Ever since I was born, my mother was a nurse. Despite being essential in the medical field, nurses are somewhat hidden from the spotlight, and we rarely focus on topics such as their mental health.

La’Lena Etheart, my mother, is now a school nurse working at Blue Hills Regional. She has been a nurse for about 20 years now and has been working in schools for about two.

Throughout those 22 years, Etheart had mostly been an in-patient nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The switch between nursing at a hospital and a school is not always an easy transfer, however, especially through COVID-19.

In general, nurses have faced countless challenges and stress, which can affect mental health. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Nurses face a higher risk of developing negative mental states, such as depression, anxiety, and stress, due to the nature of their work.”

The work and home life balance is hard for nurses to manage, so many choose to leave hospitals or find a better position with less stress, like my mother who left her position as nurse manager to work in schools.

After 2020, a very hard year for those working in hospitals, Etheart was hired at a summer camp and discovered that she liked working with children.

From there, she worked at Boston Preparatory School as a substitute nurse, and now she works at Blue Hills Regional. Etheart said, “What I love the most is the kids! I still have kids who are there who ask to see me, or they say, ‘Can they make sure Mrs. E shows up at my graduation” This shows how much nurses have an impact on students and create a bond with them.

Shannon Aikey, the school nurse at Milton High School, also has had a somewhat similar experience to my mother.

Aikey became a nurse in 2011, and worked in long-term care for the next two years. She worked in a hospital for six years, then took a year off to be with her child, “I wanted a better work-life balance,” said Aikey, who also has children of her own.

After 2020, Aikey found a job at a school helping with testing and masking and then ended up at MHS.

The change between hospitals and schools is a big one. Aikey explained how working at hospitals, she “only saw patients for maybe a couple of days,” which prevented her from really building a connection with them.

Working at schools, however, allowed Aikey to see students grow and change throughout high school. She explained, “It’s more rewarding,” and that at a hospital, you have four patients, and here you have over 1000.”

Aikey loves the interactions with students, describing it as her “jam.” She described how she enjoys being able to sit down and have conversations with them saying that she loves to “rationalize with them,” saying it’s “better than giving little kids ice packs at recess.”

Personally, I feel like nurses are not just first aid, but help improve the school environment. They are not always appreciated for the effort and work they put in. I may not speak for everyone, but nurses provide that safety, that gentility. So if you see Mrs. Aikey, or any nurse, make sure to show your appreciation for them.