Pam Petersen has been a school nurse at Pahrump Valley High School for a long time now and has worked for the school district for almost 25 years. Usually, people think of a school nurse as a help when you’re injured or sick, but they don’t understand what it actually takes to become a nurse, and the mentality that has to come with it, Petersen proves you wrong.
Petersen starts her day by looking at her calendar; she either has a really busy day or a day with some breaks. Petersen begins her work day by helping the special education kids get their breakfast with G-tube feedings, then helps the students with their medications, and then finishes her morning with meetings.
When Petersen was asked what her favorite part and the worst part of her day is, she said, “The best part of my day is when I don’t have to see any emergencies, and when they are in their classroom and safe.” Then stated how, “The worst part is when I have to call 911 for a student.” Petersen loves working with the kids, but hates to see any of them have to go through something terrible.
Work is very busy for Petersen; lots of kids come in. She mentioned that for every bag of ice that was asked for, she could afford a house. Aside from that, she handles criticism very well. She makes sure that it is okay to feel how they feel and listens to let them know how she feels, also, and it is usually handled just fine.
One of her goals is to make a difference each year she works at PVHS. She knows when she has accomplished a good year near graduation when kids come in on purpose to tell her goodbye. It makes her happy to know that she made a difference, and it gives her more inspiration and dedication to prove it again the next year.
Petersen typically ends her day by checking in with all of the special education kids and making sure they are safe. Then she has a conversation with her aide, Mr. Martinez, to talk about anything they could have done better and what they need to work on for the next day. When she gets off, the first thing she does is have fun with her grandchildren. She stated, “First thing I do is go get one of my grandbabies and go have date night 3 days a week. I am really excited when I know I’m gonna see them, and then after I go home and do my nightly chores and go to bed.”
Freshman Kain Johnson thinks that Petersen is really nice and has an outgoing personality. He mentioned that three words to describe her would be patient, quiet, and understandable. Johnson stated, “Nurse Petersen gives you your time and is understanding and maintains being patient even when you take your time, both the aide, Mr. Martinez, and the nurse are really nice people, and they make going to the nurse a good time even when it sucks.”
Overall, Petersen came a long way with maintaining having two kids while being a single mom and four years of school on top of that. In the end, it was worth it because she is making a difference every day while growing her work life and the relationships with all of her students. Her hard work has proved that everything is possible despite what comes next, which shows that having a fulfilling job can be good for you and make your life happy again. Now, next time you see her, don’t forget to congratulate her on all of her accomplishments and ask her how her day was!
