Jessica Vos, lead school nurse for St. Cloud Area School District, is plenty busy these days. It is a new era of vigilance against illness. School nurses are some of the most essential workers for the school district and community. They handle the daily health screenings for COVID-19 of district employees called to work onsite. They also handle the redistribution of medications back to families during distance learning. Vos, a five year veteran of the school district, is stepping up to the plate and into her element.
Vos says she always wanted to be a nurse. Born prematurely, she spent a good deal of time in the neonatal intensive care unit as an infant and grew up with that knowledge. It ultimately compelled her to want to care for others.
Vos completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Cloud State University and began at the St. Cloud Children’s Home after graduation working with children and mental health. While working there, she continued her education to obtain her nursing degree. Once she completed that degree, she became a nurse at the Children’s Home and forged a working relationship with a nurse from St. Cloud Area School District.
It wasn’t long after working with the district nurse that she was drawn to work with more children. She was hired as a school nurse in 2015 for St. Cloud Area School District and has never looked back.
“You are taught school nursing in nursing school,” explains Vos. “And public health is a big topic, which is a big component of school nursing. I’ve learned a lot and grown a lot as a [school] nurse . . . skills that I would not have learned working in a hospital.”
Most people think of the school nurse as someone who puts on a band-aid for a scraped knee or takes a temperature if a student isn’t feeling well. However, being a school nurse isn’t about just helping the patient. It’s helping parents, families and the community, along with outreach in public health to meet the needs of students.
“It’s really a great role,” says Vos. “You get to see a bit of everything.”
Each nurse in the school district is assigned to two different buildings. Now in her role as the lead school nurse, Vos helps with orientation, staffing and coverage, and writing protocols.
“I’m happy to still be in a building,” explains Vos, “because I feel it is important to be aware of the current day-to-day type of functions, especially in the special education world for evaluations or what kind of illnesses are being seen in the buildings.”
However, her role has changed a bit in the new COVID-19 world.
“There’s always been a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH),” says Vos. “We do report communicable diseases to the Department of Health – things like whooping cough or chicken pox. That relationship is much more amplified than before. I’m thankful that that relationship was already there before all of this [COVID-19] happened.”
One of the things that has changed with COVID-19 related school closures is a weekly school nurse conference call with MDH and the state school health consultant. It has strengthened school relationships and collaboration across the state and has become a vital and integral part of her job.
Ultimately, Vos has stayed true to herself, her dream of becoming a nurse and caring for others–just as she’s always wanted.
Fun Facts:
- She enjoys the outdoors whether it is hiking or just being in nature.
- Vos loves to read books!
- She is enthusiastic about traveling with her husband and two children.
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