Wednesday: July 10

Self-scheduled, one-on-one, or small group conversations in the virtual Braindate platform.

Schwartz Rounds holds great promise for enhancing the well-being of school nurses. These evidence-based sessions provide a safe space for healthcare practitioners, including school nurses, to engage in discussions about the emotional and interpersonal aspects of their work. Participants in Schwartz Rounds can freely exchange their perspectives, experiences and challenges without the pressure of immediate solutions or fear of consequences for their open sharing (Maben et al., 2018). The New Jersey Nursing Emotional Well-Being Institute (NJ-NEW) faculty and a National Certified School Nurse will introduce the history and virtual implementation of Schwartz Rounds in New Jersey. Importantly, these sessions include specific sessions tailored to school nurses with unique experiences compared to their hospital-based counterparts. The format consists of a nurse panelist sharing their stories around a particular theme to spark small-group discussions among the participants. Skilled mental healthcare professionals will facilitate these discussions and outcomes, which will be shared at the end of each session. Schwartz Rounds provide opportunities for nurses to engage in conversations about challenging or inspiring experiences, offering and receiving support while reducing feelings of isolation.

Asthma remains the most common chronic condition among students with a higher incidence in African American and other students of color. This session covers treatment options that may simplify asthma management for families in a way that can also address related health inequities experienced by some families. These include access to specialty care, cost of medication, availability of adult oversight for asthma care, motivation for compliance with traditional therapies, and comprehension. The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) Asthma Symptom-based Adjustment of Inhaled Steroid Therapy (ASIST) study will be discussed. It is a randomized, blind research study on the use of steroid inhalers on an as-needed basis only. This study resulted in outcomes that can be applied as evidence-based interventions for students who fit the study criteria. Collaboration between PICORI and NASN has resulted in the development of Evidence Implementation Guidance for school nurses. Implementation with the family/student, healthcare provider, and school nurse are each addressed with recommended strategies. The implications for the school nurse include improved compliance with asthma management and outcomes in the school setting through the elimination of reliance on daily steroid use, impacts on collaboration with the family and healthcare provider, changes in the traditional asthma action plan, and less reliance on the need for preventive care at home. School nurses will leave with strategies and resources for sharing and implementation.

Participants will hear an overview of the latest research on the impacts of social media use on the health and safety of kids and teens. They will learn how the design of these products intentionally increases user engagement and addictive behavior patterns while pushing information at kids and teens that further puts them at risk, even more so for underserved and marginalized youth. Participants will hear from experts who work with families who have lost kids to social media harms, how this has translated to advocacy work, and actionable steps for solution building including supporting regulating Big Tech companies so they prioritize the wellbeing of our nation's youth over their own profits. The event will also feature school nurses Elizabeth Elliot and Robin Cogan, who will address social media harms from the school nurse’s perspective and how social media exacerbates other crises schools and students face. Finally, the participants will have an opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions of the panelists.

Self-scheduled, one-on-one, or small group conversations in the virtual Braindate platform.