The Fairfax County Health Department honors Nurses Month as a celebration of the tremendous impact that public health nurses have on wellness in our community. The month-long celebration of the nursing profession allows for many opportunities to appreciate the invaluable contributions of nurses. We are all indebted to nurses for their unwavering commitment to patients, their communities, and our healthcare system.

Each year, the Health Department singles out one Public Health Nurse who goes above and beyond in their work, and honors that individual as Public Health Nurse Nurse of the Year. On April 5, that honor was bestowed upon Nicole Morales, a Public Health Nurse Manager in the School Health program.

“Being named Nurse of the Year was such a shock, and such an honor,” said Nicole. “It makes me feel very proud that I've had a big impact with the schools and the students I’ve served, and honored that my team would think that of me.” In her role, Nicole oversees 26 public health nurses and 43 school health aides providing health support services in 43 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). Her tireless efforts in recruiting and managing school health aides, as well as her involvement in critical assessment and safety campaigns, are a testament to her commitment to excellence.

The fact that her career is focused on the well-being of young people is rooted in her personal experience. Nicole recalls an inspirational nurse she encountered as a young girl. “In high school, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease, and I had to get a PICC line [peripherally inserted central catheter] put in. So, there was a home visiting nurse that would come once a week, and she would change my site for my PICC line.” Nicole cites not just the physical care that nurse provided, but also the support she got with the other aspects of the illness as the sparks that made her consider a nursing career.

But the path to school nurse was far from a straight line. There was a detour that, for a while, saw Nicole on the trail to a pharmacy career. “I was interested in pharmacy because I started working as a pharmacy tech when I was 15 in high school,” said Nicole. “And then when I moved here to Virginia, I started working as a pharmacy tech here at CVS.”

Ultimately, it was the realization that she needed to finish the degree she had started that put her back on the road to nursing. First came the nursing classes that led to her degree in Health Systems Management and a desk job working for a health insurance company, a job she kept — working 20 hours a week — while putting herself through nursing school. During her studies at Marymount University, Nicole had another “ah-ha” moment. “In nursing school, I had a school health clinical, and I was with a nurse in Arlington County. I really, really enjoyed that clinical, seeing what the school health nurse did in the school. And that's what really made me choose to do school health nursing.”

In 2018, Nicole was hired as a school public health nurse, and the goal was achieved. Since becoming a school health nurse, there’s one particular public health issue that she’s most passionate about addressing. “In my experience within the schools, I would definitely say it’s pregnant and parenting teens,” said Nicole. “My first school assignment was in a middle school, and I had pregnant middle schoolers every year.” She says that it was the relationship building that allowed the students to feel comfortable in talking with her about maternity services and other community resources they needed.

In fact, it was her relationship with her first pregnant student that stands out as a time where she knew she made a difference. “I have found in my experience that pregnant students are not always treated in some offices the same as an adult who's pregnant and getting prenatal care,” said Nicole. “So, this one student would come to me with questions like, ‘What does the baby look like about this week?’ And I would use books that I got from my doctor when I had my kids to show her different pictures and answer her questions. Questions that she was too scared to ask the nurses at the clinic she was going to, she would come in and ask me. ‘I'm feeling like this. Is this normal? Is it not normal?’ Building that relationship with her and then seeing her actually coming back to school after having the baby, was when I said to myself, ‘Oh, you know, I really made a difference.’”

What makes nursing so rewarding is the tangible results, and for Nicole it was seeing these young mothers through their greatest challenge. For anyone considering a nursing career, Nicole reminds us that there’s more nursing careers available than just a doctor’s office or hospital setting. “I chose school health as a career goal,” said Nicole. “I knew I did not want to work in a hospital. That was never something that appealed to me. School health nursing is very unique from any other nursing job. Every day is different, and you'll never be bored. If you want to help the community and help school aged children, being a public health nurse within school health is definitely the job for you. It's a very rewarding job.”

Learn more about public health nursing and how they make a difference in our community.