptional work at the school or county level. This emphasis on positivity, alongside addressing concerns, sharing compliments, and highlighting achievements, is proving to be a more compassionate and constructive way of engaging with our school nurse community and nurturing leaders.
It’s a quality improvement tool to improve communication, clarify misunderstandings and fostering relationships. – Eileen Gavin
The concept of “The Huddle” was repeated throughout our conference, including providing private spaces for Huddling during break periods and as an alternative to the Friday evening dance party. We saw groups of attendees “huddling” throughout the conference and there was a buzz of positivity and excitement. The Huddle encourages a sense of belonging and inclusion, asking us to meet and greet new colleagues and invite conversations and connections.
The conference speakers delivered important, innovative, and timely messages ranging from Stress First Aid, Obesity, Tube School, School Safety, Tics and Mosquitos, Sleep Hygiene, Social Media’s impact on Nutrition, School Law, Suicide Prevention, and much more.
I encourage school nurse affiliates to share their conference experiences. Being together is the antidote we all need to battle the isolation and loneliness that school nurses can sometimes experience in our daily work. Being with like-minded colleagues is a healing balm for our school nursing moral injuries that we have encountered. Remember to learn more about “The Huddle,” and bring “huddling” to your state too! It works!
Cheers to my dear colleagues, who once again, created a conference experience that we can all be proud of bringing to our members. Anna Tupe, past NJSSNA president, reminded me after the conference ended and the attendees left the room; “This is the moment we only get once, it’s that feeling of a really hard job, well done.” We did it friends, School Nurses – Make the Impossible, Possible!
Reference:
Schatz, M., & Bergren, M. D. (2022). The Huddle: A Daily Dose of Communication. NASN school nurse (Print), 37(2), 76–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942602X211056371
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Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 22nd year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Director for New Jersey to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Board. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 and 2020 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also writes a monthly column in My American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association. Robin’s work is included as a case study in The Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
What a fun and inclusive 2024 spring conference the NJSSNA team planned for the NJ nurses! I saw and experienced joy as nurses “huddled” with colleagues, learning from an impressive array of expert speakers and poster presenters as well as exhibitors seeking to support school nursing practice. Our NASN leaders Terri Hinkley and Lynn Nelson inspired us with calls for affiliate input, a glimpse at the updated Framework, and identifying our “Why” and spheres of influence.
The NEUSHA team (Jenny Gormley and Kathy Hassey) appreciates collaborating with NJSSNA for another unforgettable conference. Thank you, Robin, for all your efforts, seen and unseen, to advocate for school nurses and the students they serve!
NJSSNA is so appreciative of the support, guidance and heavy lift that NEUSHA lends to our conferences. Thank you for perfectly summarizing the highlights of our conference.
This is a wonderful Sunday morning success story!! You don’t often hear the word JOY in a conference……..fantastic!!!
Really loved the “Huddle” concept – plan to reread this article and utilize it for our next board meeting and conference planning, Thanks Robin!
That’s fantastic, please let me know how it is received in your association!