Luann Fogels, RN, NCSN

Hello, my name is Luann Fogels and as your new ASNA president, I feel honored to write the “President’s Message” for the new Alaska School Nurses Association website.  I would like to start by sharing an experience with you that I had while attending the National School Nurses Association Conference in Boston this past June.

I heard the speaker’s message clearly.  It was as if she was talking directly to me, not to the hundreds of other school nurses sitting in the room.  The message was “Voice, Vision and Visibility” and the speaker was Suzanne Gordon. 

This message was not meant for us to go home and be happy with a renewed sense of energy for a school year of selfless giving.  This message was meant for us to go home and tell the world what it is we actually do. This message was meant for us to focus on celebrating who we are, to value our knowledge and to try and help others understand our complicated profession.

Nurses are held in high esteem and their profession is highly valued.  We know this through public opinion polls.  So the paradox is that the public trusts nurses; however, the public does not really know what nurses do.

When we talk about our work we explain it using virtues rather than knowledge.  We often say, “All it takes to be a nurse is compassion and caring.”  Is that really what you remember studying in college?  I remember crying over Statistics, Chemistry, Microbiology, A&P and writing Care Plans till my fingers were numb. 

I came away from the conference with a renewed sense of how hard I worked to get my degree.  How hard I studied to understand A&P so that I could explain a disease process to my patients in simple terms. 

And now I want to pass this message on to you.  I want you to hear your voice as you assert yourselves for what you need to do your job.  I want you to have the vision to see what school nurses can do if we unite.  And I want you to have visibility by letting others know what you do everyday.

It is almost impossible to add anything else to our busy schedules when our minds are awash with the responsibility of keeping our staff, students and ourselves healthy.  Not to mention the day-to-day challenges we see as we work with fragile diabetics, students with unstable asthma, students who can’t learn because they haven’t eaten a proper meal for days and of course the illnesses and injuries we assess throughout our day.

However, I am going to ask that you do add something to your already busy days.  I am going to ask you to remember yourself!  I am going to ask you to praise the work you do, to acknowledge the knowledge you have and to remember how hard it was to get your degree.  You should learn to talk about what you did today in terms of the knowledge it took to help the patient and the process you went through, to get to the positive result.  In this way, we can educate the public about what nurses really do.

I hope everyone has had a restful summer because this year is shaping up to be a very busy and exciting year.  H1N1 and healthcare reform are on the forefront, NASN is more active than ever with legislation, the Anchorage School District nurses are learning how to use “Zangle” (their new computerized health program), and all of us are trying to stay healthy in the midst of more ill students than ever.

The ASNA board members have already had two meetings, the planning for the Spring Conference 2010 is in progress and our State School Nurse Consultant, Mary Bell, has had a full summer of H1N1.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I hope you are enjoying our new Alaska School Nurses Association (ASNA) website.  I am so impressed with the quality of the website and I have to give Annette Johansen, RN, ASNA Treasurer, a round of applause for all her dedication and hard work.  Annette spent a large part of her summer working to bring you this website.  I know you will be equally impressed as you browse through the website and see all that it has to offer you.

P. S.  I highly recommend the book From Silence to Voice:  What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public co-authored by Suzanne Gordon and Bernice Buresh.  Ms. Gordon was the speaker I referred to above.  She was able to put into words the complicated work nurses do without sounding like we are bragging.  She said nurses trivialize what we do rather than speak up for our part in saving lives.  I was so moved by her lecture that I wanted to share my thoughts with you.  Have a great year and remember to take time for yourself!