Revisiting the Image: Year 2
This semester, I have had the opportunity to create and work through an independent study course, where I’ve focused on a nursing speciality of particular interest to me: school nursing. A large part of the course has involved observing nurses working in this role. I recently spent a few days shadowing Erin Taylor, the nurse at Pond Cove School in Cape Elizabeth, where I attended kindergarten through 4th grade. As the 2019 Maine School Nurse of the Year, Erin is excellent at what she does. Yet after one especially busy Friday, which saw a constant stream of students crammed into the tiny health room all day, fielding complaints of minor aches and sore throats, passing out dozens of ice packs, and signing countless nurse’s office passes, Erin told me that her job can often feel like “90% mothering.” Her role is largely one of caring, of being a safe person to turn to and always providing an open door for students. Yet the work of a school nurse is also rigorous, requiring expert-level quick assessment skills, independence far beyond most other fields of nursing, and constant education. Erin works with students facing complex medical and behavioral conditions on a daily basis. She was the main resource for school Covid procedures during the height of the pandemic. She is studying to sit for the National Certification in School Nursing exam, a challenging test that requires deep knowledge of a variety of aspects of pediatric nursing (as evidenced by the stack of thick textbooks she allowed me to page through during my time working with her). School nursing is far from the stereotype of “ice packs and bandaids.” On the contrary, it is clear that Erin’s role, and the role of nurses in all fields, is multifaceted and diverse. It involves a passion for caregiving, of knowing when what a patient needs most is a word of encouragement or a listening ear. These are skills that can’t be taught in lectures or textbooks, only learned through experience and commitment to the patient. Yet, on the other hand, this work is also one of high intellectual demand; of constantly assessing patients and situations quickly and efficiently; of performing complex skills with expertise. Both aspects of the profession complement one another and cannot exist alone.
In Nursing 202 thus far, we have discussed the qualities that make a nurse an excellent caregiver, communicator, patient advocate, and leader, among other interrelated roles. This course has also hinted at skills we will learn primarily in clinical rotations, from patient assessments and vital signs, to starting IVs and administering medications. It has become clear to me that nursing is a very unique profession. Most careers rely heavily on one aspect or the other – performing a skill (such as repairing a car or installing solar panels) or caring for clients (such as providing childcare or counseling services). Nursing requires expertise in both of these areas. The nurse must be both highly skilled in medical procedures within their scope of practice, and simultaneously able to meet the client’s holistic needs through acting as a nurturing caregiver. In order to accomplish this, the nurse must possess a number of positive qualities. Among the most important of these are a willingness to collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to ensure the patient accesses all resources necessary to recover and thrive, autonomy to work independently when needed, and trustworthiness to build strong rapports with the clients they serve. I chose a close-up image of a flower to represent these skills and qualities. From far away, nursing, especially school nursing, as I have observed, may look simple, yet when one zooms in just a bit, they see the minute details that a nurse must be aware of at all times. The profession is far more complex than meets the eye, and requires a unique and multifaceted skill set. Through the acquisition of qualities such as collaboration and autonomy, and a passion for serving the patients they treat, the nurse takes the role of both caregiver and expert healthcare provider.
