OVERVIEW
Minnesota Historical Society
School Nurse Organization of
Minnesota.
SNOM records.
1961-2007.
Administrative records and historical materials documenting
a statewide professional association for K-12 school nurses. The organization was
formed in 1968 as a subgroup within the Minnesota Education Association.
2.75 cu. ft. (3 boxes).
See [Detailed Description](a9) for shelf
locations.
HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL NURSE ORGANIZATION OF
MINNESOTA
The School Nurses Organization of Minnesota (SNOM) was formed in 1968 at the
Minnesota Education Association (MEA) annual convention. Previous to that, K-12
school nurses in Minnesota had been members of the Student Personnel Section of MEA.
The change gave the nurses some increase in status as a section subgroup; in 1972
their status was increased further when they became a separate affiliated section.
The revised charter afforded greater autonomy and visibility for the school nurses,
who had difficulty negotiating on a parity with classroom teachers up until that
time. It also allowed the association to become a state affiliate of the NEA
Department of School Nurses. The stated goals of the association were to improve the
delivery of health care and health education to K-12 students in Minnesota, to
promote the educational and professional advancement of school nurses, to give
school nursing a more effective voice within MEA and NEA, to give school nurses a
more unified and effective voice for statewide and local political lobbying, and to
support research on student health issues.
SNOM efforts throughout its first decade centered around developing and securing
acceptance for its certification proposal, which would require every school nurse to
be a licensed RN with additional coursework in public health. The licensure proposal
was finally accepted in by the Minnesota Department of Education 1979. Other efforts
included lobbying for the nascent association in state government and school
districts, and within the MEA, and the development of informational and curriculum
materials, such as the Goals of School Nursing
monograph. The name of the organization was changed to School Nurse Organization of
Minnesota around 1979.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The collection, compiled largely by the association historian, provides an overview
of its history, mostly through assembled documents; its professional development,
lobbying, and publicity efforts; its relations with the MEA and NEA parent bodies;
and its general administration. Collection materials include board and membership
minutes, newsletters and other print issuances, annual reports of officers and
committee chairs, photographs and slides, clippings, publicity and lobbying files,
awards, and mission and planning materials.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
- Board Files
- Committee Files
- Public Relations Files
- Historian's Files
- Related Organizations
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings.
Topics:
School health services -- Minnesota.
School nursing -- Minnesota -- Societies,
etc.
School nursing -- Standards -- Minnesota.
School nursing -- Minnesota -- Political
activity.
Organizations:
Minnesota Education Association.
Minnesota Nurses Association.
National Association of School Nurses
(U.S.).
Document Types:
Photographs.
Color slides.
Occupations:
Nurses.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. School
Nurse Organization of Minnesota Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,777; 16,083; 16,268
Processing Information:
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
(NHPRC).
Processed by: Dennis Meissner, September 2004 and Jennifer Huebscher, April
2011.
Catalog ID number: 002944108
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Board Files
147.E.3.1B
Lists of board members,
1968-2004.
Constitution and bylaws,
1968-1999.
Minutes,
1966, 1968-2000, 2006.
9 folders.
The minutes are fairly substantive, but do not contain copies of reports
or other informational materials distributed to the board members.
Executive Committee minutes,
1977-1996.
Annual Meeting minutes,
1968-2001.
President's annual reports,
1972-1999.
Many are missing. There are reports for the years 1972, 1973, 1976, 1980,
1983, 1995-1997, 1999.
Treasurer's annual reports and related materials,
1971-2002.
Reports are missing for the 1968-69 and 1993-94 budget cycles. There are
a number of specific financial reports in addition to the more general
annual reports.
Board resolutions,
1976-1995.
Position papers and statements,
1969-1983.
Mission, goals, and strategic plans,
1986-2003.
Contracts,
1973-1999.
These are largely SNOM's contracts with the MEA and with the Minnesota
Nurses Association.
Committee Files
147.E.3.1B
Awards Committee:
Reports and related materials,
1972, 1988-2001.
Includes the documentation packets compiled for Fellow nominees.
Care Committee materials,
1982-1986.
Education Committee materials,
1996-2003.
Information Technology Committee materials,
1995-2002.
Legislative Committee:
Reports to the SNOM board,
1987-2002.
Newsletters,
1973-1999.
The newsletters and legislative alerts summarize current issues and
SNOM initiatives in the Minnesota Legislature.
Issues:
Certification and licensure,
1969-2000.
2 folders.
Special education and students at risk,
1987-1991.
Early childhood screening,
1977-1998.
