Close-up photo of a man holding a microphone with a blurred audience in the background

School Nurses + We Can!® =
A Promising Collaboration

Posted January 12, 2011

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) boasts a membership of over 14,500 school nurses across the U.S. And since they are known as the go-to source for school nurse resources about youth health, a partnership between NASN and We Can! was a perfect match.

"The National Association of School Nurses is in partnership with We Can! to provide school nurses with evidenced-based obesity prevention materials to disseminate to parents, families, and students," said Shirley Schantz, RN, EdD, ARNP, and Nursing Education Director at NASN.

NASN is using a variety of channels to do just that. An article entitled School Nurses CAN Make a Difference with We Can! will appear in the upcoming issue of NASN's quarterly magazine, NASN School Nurse, in early 2011. We Can! resources and events are featured regularly in the group's weekly digest emails, which go to a subscriber base of about 12,000 school nurses. And, NASN has incorporated We Can! into its Web site at http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=594 and into its childhood obesity prevention program, School Nurse Obesity Prevention Education (S.C.O.P.E.). S.C.O.P.E. is a comprehensive, live, full-day continuing education program developed by NASN to provide strategies for school nurses to address the challenges of obesity and overweight. You can check out the S.C.O.P.E. Web site by copying and pasting the following URL: http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=435.

NASN also participated in a recent We Can! partner webinar, which gave program partners the opportunity to provide updates on their We Can! activities and make new connections with others doing similar work. "It was good to hear people on the phone and it was good to get ideas from other people using We Can! materials and resources—it's always good to get ideas from others," said Schantz. This and future We Can! webinars will offer a regular opportunity for We Can! partners to share experiences, ideas, and lessons learned about promoting the program in their communities.

"School nurses play a critical role in the health of our nation's children. We Can! resources make it easier for school nurses to help children and the community stay at a healthy weight, in spite of the temptations that surround them and the challenges that all families face in engaging in an active lifestyle," said Schantz.

Last Updated: May 8, 2012

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