News and Blogs

Special Topics Cafe Today... and Power hour/Special Topics moving forward

posted 15 days ago
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Good Morning School Nurses! OSNA is continuing  Power Hours  and  Special Topics Cafe 's again this year. Power Hour , held on the afternoon of the  3rd Thursday of each month , is an open-ended, casual discussion time when school nurses can connect and share thoughts, successes, and concerns. It is generally a free flowing discussion. Our next Power Hour will be held on  September 16th.   Register Here ! Special Topics Cafe's , scheduled for the afternoon of the  first Wednesday of each month , offer a more directed conversation. After a brief presentation, nurses can explore specific topics of immediate relevance for school nurse practice. ...
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Registration links are live for school nurse events in August

posted 07-06-2021
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Hello, everyone.I hope summer is being kind to you. It looks like August is shaping up to be full of support for school nurses. I'll share more links and info as dates get closer. For now, here's a save-the-date for August school nurse events:    Wednesday August 11 th 1pm: School Nurse Orientation --> see details below 4pm: 504 Accommodations Session --> see details below Thursday August 12 th 10am: Randall’s IDDM Diabetes Order Sets Thursday August 19 th 3:30pm: OSNA Power Hour --> statewide discussion for school nurses Thursday August 26 th noon: School Nurse Orientation 3pm: 504 Accommodations Session note: ...
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Mental and Behavioral Health Leader at ODE: an opportunity for school nurses

posted 06-24-2021
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I am excited that Scott Nine, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Education Innovation and Improvement, Oregon Dept. of Education, reached out and asked OSNA to share this job opportunity. The posting for a  new Mental and Behavioral Health Education Leader position is open for applications through July 5 th . His doing so speaks to ODE's growing understanding that school nurses have skills which support mental and behavioral health in schools. It is evidence of our strengthening partnership with ODE, for which we are immensely grateful! Please look at the specifics in the included link to see if this might be a fit for you!
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Closing soon: 2021 Oregon School Nurse Survey

posted 06-15-2021
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The OHA 2021 Oregon School Nurse Survey  closes this Friday, June 18th. Many thanks to everyone who has already completed it! If you haven't yet, please take a moment today. It helps us to tell the story of school nursing. It’s taking 10 minutes or less for most school nurse colleagues. Please click the link or copy and paste: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021OregonSchoolNurse Thank you! -Corinna ​
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2021 Oregon School Nurse Survey is live!

posted 05-27-2021
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Greetings, school nurses. Thank you for all you are doing! As we move into the final days of to school year, please help us share your incredible work , as well as informing state plans to support school nurses across Oregon.   2021 Oregon School Nurse Survey Are you a nurse serving an Oregon school setting? Please respond to the 2021 Oregon School Nurse Survey . about 15 minutes; ~40 questions requests information about school nurse workforce, school settings, and nursing services provided in schools. Click the link above or copy and paste: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021OregonSchoolNurse    Your input would also be very ...
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RSSL Guidance Input... The Next Steps. Join us at the Special Topics Cafe on June 2 at 3:30!

posted 05-26-2021
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Please join us for the Special Topics Cafe on June 2 at 3:30, where we will have an opportunity to provide feedback on Ready Schools Safe Learners guidance as part of the ODE engagement process. The meeting will begin with a brief presentation by Kati Moseley who will presen t an overview of the RSSL guidance shifts that are taking place and the timeline for the overall revision process. This will be followed by an opportunity for nurses to share their insights. Register HERE .
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Plan for School Nurse Input for Future Iterations of RSSL (starting TODAY at POWER HOUR)

posted 05-20-2021
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Greeting Nurses! We want to give you an update on the plan for gathering School Nurse input for future iterations of RSSL. First and foremost we want to make you aware that this process will start today at Power Hour . We will debrief about the past year, and i n addition to peer-to-peer discussion time, we will have an opportunity to share some of our thoughts directly with an ODE representative, for those who can stay on after 5pm. The Oregon Department of Education is seeking stakeholder responses to a set of open-ended questions.  School Nurses will have the opportunity to brainstorm about these in person at Special Topics Cafe on June 2nd ...
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More News About 2021 Spring Conference!

posted 04-07-2021
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The 2021 Spring OSNA conference is just around the corner.  Visit our event website to register!! This conference is a unique opportunity for learning which is critical to advancing our school nursing practices. Presentations by National caliber speakers, including Nina Fekaris, Immediate Past President of NASN, and Erin Maughn, Director of Research at NASN in addition to Oregon’s own Dr. Paul Cieslak, Medical Director, Communicable Diseases and Immunizations will combine with interactive sessions to create an engaging learning experience!   With many schools opening for the first time and others changing their models in response to guidance supporting ...
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OSNA Updates

posted 04-06-2021
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Greetings nurse colleagues, What a whirlwind this school year has been so far for all of us as we work to keep our school populations informed and healthy in the midst of a global pandemic with frequently changing metrics and guidance. Your OSNA leadership has been hard at work creating opportunities for our school nurses across Oregon to connect for support and education, to collaborate on evolving protocols and tools, to commiserate around struggles, and to celebrate triumphs. The OSNA board has been so busy that I want to take a moment to check in with you all to give a few updates on the many happenings behind the scenes. The legislative committee ...
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Spring Conference Registration OPEN!!

