By Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN
Nationally Certified School Nurse, Camden City School District
“Traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but rather because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life." - Judith Herman
I am a New Jersey school nurse entering my 21st year serving the students, staff, and families of the Camden City School District. The impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has untold consequences on our most important asset, our children. Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic challenges all of us and may well be considered an ACE. The collective trauma of COVID-19 continues to unfold in real-time, as the impact of the pandemic is not yet fully realized.
Some have referred to the pandemic as an unending storm. While we may all be in the same “storm” of the coronavirus, what has become clear is that we are riding out the pandemic in very different “boats.” Some of us are experiencing the pandemic in a yacht, while others are clinging to dear life on a buoy or in a rowboat with a hole in the bottom. COVID-19 has revealed the structural inequities of our society that have long impacted our most vulnerable populations, especially our children. This has never been more apparent than through my work as a school nurse. This is collective trauma of pandemic proportions.
Schools must be safe havens for our students, families, and communities. School nurses are a key partner in helping guide school districts that are grappling with how to recover from the persistent trauma of the pandemic. We are facing an influx of students with challenging and complex health and social needs who have had a total disruption of the rhythm and flow of their lives.
Building connections with students and their families promotes healthy relationships and healthier communities. The challenges are mounting as the pandemic continues, but our school communities can create a trauma-responsive safety net this school year.
To make our schools more trauma-responsive, school nurses can work with educators, administrators and school staff to:
- Center the importance of strengthening social and emotional skills to protect kids from the long-term effects of trauma
- Focus on school connectedness and promoting interpersonal relationships
- Create a culture of co-regulation where students and staff feel supported in managing their emotions
- Reduce punitive practices that may cause traumatic stress or retraumatize students
The Actions4ACEs campaign is focused on educating school staff and law enforcement about childhood adversity and sharing actionable steps to help mitigate the impact. As a new school year is set to begin, the third one impacted by the pandemic, Actions4ACEs is focusing efforts to provide critical resources and learning opportunities to the state’s more than 200,000 educators and school staff.
We can all be caring adults in children’s lives that could change the trajectory of their futures by helping them heal from trauma. Given the collective trauma of the pandemic and the yet unknown impact on our students and staff, this campaign is launching just in time.
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 21st year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Legislative Co-chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing. 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.