National Nurses Month 2024
May is National Nurses Month
Please join us as we recognize the contributions of nurses and reflect on all they do to sustain the health of our communities. Check back regularly for updates.
Upcoming Events for Nurses Month
If you’re SoN alumni, faculty, student or staff stop by T-301 to celebrate Nurses Month!
Tuesday, May 7 – Donuts and Coffee: Start your day with a sweet treat. Join us for donuts and coffee from 8am – 12pm.
Wednesday, May 8 – Student Nurse Day Lunch: Students – lunch and dessert are on us! Stop by for food and fun beginning at 10am.
Thursday, May 9 – Cafe Day: Fuel your day with some delicious coffee drinks like lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, tea, hot chocolate, or Italian sodas from 8am – 9am and 11am – 2pm!
Washington Center for Nursing (WCN)
Saturday, May 18 11:30AM-3:30PM in Burien Community Center
WCN’s Nurses of Color Coalition Symposium
Register here
May 1 - Celebrating National Nurses Month
May 5 - International Day of the Midwife
On International Day of the Midwife we recognize midwives providing comprehensive abortion care, support, empowering management of reproductive health and they provide education and contraception. They are truly champions of health and healthcare.
We’re proud to recognize the work of Associate Professor Molly Altman who is working on a study exploring the birthing and family building experiences of the queer and trans community in the US and Canada.
“One of our hopes around this study is that once we get the results out, what it’s going to do is shine a light on how we really need to do better within our health care systems to support queer and trans families,”-Molly Altman, principal investigator. Read more about the study here
Hear from one of our outstanding #HuskyNurses Teaching Associate, Midwifery Program Track Lead Ellen Solis answer the question, “What is Midwifery?”
May 6-12 – National Nurses Week
May 6 - National Nurses Day
May 8 - Student Nurses Day
May 8 - School Nurses Day
THANK YOU to all our #SchoolNurses making a difference in the lives of children everyday! School nurses level the playing field, promoting health equity and providing care and support to all students to optimize student health and learning. Read more about some of our #HuskyNurses who are school nurses and the work they do.Prabina Dahal, RN, MN ’20, DNP ’24
What’s one thing you want the world to know about school nurses? It is difficult to point out one thing that a school nurse does but I will be as succinct as possible. School nurses are the spine of any public school. They bridge the gap between health and education. When school nurses are available, educators and staff feel secure in continuing their work at school.What’s your favorite thing about being a school nurse? I make connections with parents, students, staff, and other administrators on various health and equity-related issues and that is one of the roles I appreciate best.Why did you become a school nurse? When my kids were home due to COVID-19, I noticed they were losing the sense of having a school, friends, and many other activities. It was impacting their behavior at home. I felt the urge to work in the school community so that I could provide evidence-based information to the staff, who then were hesitant to open the school. Today, I agree that choosing to be a school nurse was the best decision I made in my career.Lynnette Ondeck, MEd, BSN ’02, RN, NCSN
Lynnette Ondeck
What’s one thing you want the world to know about school nurses? What’s one thing you want the world to know about school nurses? That school nursing is way more than band aids and icepacks. School nursing requires a vast array of knowledge from development through the lifespan (students can be as young as 3 and as old as 21 in public schools), infection diseases, chronic disease management, first aid, understanding of a wide variety of laws, not only nursing laws, but education laws too. It requires being a good communicator both verbally and in writing, while being culturally responsive.
What’s your favorite thing about being a school nurse? My favorite part of my job comes down to 2 things- learning something new every day, whether from a student, a colleague, or a parent, and teaching something new to someone every day. When I was in high school, I debated between being a teacher or nurse, little did I know that by choosing to be a school nurse I get to do both.
Why did you become a school nurse?I became a school nurse when a colleague recommended that I apply for the position. I was reluctant, but when the district called and asked me to apply, I did. I didn’t know that at the time, that school nursing would become my passion. I quickly realized I loved it and made the choice to return to school to further my degree, so that I could become a certified school nurse. While I love teaching kids about how to take care of their bodies, I also loved teaching them to be advocates for themselves. Because of my passion for school nursing, I also became an advocate and leader in the State of Washington and nationally.
A few #HuskyNurse faculty and alumni below worked on a Washington School Health Services Study 
- Mayumi Willgerodt PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, FNASN, Professor
- Benjamin White PhD ’21, RN
- Kathleen Johnson, MN’09, DNP ’13, RN, NCSN-E, PHNA-BC,FNASN, FAAN, Affiliate Faculty
- Annie Hetzel, BSN ’90, MSN, RN, NCSN
- Gail Fast MN, RN
The project sought to:
- Describe the Washington State school nursing workforce, services, and staffing models to inform district and state policy on school health services.
- Understand the ways in which school health teams work together to support students’ health efficiently.
- Explore emerging innovative approaches to health services delivery resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic to identify structures and processes that will improve school nursing practice.
Read the report here