EXCELLENCE IN NURSING AWARDS 2018
EXCELLENCE IN NURSING AWARDS
NURSE OF THE YEAR IN A NON-TRADITIONAL SETTING
Denise Flores, RN, CSNT, NCSN
Barrington District Head Nurse and School Nurse Teacher
for the Barrington School Department
HOW DID YOU GET INTO SCHOOL NURSING?
I lived with my grandparents as an adolescent and often helped
with my grandfather’s ailing health needs. Visiting nurses would
come to do wound-care dressings and they taught me how to
do them too so I could assist my grandmother. I was a bit
squeamish, to be honest, but my love for my grandfather
outweighed the discomfort. He also lost his vision from
glaucoma, which was so difficult to witness, and I helped him
with the challenges that he faced. He once said to me, “Denise,
you would make a good nurse. Keep your grades up and you
can get a scholarship to college someday.” I worked hard to
make the National Honor Society and was fortunate to get
scholarships to help with college. Once there, I decided to major
in nursing. But I also always had a love for teaching. After years
working in pediatrics, travel nursing and other departments in
different states, I relocated back to Rhode Island when my
daughter was born and began looking into becoming a school
nurse to find a schedule that worked with being a young mom.
It seemed the perfect blend, allowing me to be there for my
family, pursue my original desire to be a teacher and use my
pediatric nursing skills in a school setting.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB?
Children are just wonderful little people with dynamic
personalities all their own! They are inquisitive, innocent, very
funny at times and are sponges ready to learn and absorb
information. School nurses are in a unique and important
position to teach children about staying healthy and forming
healthy habits early. We take every opportunity to teach when
a student is in our health office or we are in the classroom. The
best part is knowing I can make a difference in a child’s or
family’s life in a way that can continue to positively affect them
long after they leave my school.
WHAT DO YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE KNEW
ABOUT SCHOOL NURSING?
It is much more than ice packs and Band-aids. Our roles extend
to not only managing acute and chronic medical conditions in
the school setting, but also addressing mental/emotional and
social health needs. School nurses communicate and collaborate
with community health resources to ensure students get the
care they need to address all areas of health. School nurses
bridge health care and education, provide care coordination
and advocate for quality, student-centered care to ensure
individuals achieve their full potential.
WHAT EFFECT HAS COVID-19 HAD
ON YOU AS A NURSE?
The school nurses in my district have worked daily since schools
shut down in March to learn all we can about SARS-CoV-2. As
the liaison to district coordinators/lead nurses, I have
coordinated monthly meetings with our state school nurse
consultant to RIDOH for ongoing planning and communication
with the lead nurses in RI school districts. During the school
shut down, school nurses continued to work closely with all
school staff to ensure students’ needs are met to be successful
during these challenging times. This summer, I also have had
an active role working in almost every facet of the planning
process to ensure school facilities are safe for returning
students. We have had to address mask wearing, handwashing
protocols, cleaning and disinfecting and safe distancing
protocols as well as ensuring our reentry plans are feasible
and safe. School nurses will be the next frontline health care
workers when we return to school. We are planning to ready
our health offices to still address the health needs of the
students we normally see with acute and chronic health issues
— such as asthma, diabetes and severe food allergies — while
ensuring precautions by setting up isolation rooms and using
appropriate PPE protocols to address any possible COVID-19-
infected students or staff, following guidance from RIDOH. We
are working as public health nurses to ensure our communities
remain healthy and minimize the spread of this virus.
66 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l OCTOBER 2020