From May 6-12th, National Nurses Appreciation Week was celebrated nationwide. Nurses spend years learning their trade, and play a crucial role in society. Today, The Prowl honors SWHS’s own nurses, who tirelessly work to aid every student in the school.
Nurse Beth Piantek graduated from UConn with a B.S. degree in Nursing, as a Registered Nurse. When she passed the State of CT Nurse Licensing Exam, she began her journey working actively in various hospitals around the state.
Evidently, there is a high demand for nurses in the field who are often stretched thin due to various responsibilities. “I started to look for a new nursing position after many years of working every other holiday and every other weekend which I no longer wanted to do,” Piantek shared with the Prowl.
When a coworker of Piantak’s left her position to become a school nurse, Piantek followed suit. Now, Piantek works as a full time nurse at South Windsor High School keeping the students at SWHS healthy and safe at all times.
Additionally, Nurse Karen Miklas, started her journey when she was young, as she watched her own aunt pursue nursing. To Miklas, her aunt was a strong and confident woman, and she aspired to follow in her footsteps.
Miklas began working as a registered nurse in Austin, Texas before she moved to CT to focus on her son. After a few years of being a stay at home mom, she began working at Woodlake hospital in Tolland. There, she was trained as an infection control nurse, and occasionally worked in the Dementia wing. At times, she also worked as a supervisor, delegating and organizing responsibilities to various nurses in the hospital.
Miklas’ next position jump-started her career as a school nurse. She received a position at Northeast Elementary school in Vernon for four years where she came to appreciate her role helping the children around her.
“I have always loved working as a school nurse regardless of the location. Being in the school allows you to practice nursing but also allows you to be a mom away from the students’ mom,” Miklas admitted.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Miklas received a call from one of SWHS’s associate principals, inviting her to apply for the role as full time nurse. Since then, Miklas has begun her fourth year at SWHS, and hopes to continue working with students.
“Covid made all aspects of being a school nurse challenging. [But] being able to help people and put a smile on a student’s face is rewarding,” Miklas explained.
With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, nurses experienced a new wave of responsibilities and expectations. They have worked ceaselessly through the past four years to protect those who were infected by the virus. Nurses’ role in COVID-19 is only one of countless feats that they have achieved.
“I appreciate the recognition that nurses get during National Nurse Appreciation week. It also is a reminder for me to send out appreciation messages to my fellow nurses!” Piantek shared.
Nurses in every field deserve to be honored and appreciated for all the work that they do. Therefore, consider what you can do to honor the nurses around you.
