News and Blogs

Online Workshop: School Nurse Role in Communicable Disease Mitigation

posted 6 days ago
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UPCOMING ONLINE WORKSHOP: SCHOOL NURSE ROLE IN COMMUNICABLE DISEASE MITIGATION Do you have questions about school re-opening? Do you need tools for your work supporting schools? Join other nurses working in Oregon schools to discuss our collective work supporting schools during the coronavirus pandemic.   Register today !   DESCRIPTION: This is an online workshop for nurses serving Oregon schools during the coronavirus pandemic. It includes presentations, discussions, and question-and-answer panels facilitated by OSNA school nurse leaders and OHA's State School Nurse Consultant.   For the month of August 2020, discussion will focus on   OSNA's COVID-19 ...
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Congratulations to Nina Fekaris, NASN Fellow!

posted 06-30-2020
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It is thrilling to be watching Nina's induction as a NASN Fellow! I am amazed by all she has done. Thank you, Nina, for all of your work on behalf of school nurses and the students we serve
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OSNA Participates on Panel at Oregon Health Forum Virtual Event Series

posted 06-29-2020
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Greetings! OSNA President, Heather Godsey will be a panelist representing OSNA on a three-part Return-To-School webinar series hosted by the Oregon Health Forum, with the first session occurring this Tuesday, June 30th. Please see the invite with information below, and register to listen in. There are a limited number of scholarships available for school nurses to participate if needed. We hope to see you there! Learn what Oregon's new school guidance means for bringing students and staff safely back to ...
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ODE has released guidance for school re-entry in the fall: What is the school nurse’s role moving forward?

posted 06-11-2020
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After working with partners, including school nurses, ODE has generated guidance which will facilitate schools’ planning for re-entry in the fall. The ODE press  release states that “ Ready Schools, Safe Learners, provides schools flexibility to develop a local blueprint for safely starting school next year. This guidance is designed to be responsive to ongoing educator and community input and will be updated in the months ahead.” The main webpage for Ready Schools, Safe Learners holds a great deal of information, so we wanted to take an opportunity to talk you through the tools and planning process. We recognize several strategies ...
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Additional Workshop Sessions Being Offered: Social Determinants and Acuity Strategies

posted 05-26-2020
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OSNA is offering three additional sessions of the online workshop Social Determinants and AcuityStrategies (1hr 45min). Space is limited, so register ASAP! Thursday, May 28, 2020 @ Noon Friday, May 29, 2020 @ 10:00 am Monday, June 1, 2020 @ 2:00 pm​​​
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This week's acuity workshops are full. NO WORRIES! Additional dates will be announced on Monday!

posted 05-20-2020
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All acuity workshop spaces this week are filled. NO WORRIES, though. Additional dates for later next week will be announced on Monday!  We are thrilled to offer more Social Determinants and Acuity Strategies sessions later next week (though we will avoid Friday because of furlough conflicts). Look for registration links here!
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Registration Links for the OSNA Online Workshop: Social Determinants and Student Acuity Strategies

posted 05-19-2020
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As promised, here are the registration links for the   OSNA Online Workshop: Social Determinants and Student Acuity Strategies.  Remember, the sessions are limited to 30 participants, but we will schedule more sessions if these three fill! May 21, 2020 @ 12:00pm   May 22,2020 @ 10:00am May 22, 2020 @ 2:00p
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SAVE THE DATE: acuity workshop online Thursday and Friday

posted 05-18-2020
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​ Coming soon to a computer near you! Thursday 5/21 - 12 noon Friday 5/22 - 10am Friday 5/22 - 2pm Watch this site for registration links. OSNA Online Workshop: Social Determinants and Student Acuity Strategies 90 minutes Facilitators: Wendy Niskanen, Jan Olson, and Corinna Brower This workshop is designed to increase the RN’s confidence in their ability to assess and report student acuity levels, with emphasis on nursing process and social determinants of health. The workshop will include presentations, small-group discussions, and case studies. This continuing nursing education activity was approved by Oregon Nurses Association, ...
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Townhall Event recap; Coming soon: Acuity Workshop

posted 05-08-2020
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​​It was really great to see and hear from so many you last Thursday and Friday. Over 160 Oregon school-based RNs attended, asked questions, and shared resources. We heard a lot about current work, including some positive outcomes, and addressed many questions. See the discussion thread for slides and chatlog summaries. One of the updates during Townhall was about ODE's medically fragile data collection dates. District data can be entered as of May 7th, until July 31st. If you haven't seen Sasha's resources about entering your student acuity data, please reach out. Whether you've entered acuities for years or are new to the process, we'd love to have you join ...
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OSNA TOWNHALL EVENTS - Join us this week!

