Introduction Key Messages Tip Sheets Advocacy Tools Marketing Materials Health Education
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Regina Wysocki, Klein Independent School District, TX (cont’d)
All district school nurses have a clinic web page, and Regina blogs through her page to push information to parents. She has sponsored a hand-washing coloring contest to engage students, and takes advantage of the PTO Facebook page and all approved district communications channels to maximize the reach of health education. She also authors her own blog, The 21st Century Nurse, and returned as a mentor for the 2014 School Health Leadership program to share her own program experiences, and lessons learned. Some of her advice for new program leaders and communicators includes:
Program Pointers
• Continuous learning is essential for School Nurses. Getting active in National
and State professional associations is vital to staying current – and a great way
to keep alert of opportunities for professional and program development.
• Recognize that the program you envision may not work off the bat – expect to
learn and adapt.
• Seek feedback from program participants to identify shortfalls or new tactics.
• Reach out to new partners in your community and district to help expand your
reach. Potential partners include public librarians, churches and religious groups,
public health agencies, community health centers and hospitals.
• Be aware that program approvals may involve several rounds of review and
significant time – build some extra lead-time and flexibility into your schedule.
Tips for New Bloggers
• Some professionals are wary of blogging – but the key is to be responsible, and
the acid test is “would I share this with my parents?”
• Be mindful of the need to be accurate – use credible evidence based resources.
• Leverage other social channels to help bring readers to your own site. For her
hand-washing coloring contest, Regina posted the winners with links to her blog
on the PTO Facebook page.
• To help keep your blog going, follow other active bloggers and get ideas from
their content and activities.