Illustration: by Patrick Leger The toll the pandemic has taken on parents, teachers, and health-care workers has been well documented. But comparatively little has been said about how school nurses are handling the return to classrooms.
We have about 9,000 students in our district, and since school started we’ve had five schools shut down. We average two staff cases per day and up to 15 student cases a day. We are 100 percent in-person learning with masks required indoors at all times except for during eating and drinking. This has put a lot of strain on me mentally and physically. I have gained about 30 pounds and started therapy due to anxiety and depression. Contact tracing is 100 percent on me and the nursing team. Just this last week I put in 40 hours of overtime. I’ll have staff members calling me at six o’clock in the morning telling me their symptoms. It is literally around the clock, all days, holidays.
I spend every day contact tracing and implementing COVID protocols. I get phone calls all day long — “I’ve been exposed, my kid was exposed, this student was exposed.” With all the calls and emails and forms and legwork, each case takes a couple hours, and so it’s impossible to get your regular work done. I’m trying to take care of diabetics and I’m trying to distribute medication, but you can’t do it, because the health room is so busy.
Parents ignore symptoms and don’t get their kid tested because they don’t want to know. If they know they have to do something about it. They’ll load sick kids up with medicine and send them to school. Parents can’t afford to take off work. They don’t have any day care. They can’t help the kids. They’re angry; last year, when I called a parent to place their child in quarantine they threatened me with a lawsuit.
“The kids don’t mind wearing masks, but parents are very outspoken on social media about how COVID is a lie.” — Lisa, high-school nurse, Indiana
I am a leader in the scouts, unfortunately, I did not find anyone who supports me even with a word or supports me because society is very unjust and this is a great shame 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧😵🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧😞😞😞
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