posted 03-19-2021
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We are thrilled to offer OSNA Spring Conference: Living Into the Framework on April 16th! Pre-conference opportunities, live and pre-recorded, will be available on April 15th, as well. This year, our fully virtual conference will be offered on a web-based platform which will enable us to keep the content available for 6 months. This is especially important right now when so many school nurses are working hard to bring students safely back to school. View the amazing content and register on our event website:  Living Into the Framework ! Looking forward to seeing you all soon! Wendy
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SYMJEPI

posted 03-12-2021
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Fellow School Nurse I want to give you a heads up about  SYMJEPI   this is a pre-filled Epinephrine syringe, not an autoinjector. We had a family turn in one early this week, it was what their  OHP - CCO pharmacy plan would approve as a generic Epi-Pen.  Standard generics (Teva and Amneal) were denied. Doing research I was able to verify that Nursing Practice Act directs us to follow Severe Allergy Certification for IM injection.  That the Severe Allergy Certification course is for auto-injectors.  This device also includes an exposed needle which OHA disallowed in an auto-injector several years ago (Twinjet) We believe with Prior ...
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OSNA Special Topics Cafe: In-School Testing... please join the discussion!

posted 02-01-2021
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Hi All, On Wednesday, please join us for OSNA Special Topics Cafe. This informal gathering will be more structured than typical Power Hour. The discussion is timed after the RSSL guidance update (1/19/2021) which included in-school testing requirements (for some districts) and the webinars being held by OHA on 2/2 2021 and 2/3/2021 (published in a separate post). Colleagues will present planning options from urban/population centers and more rural settings for testing programs run by nurses and non-nurses, so we can see a range of possibilities. Breakout discussions will help generate questions which can be addressed by the group and other resource people ...
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Webinars about onsite COVID testing program

posted 01-28-2021
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Greetings, nurses. Since the 1/19 RSSL updates were posted, many people have noted the language about onsite COVID testing in schools. Here is a link to the current OHA guidelines for onsite COVID testing in Oregon schools. https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le3560.pdf Questions about Oregon's school COVID testing program can be sent to schooltesting.covid@dhsoha.state.or.us . Please see below for a bulletin about upcoming webinars. The intended audience of the webinars next Tuesday and Wednesday includes:  >Potential school testing administrators >Other school leaders involved in planning your school’s testing program >LPHA ...
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Next Steps for our Legislative Concept: RN@ODE

posted 12-18-2020
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Our experiences with this pandemic have made abundantly clear what school nurses have known for a long time. We need full time nursing representation at the policy making level in our state’s education department. That realization has provided clear direction for the Legislative Committee (see our previous blog, A Registered Nurse at ODE Will Support Optimal School Health ).  We are now well on the way to having a bill ready to present at the 2021 legislative session which will create a School Nurse Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education. At this point our idea is a Legislative Concept that will become a bill on January 11, 2021.  Quick ...
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INPUT of 2021 Spring Conference NEEDED!

posted 12-15-2020
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As with so many things in the time of COVID, Spring Conference is a work in progress, and we would like input before finalizing the planning. We have determined that the   2021 OSNA Spring Conference will be Virtual in 2021 . Please complete this 4 question  Conference Input Survey  so we will have guidance planning a conference which makes the most sense for school nurses in Oregon during the time of COVID. Thanks for your help!!
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A Registered Nurse at ODE Will Support Optimal School Health!

posted 12-13-2020
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The OSNA Legislative Committee has been busy this fall preparing for the 2021 Oregon State Legislative session.  We are excited to have more members joining us in this very important work. Senator  Monnes Anderson has agreed to sponsor and  introduce a bill that creates the position of School Nurse Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education.  Senator Monnes Anderson is a retired public health nurse who serves the communities of Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview and Wood Village.  She has a strong passion for educational issues. The bill is currently a Legislative Concept, which means it has been drafted as a proposed bill and will be assigned a bill ...
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Power Hour and Conference Tech Check

posted 11-19-2020
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Hi All, Just a quick reminder that we have a Power Hour on Thursday afternoon. Everyone is welcome! We can spend some of the time during the hour answering technical questions in preparation for the conference on Friday for anyone unfamiliar with ZOOM! Register for Power Hour HERE
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Behavioral Health in School Nurse Practice: What supports do you need?

posted 11-11-2020
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With the rising awareness of the importance of social emotional learning and research supporting the effectiveness of proactive skill building and mindfulness techniques, understanding the school nurse role in behavioral health is critical. I am pulling together resources for school nurses to facilitate their role in providing proactive behavioral health support for students.  In conversations, it has become clear to me that school nurses need and want more training in this area, so I am gathering information about what is happening in schools and what nurses need. To do this, I need your help! Please take a few minutes to share your insights in this survey ...
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OSNA Fall Conference 2020, "Public/Community Health: The Critical School Nurse Role"

posted 10-09-2020
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OSNA has heard your requests for exploring tools to support your role in public health in the school setting during a pandemic... without focusing the entire Fall Conference on COVID. Participants in this conference will hear about the school nurse's role in public and population health throughout history, learn to be discerning about the reliability of resources explore how school district policy can impact school nurse practice and learn to translate practice into protocol and procedure. The conference will also provide two opportunities for discussion related to clinical aspects of COVID. First, nurses will hear a presentation about ...
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Closing soon: SNO Registration and SNAG Applications

posted 10-09-2020
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Thank you for all that you are doing! Here are two quick reminders and one open invitation. NEWER NURSES: REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON. ​Statewide School Nurse Orientation is coming up next Wednesday, October 14th. Sessions are available 8am-10:30am, or 11am-1:30pm. The 2.5-hour workshop sessions focus on the unique role of RNs in the school setting, and include brief presentations, small-group discussion, and Q&A. All RNs working in Oregon schools are welcome to attend, with priority given to those in their sites less than 2 years. Register here for either time. EXPERIENCED NURSES: APPLICATION CLOSING SOON. The ODE School Nurse Advisory Group application ...
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