The Arizona School Nurse Access Program

The Arizona Department of Education with funding support from the Arizona Department of Health Services will be implementing the Arizona School Nurse Access Program (ASAP), an aptly named program to expediently increase the number of school nurses in Arizona.

The ASAP will support professional growth and development of both new to practice school nurses as well as the incumbent workforce. The goal of the ASAP is to foster a highly educated workforce that functions to the full extent of their license and education.  The COVID-19 funding through the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Workforce Development Crisis Emergency Cooperative Agreement makes the ASAP possible. 

Mission

The Mission of the Arizona School Nurse Access Program (ASAP) is to optimize the health of school age children by increasing the number of school nurses and increasing the core competencies of school nurses in public schools throughout Arizona.

ASAP will: 

• Add up to 60 new school nurses in school health offices throughout Arizona, primarily in rural and underserved communities 
• Establish an Arizona School Nurse Advisory Council (AzSNAC) consisting of school nurse and health stakeholders who will guide and advance the efforts of the ASAP while establishing steps to sustain the ASAP 
• Enhance professional development opportunities by bringing key partners, the School Nurses Organization of Arizona (SNOA) and the Arizona Foundation for the Future of Nursing (AzFFN) to the ASAP to establish a newly developed School Nurse Residency and Fellowship Program inclusive of competency-based education, mentorship, and completion of national certification
• Recognize baccalaureate preparation and national school nurse certification as a minimum requirement to practice
• Augment and improve the nurse graduate pipeline to school nursing through partnerships with nursing education programs