School Nurses' New Internet Tool Called RNsights Can Help in Caring for Students

Braintree, MA, January 17, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Social media’s prevalence is indisputably on the rise and being a school nurse is undeniably a challenging job, but how do the two relate? With school nurses, who are typically isolated in their jobs with no other school nurses in their building on whom they can rely, RNsights, the free online and anonymous networking community, is allowing school nurses to use the web to share evidence based solutions, collaborate with their peers and resolve issues. "This tool benefits both school nurses as well as students because nurses can now consult with other health care professionals in real time," says Tom Ullian, co-founder of RNsights.

In addition, while most healthcare professionals have only one specialty in which to become an expert, such as cardiac or immunology, school nurses are responsible for all ailments that impact students. Given the growing list of chronic and non-chronic issues facing children, it is impossible for one school nurse to be an expert across all potential issues they might face in treating students. Online networking communities, such as RNsights, provide them a resource to those who have more experience in any particular area.

With the RNsights tool, school nurses can log on from anywhere, including smartphones and tablets, and start or join a discussion on topics such as asthma, allergies, HIPAA, record keeping, breaking industry news, and much more. "An anonymous, professional, and free online networking tool such as this can bring continuing education and emotional support to the nurses and significant healthcare benefits to the students," says Tom. He also explained that "The need for an online network for school nurses was clear when they set out to recruit a small group of school nurses across the country to test the site and were quickly oversubscribed. School nurses who have already participated are thrilled." One participant reports that she is "excited to no longer be isolated in the job."

So what can school principals and administrators do to support their school nurses? "First, spread the word and make sure nurses know this online network tool is available. Encourage its use at school for professional development. Second, make sure firewalls are not preventing access," states co-founder of RNsights. In one recent case, a school initially had a firewall that was blocking access to any online networking community as a school policy. Once it was explained that RNsights is a resource for their school nurse and the benefits it provides her and the students, the firewall was lifted for the site.

Although most schools can only hire one nurse, by allowing access to those network sites that are anonymous and educational, schools can ensure they are providing their one nurse with the ability to easily and quickly collaborate with others while still protecting the confidentiality of their students. "Healthcare professionals collaborating on issues and sharing evidence based solutions always leads to better results, so a professional networking community for school nurses just makes sense," explains Tom Ullian. If the old saying proves true that “two heads are better than one,” why should school nurses continue to feel isolated when they no longer have to be?

RNsights is a professional online and mobile enabled community for nurses introducing a unique concept that is changing the way nurses share insights, get feedback and resolve issues. RNsights provides a platform that facilitates collaboration, peer discussion, expert opinion and problem resolution on a variety of clinical and non-clinical nursing-related matters. RNsights provides nurses the opportunity to engage with and influence the industries serving and supporting their profession.

###