Karen Reuter Interview

1. Name and Title as you would like it presented:

Karen Reuter, MSN, RN

Co-lead Nurse

2. School Name where you work:

Shadow Mountain High School

Paradise Valley Unified School District

3. How long have you been a school nurse?

48 years  this happens when your profession is your passion

4. Nurses have a lot of options when deciding where to work. How did you choose to work for a local school and what has kept you in school nursing so many years?

Worked in 2 school districts within my community, Glendale Elementary SD, PVUSD

How came to School Nursing: more compatible with family, once understood specialty, became a passion. Involved in other programs within the school, developed diversity program based on model. Trained students to facilitate positive diversity. Wrote grant to take kids to Prescott for leadership immersion in this area.

Team with social emotional interventionists to train teachers how to be supportive of kids especially with anxiety.

Being a school nurse became a passion, lead to getting a Master’s in public health.  Helped start AZ school consortium,  help develop courses for state  when AZ had a state school nurse certification.

5. What motivates you to make a difference for your students and community?

If we don’t educate children we pay for it later in the way of welfare services or within the prison system. Children deserve our best from our education system. Nurses can help by getting involved, look at grades and health, talk with counselors to get on top of issues. If we don’t do this we fail these children, and our community pays for it in the long run.

6. What is one thing you’d like the community to know about school nurses?

School nurses are advocates of their children, not only in health but as it relates to their future, education and for those in need we do our very best to point them to services that will help them with their health or social services concerns.  We are the hub to their child’s health in the community.