Being a school nurse is difficult enough without a pandemic; now, with COVID-19, the position is made even harder. New school nurse Heather Allen is experiencing firsthand the substantial work and stress that comes with her job.

“It’s kind of difficult in a way to start this position in the middle of a pandemic,” Allen said. “There are a lot more things to think about.”

Allen began her medical career working in an emergency room for 10 years. Last year, she began working as a school nurse part-time at Ashland High School so she could spend more time with her family.

“Working in the emergency room, you normally have to work a lot of weekends and holidays,” Allen said. “I have two small children and my husband also works nights, weekends and holidays. It became difficult to juggle all of their schedules.”

Although a school nurse and working in the emergency room may seem very different to each other at their core they require a lot of the same skill set and are similar in many ways. 

“[Working as a school nurse is] not very different from working in an emergency room because you never know who is going to come in and what they need,” Allen said. 

During these difficult times, Allen is working alongside school nurse Erika Almquist, who is also new to Algonquin this year. 

“The other nurse here is also new, so we’re learning together, which makes it easier in some respects,” Allen said.