Immunization,
1980-2000.
Lobbying,
1986-1987.
Medication,
1988, 2000.
Health care paraprofessionals,
1995.
Miscellaneous materials:
1984-2004.
147.E.2.7B
SNOM legislation and committee reports,
1969-2002.
147.E.3.1B
Membership Committee:
Reports to SNOM board and related materials,
1970, 2000-2002.
Membership representatives and area representatives,
1970-2002.
Includes a few reports of the committee chair to the SNOM board.
Membership lists,
1968-2003.
3 folders.
Miscellaneous membership materials,
1969-1972.
147.E.3.2F
Program Committee:
Annual conference program planning materials,
2002.
SNOM conference programs and publicity materials,
1970-2004.
Public Relations Committee materials,
1993-2002.
Research Committee materials,
1972, 1986-1988,
2002-2004.
Special Education Committee materials,
1983-2006.
Task force (various) materials,
1984-2002.
147.E.2.7.B
Task force for data computer technology,
1996-2002.
Public Relations Files
147.E.3.2F
SNOMemo,
1969-2007.
26 folders.
This newsletter is the official house organ of the association.
Brochures and pamphlets,
1968-2003.
The School Nurse: Qualified to Care,
1978.
76 35mm color slides, 2 audio cassettes, narrator's
script.
Presenting SNOM's Vision,
1996.
1 audiocassette.
Joint Publications:
Goals of School Nursing: An
Interpretive Tool,
1974, 1983.
First and revised editions of a work co-published with the Minnesota
Nurses Association.
Managing the Student with a Chronic
Health Condition: A Practical Guide for School Personnel,
1986.
1 volume.
Co-published with PATHFINDER, a community network project for
children with chronic health conditions funded by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Bloodborn Pathogen Question &
Answer Guide for School Districts,
1995.
Jointly published with several other Minnesota health organizations.
An incomplete copy, missing several pages.
Newspaper clippings,
1967-2003.
Articles about SNOM from a variety of Minnesota newspapers.
Miscellaneous articles about school nursing,
1978-2002.
The articles come from journals and from newspapers.
Miscellaneous Files:
Special projects,
1973-2000.
Proclamations and publicity releases for Minnesota School
Nurse Day and SHAPE Week,
1972-1986, 2002.
SHAPE, an acronym for "School Health: A Positive Environment," was
intended to call statewide attention to the importance of children's
health to a favorable learning environment.
Health Jeopardy Game,
1998.
Overview, questions, answers, and points for a health information
survey game staged by SNOM at the Minnesota State Fair.
Photographs,
1972-2003.
Photographs of SNOM delegates at NEA convention,
1968.
4 b/w photoprints.
Personal stories and recollections of SNOM members,
1979-1999.
A few very brief personal recollections, largely testimonials to the
value of SNOM as an organization for school nurses.
Merger of Minnesota Education Association and Minnesota
Federation of Teachers,
1989-1996.
147.E.2.7B
Mentorship program.
Presentation on the role of school nursing in a reformed
healthcare system.
Role development and values clarification strategies,
1983.
Historian's Files
147.E.3.2F
SNOM administrative correspondence,
1965-2000.
A sampling of SNOM leaders' correspondence compiled by the SNOM
historian, presumably as historical documentation.
147.E.2.7B
Miscellaneous correspondence:
1969-1994.
1976-1991.
1978-2002.
Also includes some minutes and reports.
147.E.3.2F
Historian's reports and expense statements,
1972-2006.
2 folders.
Very incomplete set of reports.
"The Beginnings of the Organization,"
1961-1999.
3 folders.
A compilation of reports, letters, recollections, printed matter, and
conference programs providing historical documentation on the first
thirty years of the organization. The file was apparently intended as a
reference file to support the writing of a historical booklet. The third
folder documents the national organization's history.
147.E.2.7B
School nurse history.
SNOM logo,
2006.
Miscellaneous certificates, brochures, handouts, and
correspondence.
Related Organizations
147.E.2.7B
National Association of School Nurses:
General file,
1968-2004.
Newsletters,
1968-1977.
Brochures,
1968-1999.
School nurse specialist packet,
1972.
School Nurse of the Year Award,
1995-2005.
2 folders.
Alliance of Minnesota Nursing Organizations,
1973-1984.
Minnesota Nurses Association joint projects,
1972-1976.
Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and
Parenting,
1992-2001.
Student Services Coalition for Effective Education,
1985-2002.
Joint task forces (various),
2000-2002.
0.4 cubic feet empty (letter).