The Relentless School Nurse: “Don’t Just Count Them, Hold Them Accountable”

“Don’t Just Count Them, Hold Them Accountable,” is a letter to the editor that Dr. Brenna Morse and I wrote in response to “Nurse State Legislators, 2013 to 2023,” a Nursing Outlook article by Drs. Darlene Curley and Patricia Stone. Our letter emphasizes the importance of holding legislators accountable for advancing policies aligned with nursing principles rather than solely focusing on professional backgrounds.

We highlight concerns about nurse legislators supporting policies that contradict the central tenet of the American Academy of Nursing: creating healthy lives for all people.  Our letter stresses the need to evaluate political candidates based on their dedication to inclusivity, evidence-based policymaking, health equity, and justice regardless of their vocation. 

To access our article and delve deeper into these critical discussions, the publisher, Elsevier, has provided a Share Link for free access to the latest version on ScienceDirect. Click on this link to access “Do not just count them, hold them accountable,” before April 29, 2024. You can read or download the article without any sign-up, registration, or fees required.

We hope this article sparks meaningful conversations and actions toward promoting public health and upholding nursing principles in policymaking.

Thank you, Brenna, for inviting me to collaborate on this project. You are a brilliant nurse scientist, dedicated to standing up for issues that promote health equity, and social justice. Our letter to the editor is a call for nurses to use our collective voices to meet crucial moments head-on and not let them slip by, unanswered. 

Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN

Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 22nd year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Director for New Jersey to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Board. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 and 2020 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also writes a monthly column in My American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association. Robin’s work is included as a case study in The Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
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