Beth Shook BSN, RN, NCSN has been in nursing for over 7 years. She’s currently working as the North Carolina West Region School Health Nurse Consultant where she is the liaison between local health departments, hospitals, and school systems in the state. Shook supports student health services that address student health needs in schools and provides education that is necessary for school nurses to keep students healthy while in school.
The children Shook works with continue to inspire her nursing career. “From the small ones to the adolescents, I want to make their lives better, and as a school nurse, I know that for many children, the school nurse is the health care provider they will see most often,” Shook said. “It is my job to make sure that school nurses have the necessary tools to enrich these children's' lives.”
Shook had a kindergarten student who had Cystic Fibrosis. He came to her daily for medications and she would spend a few minutes chatting with him during his visits each day. She had him as a student until she moved to another school at the end of the school year. Three years later Shook was in the grocery store when she felt a little body rush up to her and wrap her arms around my legs. The child’s grandmother who Shook had never met was with him and looked shocked and embarrassed. “When grandmother finally got up to us, he smiled and told her, ‘Grandmother, this was my best friend in kindergarten.’ My heart was full and I knew I had made the right career choice,” Shook recalls.
Shook has recently completed her final semester for her MSN Nurse Educator. With her new degree she will be able to develop education and resources to help school nurses become better school nurses. The specialty of school nursing doesn't have enough educational opportunities that are exclusive to it and she wants to help with that.
Beth’s Advice for a New Nurse: Remember the reason that you chose to become a nurse. Let that reason guide your career choices in your career.
NCNA thanks you for being a part of our community and for your passion for nursing, Beth!
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