President's messageThe magical wand
2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0891-5245(04)00002-1
ISSN1532-656X
Autores Tópico(s)School Health and Nursing Education
ResumoI was recently given a magical wand to help in my Presidential role. The instructions that came with the wand told me to keep it close at hand and to believe in its power. If I did just that, the wand would help me channel my inner strength and bestow the necessary power to make my wishes come true. I was also told that I could share it with those I treasure. Sadly, the one minor drawback is that there are only three wishes to be granted—just like the storyline in Aladdin. I made my first wish. Bingo, it came true. So, I think it is now appropriate that I share the magical wand with the members of NAPNAP. As there are only two wishes left, we all have to wish for the same second wish if it's to be granted. Thus, I hope you don't mind if I give you a suggestion and hope you agree that it's the perfect wish that needs to be granted. Let's tackle the bullying problem in our nation. So, our wish will be that all nurse practitioners (NPs) join together to prevent bullying in schools and in all settings where children gather! To put a halt to bullying, NPs working with school-age children should talk to children and the adults who influence youth about a change in our culture. As a nation, we should no longer accept the notion that bullying is OK, that bullying is a “kids will be kids” behavior. Rather, we need to promote an awareness of the negative impact of bullying on learning and self-esteem and its role in the promotion of violent behavior in our nation's youth. For the second wish to be granted by the powers of our magical wand, we at NAPNAP need to shape our wish to include a four-part attack on bullying. Our strategies must include the following features: children of today will realize that bullying is not a cool thing; parents and others will be aware of the warning signs of bullying behaviors and quickly act to stop this aggressive behavior; children will be taught and learn how to stand up for each other so that it is no longer “cool” for kids to name call or pit one child against another; and, finally, parents, teachers, and health care providers will seek training to learn how to intervene early with those who bully and those who are bullied before bullying becomes a routine, chronic behavior. Do you agree that we can make this our NAPNAP wish and use the magic wand to make our wish come true? Good, I knew you would. For those of you doubting the power of my magical wand, just remember the story of The Wizard of Oz. Let's once again journey down the yellow brick road to Emerald City and quickly review Dorothy's adventures. Dorothy's house accidentally lands on the Witched Witch of the East. The kind-hearted Munchkin people, who have long been bullied and held prisoner by this wicked witch, are grateful to Dorothy as she sets them free from the bondage of the wicked, bullying witch. Dorothy wishes to go back to her home in Kansas, and the Munchkin people direct her to Emerald City to ask the all-powerful Wizard to grant her wish. Along the way she befriends three other needy souls: a scarecrow, tin woodman, and lion. The Scarecrow wants a brain because he does not want people to call him a fool. The Tin Woodman needs a heart so that he can love and be happy once again. The Lion longs for courage to be brave and not a bully; at one point, Dorothy tells him, “You are nothing but a big coward.” They meet the Wizard of Oz, who tells them that he wants proof that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead before granting their requests. They then embark on their search for the last remaining wicked witch. Being the “best of bullies,” the Wicked Witch of the West has her following of not-so-nice bullies-in-training, the Winged Monkeys. The Wicked Witch, together with her evil helpers, torment and bully Dorothy and her three friends. In a dramatic confrontation, Dorothy pours water on the witch, who wails, “Water will be the end of me as I will melt.” She goes on to say, “I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought a little girl would end my wicked deeds.” Returning to Oz, the wishes of Dorothy and her three friends are granted with the help of the Wizard, who is really just a very good “common” man disguised as the Grand Wizard, and the Good Witch, Glinda. In the end, the scarecrow gets a brain, the tin woodman gets the heart he has yearned for, the lion becomes the courageous, not cowardly king of the jungle, and Dorothy returns to Kansas. Most importantly, the key lesson that Dorothy's three friends learned was that they always had the magical qualities they were looking for hidden within them. They doubted themselves, but each was given the opportunity during their journey to see how their actions demonstrated wisdom, the ability to love and be loved, or courage in the face of adversity. Thanks to the help of a pair of magical shoes and her own inner strength, Dorothy and her three friends escaped from the cruelty of the wicked, bullying witch, and the inhabitants of the Land of Oz were freed from the tyranny of the Witches of the East and West. Today's bullies and those who are bullied need concerned adults and health care providers to intervene on their behalf. Instead of bullying behaviors that are meant to harm or disturb another child, our youth need to demonstrate behaviors that exemplify wisdom, love, and courage. The ability to show friendship, respect, and concern for others is a quality possessed by all children, but it is hidden in youths who bully. We have to unlock those hidden qualities, so that the headlines in our newspapers no longer report studies showing 30% of children bullying or being bullied. Like Dorothy's magical shoes, our magical wand will serve as a symbol of every NP's wish to stop bullying behaviors. However, this wish can only come true through our commitment to action. Delivering effective educational programs (based in school, community, and health settings) and intervention strategies to prevent and/or combat bullying will make the difference. Such efforts involve joint partnerships among health care professionals, educators, parents, children, and others. The NAPNAP KySS campaign and the work already begun by pediatric nurse practitioners dedicated to promoting greater awareness of psychosocial morbidities are wonderful beginnings for our organization in its effort to combat bullying, but we still have far to go. NPs must continue to revisit this issue by focusing on the long-term social, academic, psychological, and physical consequences of bullying and providing intervention strategies to stop such negative behaviors. There is a major federal campaign in the works to combat bullying as a public health issue. NPs are an important link in a united public health partnership to promote strategies that children, teachers, parents, and others can employ to attack the problem of bullying and replace it with behaviors that model respect and care. Here are two excellent on-line resources about bullying and prevention strategies: Stop Bullying Now (www.stopbullyingnow.com) and Operation Respect: Don't Laugh at Me, dedicated to creating a safe, caring, and respectful environment for children (www.dontlaugh.org). Be sure to do your part in identifying and treating bullying as the major public health problem that it has become. Knowing that every member of NAPNAP is addressing the problem of bullying with children will help make our wish to stop bullying come true. Now, what do you think my third and final wish from the magical wand should be?
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