VASN is happy to collaborate with a long list of state agencies and organizations including:
- Virginia Action for Healthy Kids
- Virginia Parent Teacher Association
- Project Immunize Virginia
- Virginia Emergency Medical Services for Children
- Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
- Central Virginia Asthma Coalition
- Virginia Department of Education
- Virginia Board of Nursing
- School Nurse Institute Partnership
- Virginia Coalition for Children’s Health
- Virginia Council for Private Education
- Virginia Department of Health
National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurse Week. National Nurse Week is always held May 6-12.
If you’d like to partner with VASN, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us at vasn@vasn.us.
If you’d like to sponsor a VASN event, please reach out to us at vasn@vasn.us.
We host an annual VASN Fall Conference and participate in several other educational events throughout the year including the NASN Conference.
There are many benefits to joining VASN and NASN including direct access to the VASN Discussion Group, Member Directory and Resource Library. In addition, you’ll receive CEU Hours, access to our newsletter and the NASN School Nurse — a clinical journal published six times a year. Click here for a complete list of benefits.
Yes. VASN and NASN welcome school nurses employed by Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) and in International Schools. School nurses not employed by DoDDS or in International Schools may join NASN only.
Our membership categories include Active, Associate, Retired, and Student.
No. Our diverse group of members include public, private, and parochial school nurses, nurse practitioners, school nurse administrators, consultants, educators, and nursing students.
Membership fees vary for each state. If you live in one of these 44 states (including Virginia), you will pay one combined or unified fee to join VASN and NASN.
You can join online with a credit card, purchase order, or check by clicking this link. Please send your purchase order or join to NASN, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 925, Silver Spring, MD 20910 – FAX: 301-585-1791. Application submissions vary depending on payment option. Contact membership@nasn.org if you have any questions.
If you’re hoping to find out who your child’s school nurse is, one of our Regional Directors would be happy to help. Click here to identify your region and the best point of contact for your Regional Director.
Unlike professional school nurses, health aides are not licensed health professionals. With minimal training from the health department, they work under the direction of the Public Health Registered Nurse who is often assigned multiple schools, each of which can have thousands of students.
A licensed practical nurse (LPN) is a nurse who cares for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. LPN training programs typically take up to two years to complete and an extensive exam is required before the student can receive their license. LPNs work under the direction of physicians and registered nurses.
A registered school nurse is a nurse who specializes in nursing that protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. They have also graduated from a nursing program and met the requirements outlined by the state’s licensing body to obtain a nursing license. Registered school nurses, grounded in ethical and evidence-based practice, are the leaders who bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potential.
Professional school nurses are essential in identifying and addressing health issues which impact school performance. There is a plethora of evidence and case study data proving that the work of dedicated, on-site registered school nurses increases attendance and instructional time, promotes safety, decreases emergency and crisis management response times, and provides so many additional health and educational benefits. Learn more on our Value of a School Nurse page.
No, but it’s our vision to ensure that every K-12 school throughout Virginia employs at least one registered school nurse.
Currently, school nurses are not built into Virginia’s Standards of Quality and are not defined by legislation, which is one of the things that VASN is trying to establish. A school can technically hire a nursing assistant or a [licensed practical nurse] and call that person their school nurse.
Yes. The National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN) develops and implements the voluntary certification process of school nurses. NBCSN is an independently incorporated organization.
School nursing is a specialized practice of nursing that protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. School nurses, grounded in ethical and evidence-based practice, are the leaders who bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potential.
If you would like to learn more about nominating a school nurse for a VASN scholarship or grant or NASN scholarship, click here.
Our Association is made up of 30+ members and is growing rapidly.
No, but VASN members receive access to the NASN School Nurse — a clinical journal published six times a year and The Journal of School Nursing, which includes six issues of original research articles.
Joining VASN is the biggest and best way to show your support. For more information on memberships, click here or download the VASN Membership Brochure.
Yes — and as an added benefit, every VASN member automatically becomes a member of the NASN.
Founded in 1984, the Virginia Association of School Nurses is a nonprofit organization that advocates for professional school nursing and advances the quality of health services and education for all students in the Commonwealth.