Get to know Kathy Wallace, a Professional Registered School Nurse at Parkway Central Middle School in Chesterfield, Missouri. Hear about Kathy’s advocacy for both student health and for other school nurses.

—-

MP3 Audio Podcast

 Facebook

—-

Jamie Davis:         Kathy, welcome to Nursing Notes Live and I always try to start off with my first question asking why you became a nurse and what was your career path to where you are today?

Kathy:                   Well, Jamie, I had a perfect high school job. I worked in a hospital in the dietary department and it worked out great with the hours of a high school student because I went in, got there about 4:00 with help. Put the foods on the trays and take it up to the patient rooms. So we were always done by 8:00. In doing that, started having contact with the healthcare staff at the hospital and the patients. The more I was there and observed, the more I found myself wanting to do. I think it’s that caretaker personality. So one case, in particular, there was a woman that was kind of at the end-of-the-hall and she was a cancer patient and was very ill. I just remembered that had such an impact just bringing her food tray into her, helping her arrange everything, seeing the smile on her face. I found myself wanting to do more. So I think, in my mind, that was probably sophomore year in high school through senior year, I kind of knew that was the path I wanted to take. As far as college, I went to the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mizzou. It was a BSN Bachelor’s program and I felt really strongly about that, about having that Bachelor’s degree, just to have that solid knowledge based to go forward in my career. So that was one of the reasons I chose a four-year program.

Jamie:                   So when you got out of school, what drew you to school nursing? Did you start out in more traditional path as a med-surg nurse or were you drawn to going back into the school right away?

Kathy:                   When I started, I stayed up in Columbia a year after I graduated. Worked at the University Hospital in a clinic. And I worked mostly NICU and Peds ICU. So I was always working with children. I then moved to St. Louis a year later and started working in a special care nursery and I was there for the next 16 years. So I started out in hospital nursing. When this opening became available, I had a colleague that also worked in a school and she said, “I think you really need to take a look at this and go in for the interview.” And as I sat and talked to the manager of health service, I found myself really drawn to it and curious about school nursing. It wasn’t until I actually accepted the position that I really understood the full scope of what that career means and I’ve been a school nurse now 13 years.

Jamie:                   You talked about the full scope or full meaning of the career of a school nurse, what has that come to mean to you?

Kathy:                   Working in a hospital, which I would encourage all new nurses to start out there to get down your basic assessment skills and triage, but when you step into the school setting, you are an independent practitioner. So you rely on yourself, your own assessment is so important. You can’t pick up a phone and call respiratory therapy and you can’t pick up a phone and call another colleague to come, “Hey, take a look at this.” So you really rely on yourself and your assessment skills which I think is so important. It’s a career that I feel is just taking off, it’s exploding.