Pascack Valley High School Nurse Diane Fallon shared her day in her life as a full-time school nurse.
Before she became a registered school nurse, she was a certified R.N. and a cardiac and home health nurse for 20 years. Fallon has a school nurse certification and a dual certification.
In order for her to become a school nurse, she earned a master’s in health education and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Fallon started off by noting that every day as a school nurse can differ. Some factors can make her day busier with student visits, like whether it’s flu season or not.
Her school day begins at roughly 7:50 a.m. The first thing she does when she arrives at school is open her computer, turn on her walkie-talkie, and check in students.
“A lot of times when I get in, I have kids coming in within a few minutes. So, I try to just get set up for the day,” Fallon explained. “I like my desk to be set up, and I like it to be closed down at the end of the day.”
She noted that in the mornings, either she or Sandy Hroncich, a part-time school nurse at PV, does student check-ins at 10 a.m. Student check-ins consist of following up with students from previous days who have visited the nurse’s office or have to take daily medication under her supervision.
Fallon shared that her day is equally split between the scheduled and unpredictable. Some days, she has meetings planned, but other days she’s answering parent phone calls and taking care of students who come in.
Additionally, Fallon explained that one thing most people don’t realize about being a nurse is the teaching that goes along with it.
“Almost every student we see, we’re teaching them something about how to take care of their health or their wellness or their well-being,” said Fallon. “I think people don’t realize how much we are a part of the education team.”
Moreover, Fallon said that her day is divided between doing paperwork and helping students. As a school nurse, she has no exact routine since she does not know when students will visit that day.
Fallon stated, “It’s just nonstop. We deal with accident reports, emergencies, staff wellness, [and] we have parents calling frequently. We do all of our own clerical work, our own filing, [and] any reports like that.”
On top of that, Fallon explained how her work doesn’t stop when it’s time for lunch.
“It’s hard, because when we’re in the building, we really have to be here for the kids… you know, we [are] technically never closed. We’re open during the lunch hour. We have to be,” Fallon said. “We have students who take medication, when we have students with diabetes, [lunch is] when they come in… Usually, the period after lunch, we try to grab a bite and try to catch up.”
Fallon described that one of the most crucial parts of being a school nurse is being able to triage when a group of students walks in.
Fallon said, “You really have to go through your nursing process of…what takes priority, and that’s what we call triage. Even the ER does triage, we have to decide who’s getting our attention first, especially if [Hroncich and I are] both not here.”
Additionally, Fallon shared that her favorite part of the school day is her interaction with the students.
Fallon conveyed, “Just helping [the students], and knowing we made a difference, I think, is really the biggest thing that I would say makes us love what we do here.”
Fallon ends her school day, just like the students, at 3 p.m.
“Sometimes I actually enjoy that time at the end of the day when everybody’s gone,” shared Fallon. “It’s quiet for me to catch up and make sure that I’m set for the next day to start. That’s important to me, because otherwise, it’s too chaotic.”
