Whom To Contact:

• The certified school nurse delivers the most accessible, cost effective, quality health care for West Virginia's children. This is our message. Say it in many different ways but say it over and over.
• Introduce yourself. Provide a brief overview of your professional activities as a certified school nurse. (e. g., how many schools you serve, the number and types of students you serve, etc.)
• State a few specific key statistics from the 2004-2005 School Nurse Needs Assessment or some statistics from your county.
• Discuss a specific scenario in your practice where you have made a difference in the school life of a child. Make it brief but personal. It can involve a specialized procedure, an "at risk" child, or a problem that you identified and assisted a student/family in solving.
• Stress the independent assessment skills necessary to function as a school nurse and emphasize certification as a professional standard. Inform your legislator that WVASN is actively working with higher education institutions to look at additional ways to meet school nurse certification requirements.
• Emphasize your role in preventing violence. You are often the first "non-disciplinary" person to deal with a student after a fight. You also see those students with stress symptoms (headaches, stomachaches, etc.). You are the most appropriate person in the system to train schools to deal with the injuries that could occur in a violent situation. You should be a key member of any violence prevention team. You are an expert at handling a crisis.
• Be sure to thank your legislator and remind him/her that certified school nurses are essential not only to the health, safety and educational progress of students, but also to the academic mission of schools. Invite your legislator to one of your schools. (Try to get a commitment and set a date.) Ask if they have any questions.

These are just suggestions. Use any or all as you see fit or add your own ideas. If you speak from the heart, you will do fine.

Thank you from all the WV school nurses.

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