Treating anything from a common cold to a broken bone, facilitating medication pick-ups, and scheduling counseling meetings, the staff at the Chen Health Center is the pillar of community wellness at Deerfield. The nurses play an essential role in the day-to-day operations of the Health Center, and they manage everything from runny noses to trips to the emergency room. While the nurses are most often seen helping patients, they spend much of their time managing medications, talking to pharmacies, and filing reports.
The daily activities of the Chen nurses are incredibly varied, including both patient-focused and administrative duties. While they spend much of their time helping students in person for walk-in visits, they also administer allergy shots and prepare students for provider appointments with doctors or nurse practitioners.
Additionally, they answer student questions over the phone and email. Nurses at the Health Center are responsible for many of the administrative tasks that go unnoticed by students, including coordinating transportation to off-campus medical facilities. Director of Nursing Kate Rolland said the Health Center team works together to create the health forms for parents and students, and attend meetings with Deerfield administrators about the general health of the Deerfield community.
Some of the nurses’ duties can be much harder than others, and Ms. Rolland noted that medication management can be especially difficult, saying, “There are a lot of details surrounding medication administration at the Health Center in accordance with laws, campus policy and provider support and managing medications for students who come from every state and/or internationally, which can be challenging.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the nurses have experienced a few major changes at Deerfield, namely the increased testing of sick students. Because the Chen was so involved in the daily life of students during the height of the pandemic, many students became more aware of the clinic, leading the Chen to see a general increase in student needs.
With the increase of student usage throughout the years, there have been plenty of new faces added to the nursing team. The Chen nurses came from a variety of backgrounds before landing at Deerfield, often saying that they enjoy working at Deerfield because it doesn’t have a hospital or emergency room environment. Lise Ross, an evening nurse, said, “While the Chen can be busy at times, it’s more manageable. While I worked in the emergency room I felt as though I was constantly drowning, and a lot of those patients were very sick.” Ms. Rolland echoed some of the same sentiment, saying, “I was working in the hospital setting and 12-hour shifts were taking a toll on my body and psyche. I loved the family-oriented nature of this position.”
On the other hand, Nurse Estibaliz McCoy was happy to be able to exercise some of her more technical nursing skills, saying, “I started working part-time at Deerfield Academy and loved the full circle perspective this setting offers… being able to see a health issue present, be treated, and resolve.” Deerfield Academy and other boarding schools are very different from public schools in this manner, and Ms. McCoy explained that in a boarding school setting, “the nurses are able to perform testing and administer vaccines, both of which include many clinical skills such as phlebotomy and urinalysis.”
Nursing at a boarding school does not foster the intense environments found in a hospital or emergency room, but it still gives nurses ample time to interact with patients and form lasting connections with them. Assistant Director of Nursing and Medication Nurse Daika Diefendorf said, “Working at Deerfield is a much more light-hearted environment, with mostly healthy students with the occasional illness.” Additionally, she said she enjoys “building relationships with students, and watching students mature and attain their goals, sharing their triumphs and exciting events or news.” Ms. Rolland agreed, saying, “Working with the adolescent population is a huge gift. There are very few places where a nurse can care for this population alone in a highly clinical setting.”
Though they all came to Deerfield from different places, every nurse is a critical part of the Chen Health Center’s operations, each working their hardest – with patients and with paperwork – to keep Deerfield healthy.