Robin Morlan is the person to go to any time one is feeling under the weather.
She works half the week at John Brown Elementary and the other half at Lakeland High School. She is in the office in case any student needs to see the school nurse.
She typically gets more students at JBE than at LHS, but helping students is what she loves to do.
“My favorite part of my job is developing relationships with the students,” Morlan said.
Morlan’s main job is to communicate with the teachers and staff if there are any health conditions that students may need to be attended to. She is there to see if any students need help with anything else they need to be aware of, such as sicknesses.
It is also Morlan’s job to communicate with the parents as well to inform them of any medical emergencies that are more severe to her abilities, such as allergic reactions or asthma attacks.
Growing up, Morlan wanted to travel the world and study different languages and cultures. She worked in the neonatal ICU intensive care unit at Sacred Heart for 23 years.
Her job as a nurse is responsible for providing specialized care to newborn infants who require intensive medical attention. This can include premature babies, babies with low birth weight, babies with respiratory distress syndrome and babies with other medical complications.
NICU nurses closely monitor the newborns’ vital signs, administer medications, provide nutrition through feeding tubes, and work with other medical professionals to develop and implement treatment plans. They also provide emotional support to the babies’ families during what can be a very stressful time.
“I really loved working with the premature babies and their families,” Morlan said.
Morlan decided to become a nurse because she wanted to help people and develop relationships with them.
Her first job was, ironically enough, in pediatric oncology. Pediatric oncology is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with cancer. Pediatric oncologists are medical doctors who have received additional training in the care of children with cancer.
The goal of pediatric oncology is to provide the best possible care to children with cancer while minimizing the side effects of treatment and maximizing their quality of life.
Due to Morlan becoming a registered nurse (RN), she was able to work in the NICU and neonatal intensive care unit, but she could also switch to working in a school without having to run through any extra programs or any other form of education. That is also something Morlan really enjoyed about switching to a school nurse, which was the easy process. The job she has is also very flexible and allows her to try new things.
She wanted to switch things up from the stereotypical nurse lifestyle in the hospital and work at LHS and BKE. She wanted to try something new and stay closer to home since Spokane was too far to drive every day. A job became open at LHS, and it was fate since she lives so close to LHS.
Morlan also has a daughter who goes to LHS.
“I love it. I’ve never had that experience before working in the hospital, so it’s nice to look up and see her waving at me,” Morlan said.
Abbey Morlan is a Junior, and she absolutely loves having her mom in the same school as her. She describes her mom working in the same school as her is nice since they are so close.
“I am really close with my mom, and I love that I can see her whenever,” Morlan said.
Her mom seems to agree and feels the same as her daughter. Whenever Morlan seems to feel unwell, she always knows where to go and who to look for. That goes for any student who might not feel like themselves.