FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - While most students are savoring the last few weeks of summer vacation, nearly 30 school nurses from Northwest Arkansas will take three days of their vacation time to network with colleagues and acquire new skills and knowledge at the UA’s second School Nurse Summer Institute.

Organized by Kathleen Barta and Marianne Neighbors, faculty of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, the institute is sponsored by Northwest Medical Auxiliary, Washington Regional Medical Foundation, Mercy Health Systems, and Bates Medical Center and will be held from August 7 through 9 at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

With the theme of "Coalition-Building: Collaborating for School Health," this year’s institute will incorporate topics based on feedback from the first institute. School nurses involved in the first institute reported that they had used the leadership strategies they learned effectively, and this second institute will devote much of one day to that subject. Nurses will also used this year’s institute to develop relationships with a representative from the state offices responsible for school health mandates and planning.

"It is important for school nurses to see themselves as the leader for health care in the school setting," Barta said.

Barta noted that the complex health needs of children in the schools demand that school nurses be skilled in collaborating with a host of individuals and agencies. The institute will feature Paula Cummins, a trainer with the Arkansas Leadership Academy, to lead workshops on key aspects of leadership, including planning change, forming collaborative relationships, and managing conflict.

Follow-up sessions will be held in the fall and spring with institute participants to evaluate their collaborative plans and to update clinical skills.

An important function of the School Nurse Summer Institute has been to build community for school nurses by giving them an opportunity to share experiences and knowledge. This was cited by nurses involved in the first institute as one of the most valuable aspects of that experience. Barta explained that school nurses, who may staff more than one school, are often isolated from their colleagues and are confronted with increasingly complex demands each school year.

In addition to Cummins’ leadership workshops, the institute will feature workshops with Darlene Cheatham, a nurse with the UA Health Center; Joan McDonald, an RN from Northwest Family Care; Carol Meadows, an advanced practice nurse and member of the Mann School faculty; Susanne Tullos, the new State School Nurse Consultant; Hazel Mabry, communicable disease nurse specialist with the Arkansas Department of Health; Larry Simmons, assistant professor of pediatrics with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and Kelly Floyd, an RN with Arkansas Children’s Hospital.