NASNat50 Memories are Made of This
From ordinariness to mastery of children's care I will never want to lose a flair for school nursing. I realized it did take courage and aptitude to pursue the goals of being a school nurse and I could not do it alone…teamwork began.
Some of us remember a mentor or a co-worker who influenced us. I remember a young faculty who became impressed with a school nurse…they were younger teachers in this new middle school who had not worked with a school nurse. They were sometimes more anxious than the kids. With this experience I learned the value of communication about our students and they learned about a tenacious nurse who was the kids' advocate. They enhanced my role as much as attending team meetings for the children almost daily despite the need for charting that came after the bell rang.
I never gave up on a child and never said "no." I taught them about their visit to the health office and about a responsibility to learn. They did not get exhausted hearing my health beliefs but learned accountability through getting health-wise while in middle school. Sometimes they would share with the class why the visit took so long; it was another form of communication when the teachers needed more interpretation or maybe clarification. It also invited more visits from the students.
Another phrase I quickly learned was "yes, I will be glad to do it." Through "yes" I began a journey with NASN. A phone call (land line then) came asking me to help with an NASN project in NJ. Of course, I did say my favorite phrase, "yes, I will be glad to do it." A love affair began with people now part of my life. Beverly Farquhar from Maine trusted me, and I was aware I had lots to prove. Beverly was one of the original champions of school nurses, along with two other ladies, friends, supporters, guiding lights; Pat Roberts and Gloria Durgin. My journey with them was a challenging hand holding experience that much later led to development of Donna's theme of "School Nurses: Transforming School Communities."
The Maine group influenced my school nursing career as I learned about submitting things accurately and in a timely fashion. The staff had all the answers when you had a question. All the while I was a practicing certified school nurse in New Jersey performing the demanding and mandated tasks for children, keeping up with my clinical skills and trying to communicate my learning experiences to the kids and parents, the community, peers and the faculty.
As School nursing increased as my passion and profession, I did fit in the prime responsibilities of the immediate health issues presenting in the health office while trying to fulfill the state's many mandates. Immunizations were part of a standard investigation for everyone including counseling the adults in the children's lives. Physical Assessment and the sports physical responsibilities increased into the next decade along with the health-related absentee follow-up as part of the new terminology Evidenced Based Practice. Now it was not just knowing New Jersey rules and regulations it was knowing and enacting the NASN' s positions statements and resolutions to guide me in new policy and procedure development in my school district. Attending the NASN summer conventions was one of the few ways I could keep abreast of School nursing changes, challenges and ways to practice in an ethical manner. I can't remember my first convention and if you know me you will understand. Goodness where was the location? Who spoke? Topic of the year? Theme of the new president? Who were the officers? With attending conventions, I learned who I was, where I had been and where I had yet to go. I know I came home brimming with enthusiasm to share. I guess it was the motivational speaker that year. I was there, I learned, I documented notes, took some pictures and made lasting friendships. I was excited with the tide of more and more expectations of our profession. How can I put my almost golden memories into a blog? But if you ask me a question I might remember the answer. Onward and upward!
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Jeanne J. Kiefner RN MEd FNASN
Rowan University
Cherry Hill, NJ
856-952-0340
kiefnerjeanne55@gmail.com
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