posted 04-29-2020
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Thank you so much to everyone who shared responses to the survey  of school-based nurses earlier this month. We heard from over 200 of you about what's been going on in the first month since school closure. ​In response to many of the comments you shared, we have prepared the Townhall Event described below, as a way to offer support, information, and personal connections for RNs practicing in Oregon schools. Facilitators include myself - Corinna Brower (OHA State School Nurse Consultant);  Wendy Niskanen (OSNA immediate-past-president); Heather Godsey (incoming OSNA president), Jamie Smith (immediate-past-OHA SSNC, now at MESD) and Sasha Grenier (ODE School ...
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Transition of Leadership

posted 04-28-2020
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I want to touch base to make you aware of the leadership succession which is happening at the Oregon School Nurses Association. Our typical governance calendar would include a meeting of the General Membership at our spring conference. Due to the cancellation of that conference, our next scheduled general meeting will not happen until the fall of 2020. Therefore, in order to follow the typical calendar for succession in the absence of a spring election, with enthusiastic anticipation, I have offered my resignation effective May 1, and the Board has accepted it. According to OSNA bylaws, in the event of the resignation of a President, the President Elect ...
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During a global pandemic, the school nurse is essential and relevant!

posted 04-02-2020
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During a global pandemic, the school nurse is essential and relevant, even when there are no students in school buildings. As we continue to perform essential duties, we also have an incredible opportunity!   NASN created the Framework for 21st Century School Nurse Practice to outline the various aspects of our role. The framework outlines 5 major components, or domains, of the work we do: Community/Public Health, Care Coordination,  Leadership, Quality of Care, and Standards of practice , We can use this Framework to ensure we are practicing to the limits of our licenses AND to educate the educators about what it is we do (beyond what they see ...
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Update on Spring Conference Refunds, and COVID-19 Resources

posted 03-25-2020
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Dear nurse colleagues,  We hope this message finds you and your family well. As mentioned in our previous communication, OSNA and our state partners are committed to bringing you timely and relevant professional content through our yearly conferences and digital outlets like our website . In light of having to cancel our in-person conference scheduled for April 16th and 17th to comply with Governor Brown's recommendation for social distancing in response to COVID-19, we had hoped to be able to provide you with some of the content planned for spring conference through webinar or other digital means. At this time, however, the spring conference content ...
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Exploring Online Options for OSNA Spring Conference 2020

posted 03-17-2020
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March 17, 2020 The Oregon School Nurses Association looks forward every year to bringing nurses together from around the state at our two-day spring conference. The spring conference has traditionally allowed Oregon’s nurses to come together in person to learn, network, and collaborate. We regret to inform you, however, that due to current guidance on social distancing, which OSNA fully supports and encourages, we will not be able to hold our in-person conference at the Oregon Gardens on April 16 th and 17 th, 2020 as originally planned. Our yearly spring conference helps to fulfill OSNA’s mission of providing leadership and professional development ...
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Leadership Scholarship Can Help a School Nurse Go to the Annual NASN Conference!

posted 02-24-2020
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Two years ago, NASN requested that a "millennial" nurse from each state affiliate attend the Leadership Academy, a pre-conference session at the NASN Annual Conference in Baltimore. This was an effort to develop younger leadership throughout the organization nationally. In Oregon, we recognized that developing leadership capacity is essential to the strengthening of school nursing as a whole, so we developed the Leadership Scholarship which provides funds to help a school nurse 40 years of age or younger to attend NASN Annual Conference. This year, the amount of funding available is $1000 , and the NASN National Conference is being held in Las Vegas from ...
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Youth Mental Health First Aid: Post Conference Session

posted 02-18-2020
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For the first time, OSNA is offering a post coference session, Youth Mental Health First Aid.   Join a small group of 25 participants in the Youth Mental Health First Aid course, designed to teach adults how to help an adolescent who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5 - step action plan for how to help people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.  If you are interested, register soon, as space is limited.
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Scholarships are one important benefit of OSNA Membership... especially with Spring Conference on the horizon!

posted 02-15-2020
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Are you on the fence about OSNA membership. Check out the scholarship opportunities !
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OSNA Spring Conference Registration is OPEN! Building Capacity: Identifying Risks and Fostering Resilience

posted 02-03-2020
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As educators around us think about “disrupted learners,” social emotional learning, and trauma informed care, they often make an assumption that the most important solution to the challenges facing students is to increase access to behavioral health professionals. We know that is an oversimplification; the solution requires teams including school nurses working shoulder to shoulder with behavioral health colleagues and educators. To prepare nurses for this work, Spring Conference 2020 addresses factors which create adversity for our students, teaching school nurses to identify risks and foster resilience in our students.   The line up of speakers begins ...
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Spring conference help needed

posted 10-13-2019
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Hello fellow school nurses!   Planning for spring 2020 conference has begun and we need committee members.  I am sharing this because we would love to have a robust conference planning committee.  Our conference will be at the Oregon Gardens on April 16 and 17 2020.  We already have the site and a basic idea of content but we need your active participation to help make this conference great.  You probably have a few questions in your head right now-- What  is the time commitment to be a conference planning team member? A few hours a month over the next few months.  Meetings can be done via zoom online and email.  What are the responsibilities? ...
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Oregon Dental information

posted 10-13-2019
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Hello-It was suggested that I put updated dental information in this area as a blog.  Here it is!  I can offer one more exciting tidbit here that I did not list in my original post- Rebecca Aalberg, Dental Practice Manager at the OHSU Graduate Medical Education Program,  has confirmed that OHSU does indeed offer a limited number of same day spots for pediatric dental emergencies!   This is likely new information for most school nurses. Moda has changes policies a bit- they now have an $800 max for uninsured students.  They will check for OHP and deny students who are covered by any kind of dental insurance.   A few weeks ago,  I was given an invite to attend ...
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