About The National Association Of School Nurses
The National Association of School Nurses, or NASN as it is frequently called, can be best understood by considering its mission, vision, core goal, and core values.
Mission Satement
“The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) advances the specialty practice of school nursing to improve the health and academic success of all students”.
This implies that the primary aim of the organization and the reason for its existence is to ensure that students in schools and colleges receive the level of care necessary to keep them healthy at all times.
Vision
“NASN is the indispensable resource to the global health community”.
This implies that the organization is growing and will continue to grow until such time as it is an international force in the field of nursing.
Core Goal
“Every child has a school nurse, all day, every day”.
As things stand there are not school nurses in every school, and in many cases schools are served by a travelling nurse who is not available throughout the school day. This is a situation that needs t be rectified if we are to address the issue of health in our school and the National Association of School Nurses is actively working towards changing this state of affairs.
Core Values
- The National Association of School Nurses believes in providing scholarship opportunities to its members and other professionals in the area of school nursing as education is the best means by which to advance the profession.
- The National Association of School Nurses exhibits high quality service, products, standards and practice.
- The National Association of School Nurses values ethical, fair, and honest relationships.
- The National Association of School Nurses promotes respectful, accountable and responsible community and professional partnerships.
- The National Association of School Nurses embraces a diverse membership and acknowledges that each member is inherently valuable and brings unique perspective and contribution to its mission.
- The National Association of School Nurses values collaboration with diverse groups to advance common goals.
Membership Benefits
As like most other professional organizations, the National Association of School Nurses has a number of member benefits designed specifically to ensure that members are attracted to the organization and that their careers and educational aspirations can be adequately facilitated, thereby enhancing the profession as a whole.
Educational Programs
One of the primary ways in which organizations like the National Association of School Nurses can help you if you choose to become a member is by providing you with educational opportunities. Through education you will advance your knowledge in the field as well as your career prospects. In addition, if all school nurses make use of the education on offer, the profession of school nursing as a whole will become more advanced and specialized. The first way in which the National Association of School Nurses aims to achieve this is by allowing you to register at significantly discounted rates for the NASN Annual Conference. This is a conference especially for school nurses and hosted by the National Association of School Nurses. The conference is valuable in that it provides you with resources and networking opportunities that are essential in your job. The conference also counts towards your continuing education credits.
The National Association of School Nurses also offers a number of Live Continuing Education Programs specifically designed to provide you with those CEU credits that you need in ruder to renew your license and remain current as a school nurse. This is available for members of the National Association of School Nurses at vastly discounted rates in comparison to non members. Continuing education is the name of the game for the National Association of School Nurses as members will, in addition, be able to enroll in one of the many modules on its Online Continuing Education Learning Center for free or at a reduced fee, depending on the module and on your membership status. A number of individuals cannot advance their careers in school nursing in the way that they would like due to limited resources.
The Association is aware that there are a number of nurses out there with great potential to shine in the industry. Consequently you may have the opportunity through the National Association of School Nurses to continue your education with support from its Educational Advancement Awards which are granted each and every year. For example you will qualify for the New Member Annual Conference Scholarship offered by the National Association of School Nurses simply by becoming a new member. This is a scholarship that will gain you access to the organization’s annual conference at a reduced rate.
Resources & Research
According to the National Association of School Nurses’ website there are a number of resources and research information papers that you will have access to if you choose to become a member of this organization:
- “Shop in the NASN Bookstore where items have special prices for members.
- Receive an online and print subscription to the Journal of School Nursing (JOSN); published bi-monthly, peer-reviewed and featuring original research articles. Indexed in MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, PsychINFO, and Scopus.
- Receive an online and print subscription to the NASN School Nurse; the official clinical journal of NASN published in January, March, May, July, September, and November.
- Be automatically subscribed to the Weekly Digest e-news communication; published weekly to keep members connected to NASN and the latest issues in school nursing.
- Get assistance in documenting and publishing trends with our Research Grants and Awards”.
Advocacy & Outreach
The National Association of School Nurses is dedicated to ensuring that the collective voice of school nurse practitioners is heard in matters that are if direct importance to the profession. The organization advocates for the profession at a number of levels and ensures that the demands of its members as well as the best interests of the profession of school nursing as a whole are not only considered but also acted upon. The National Association of School Nurses also offers an Advocacy Education Award to individuals within the organization who are truly passionate about advocating for the profession. This effectively means that your hard work and dedication will not go unnoticed within this particular society. It is a well known fact that networking is one of the best ways in which to advance your career and just generally build up your knowledge and become a better school nurse. The National Association of School Nurses offers a number of networking opportunities to its members. Through the subspecialty Discussion Lists you will be able to network actively with your colleagues on a number of different topics. At no extra charge you will be able to:
- Be a member of the Private and Parochial School Nurses’ special interest group
- Be a member of the Consortium of School Nurse Educators special interest group
- Be a member of the Special Needs School Nurses special interest group
Last, but not least, you will, as a member of the National Association of School Nurses, be eligible to receive e-communications from NASN to keep you informed of time sensitive news and information for your practice.
Partnerships
As a member of the organization you will be in a position to take advantage of the National Association of School Nurses partnership with Vision Service Plan by applying for the Sight for Students program. In addition you can learn more about the group savings offered to NASN members for personal insurance from Liberty Mutual (http://www.libertymutual.com/nasn) as well as being notified when the latest NASN Radio broadcast has been released. You will be able to listen online or subscribe to the podcast to hear experts discussing topics you care about as NASN has partnered with BAM Radio Network to bring you excellent radio segments directly relevant to your field. The last benefit that you will be eligible for is the ability to receive savings on prescription drug pricing with NASN’s Discount Rx Program. This program is designed as a stand-alone benefit program but it may also be used as a supplement for insured prescription plans to discount non-covered prescriptions.
Professional membership with an organization such as this one can boost your career in a number of ways. For example, you will be provided with the many career advancing opportunities mentioned previously. However, you will also find that you stand a better chance of being employed if you are a membership with a professional organization. Although employers often do not specifically state that they are looking for someone who shows their dedication to school nursing through membership, they often are, meaning that membership could for many reasons give you a head start in your career.
If you would like to find out more about this organization, please make use of the contact information provided below in order to do so:
National Headquarters
8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 420
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 U.S.A.
1-240-821-1130
Toll-Free: 1-866-627-6767
Fax: 1-301-585-1791
nasn@nasn.org
