NLN Speaks Out Against Campus Gun Violence & Urges Embrace of Nursing’s Culture of Caring

NLN Speaks Out Against Campus Gun Violence & Urges Embrace of Nursing’s Culture of Caring

Strategies & Tactics Developed by Nursing Education Provide Guidance to Address Threats to Safety in Schools & Universities

Washington, DC — The ongoing crisis of school shootings and gun violence on college and university campuses demands a reframing of gun safety issues from the perspective of nursing’s Culture of Caring, says the National League for Nursing, the nation’s first nursing association and the leading voice for nursing education.

The well-documented connection between environment and health has become a flash point in calls for social and economic justice reform. Two troubling aspects of the environment are today’s decline in mental health among children, teens, and young adults along with easy access to firearms.

These twin trends have precipitated increasing threats to the lives and well-being of students in what were long considered safe environments: schools and campuses. When young people feel—and are—at risk, productive learning, the development of healthy interpersonal skills, mental health, and a culture of civility will suffer. Compounding the problem is the stress of coping with other social and economic inequities that many at-risk youths face, like lack of access to fresh food, clean water, and competent health care.

The National League for Nursing calls for a dramatic shift in addressing the tragic societal challenge of campus gun violence. The core principles of a Culture of Caring, utilized in the preparation of an outstanding, diverse, culturally competent nursing workforce, can serve as a model for change.

Nurses are natural caregivers. And from the minute we step into a nursing school classroom, we are instructed in the most basic dual approach to care: prevention and response.

In any potential crisis, the first line of defense is prevention. In a school setting, that must include the following:

• Performing a full environmental assessment, ranging from mapping out, securing, and posting notice of all internal (within buildings and classrooms) and external (routes into and off campus) points of entry and exit
• Enacting common sense changes that improve safety, such as installing brighter lighting, concrete physical barriers near residence halls and other structures, and roadblocks to limit traffic
• Incorporating security measures, like ID checks for everyone entering public campus buildings
• And, implementing a campus early warning system, which is vital for any initiative to protect the campus or school environment, so that all students, faculty, and administrators can be made aware of alerts that may signal trouble
  

The recommended educational component of prevention is likewise robust. New and returning students should be required to participate in orientation during which safety protocols are thoroughly reviewed, along with streamlined procedures for students to access campus mental health services.

Identified resources to provide emergency financial support for students during routine crises, such as a flat tire, overdue rent, or electric bills, provide small but essential backup for students as they sometimes struggle to stay in school. Academic courses and presentations on topics, like stress management, that may trigger the need for mental health support, should be routinely offered and incorporated, as appropriate, into the curriculum and co-curricular campus activities.

One such course that has demonstrated effectiveness in equipping students to deal with mental health crises is a specialized instructional certificate program, Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI), offered through the Crisis Prevention Institute. Adapted by many schools of nursing as part of their introduction to psychiatric/mental health nursing, the program enables students to recognize the signs of mental health crises, practice de-escalation techniques, point peers in crisis to appropriate mental health resources, and work alongside community mental health professionals as part of group therapy teams. Designed for all students, not just nurses, those who complete its two-day training graduate with a certificate that is widely recognized by Departments of Human Resources as a valuable credential. 

In response to campus emergencies, nursing education has a special role to play. Training in first aid and disaster preparedness has become an increasingly important facet of nursing education. In similar way to nursing’s response on the scene of natural disasters, nursing students and faculty may be pressed into service at the behest of school leadership or law enforcement to provide much needed triage of shooting victims.

The National League for Nursing acknowledges that not every tragedy can be averted. Still, it is hoped that nursing education can offer a fresh approach that can help reduce the escalating gun violence on campus and mitigate the scope of tragic consequences in circumstances where the unthinkable proves unavoidable.

For more information about nursing education and the National League for Nursing, visit NLN.org. 

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About the National League for Nursing

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to nearly 45,000 individual and over 1,000 institutional members, including nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations. Learn more at NLN.org.