Excellence in School Nursing Award-Nominations sought!

Every school nurse, in our book, is a hero but not everyone gets named to the Super Hero list. Is your school nurse deserving of this designation? The Nebraska School Nurses Association selects one deserving school nurse in the state to be honored and recognized as recipent of the Excellence in School Nursing award winner. We would like to offer you or someone on your staff, the opportunity to nominate a school nurse that you know is deserving of this honor. Please feel free to forward to other administrators, staff or parents of students.

The definition of school nursing is that the registered professional school nurse is the leader in the school community to oversee school health policies and programs. The school nurse serves in a pivotal role to provide expertise and oversight for the provision of school health services and promotion of health education. Using clinical knowledge and judgment, the school nurse provides health care to students and staff, performs health screenings and coordinates referrals to the medical home or private healthcare provider. The school nurse serves as a liaison between school personnel, family, community and healthcare providershttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png to advocate for health care and a healthy school environment (American Nurses Association & National Association of School Nurses [ANA & NASN], 2011).

Guidelines & Criteria for Selection

Purpose:
To recognize the contributions of Nebraska School Nurses by honoring one School nurse who has demonstrated leadership and excellence in the practice of
School nursing.

Sponsor:
Nebraska School Nurses Association

Eligibility:

1. Registered professional nurse, NSNA member, for the current and preceding two years.
2. Must have five years' experience as a school nurse and currently practice full-time as a school nurse. (Full-time shall mean working the full position that is available even though that position may be less than 40 hours/week.)
3. Must present evidence of leadership and excellence in school nursing practice.
4. Full-time supervisors and administrators who provide direct services to students are eligible if 50 percent of time is spent in direct care.

Criteria for Selection:

1. Provider of Client Care
2. Program Management
3. Health Education
4. Professional Development
5. Political/Legislative Activity
6. Community Involvement
7. Research

Procedure for Submission of Application:

1. Complete the NSNA Nomination Form.
2. Attach a letter of support indicating your reasons for nomination. Use the above criteria as a guideline for the content of the letter.

Selection:

1. Application must be postmarked no later than March 30, 2016.
2. Initial screening of applications will be made by the Executive Board of Nebraska School Nurses Association. The Selection Committee may include the Executive Board of NSNA, a member-at-large from a nursing specialty, and a public Servant; i.e., school board member, superintendent, or a PTA representative.
3. Selection will be made by May 20, 2016.
4. Candidate selected will be notified prior to publication of his/her selection.
5. The individual selected will be announced during the Annual Meeting.
6. Individual will be nominated for recognition by National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and will be submitted for year 2016-2017.
7. A booklet of supporting letters, biographical sketch, and a brief narrative will be Submitted to National no later than March 1, 2017