“One of the challenges is separating opinion from science. In my view, science is science, and it is proven.”

Sheri Hey has been a nurse for 28 years. She has worked a number of jobs, but nothing compared to the struggles of nursing during a pandemic. Sheri discusses the various responsibilities of her roles in a school district and her struggles with misinformation during a pandemic.

Natalie Hey: If you could start by introducing yourself, your name and a bit about what you do?

Sheri Hey: My name is Sheri Hey I am the supervisor of health services for a southwest suburban Chicago school district. I manage 19 certified school nurses and support staff of about 70 students and help shape health policy for our school district which serves almost 18,000 students. 

Q: You have been a nurse for about 28 years now, so what sparked your interest in nursing?

A: I was interested in health care for sure but did not want to go to med school. I wanted a career with work life balance, family, and I always wanted to work with kids, so I naturally fell into the helping professions and was interested in the science and medical side to it. I went to the University of Iowa, and they have a huge nursing program, so I had exposure from there.

Q: What do you like the most and least about nursing?

A: I like the interactions with people and being able to be present with them at different parts of their life. Helping them through super tough times. I’ve done a lot of different things as a nurse. As a hospice nurse I found it rewarding and a privilege to be there at some of the most difficult times of people’s life. With that sort of situation, you only get one chance to get it right. I love the critical thinking and problem solving. I also like that I’m not boxed into anything. I’ve worked at the bedside, I’ve worked in the emergency department, I’ve worked a as a manager and now I’m in schools. And it’s really been a flexible career path that has let me do a lot and has opened a lot of doors.

Q:  You were a school nurse when the pandemic started in 2020, now you are a health supervisor for a school district. How have the two jobs been different for you during the pandemic?

A:  So, as a school nurse when the pandemic started, we didn’t really know what was going on. We were trying to figure out what was going on from a health perspective. How to keep students safe and listening to information from a medical lens. When we came back to school in the middle of the pandemic, when the kids returned, it was really hard to manage the case load and what was going on. At the time our district didn’t have strong leadership. So it was challenging to be a nurse in that situation.

Q: how have you delt with misinformation through your previous position and the role you are in now?

A: One of the challenges is separating opinion from science. In my view, science is science, and it is proven. In the pandemic we don’t have a history with it. We don’t have a large knowledge base that we can rely on for these day-to-day decisions. The vaccine has not been studied for years. But we have data from similar vaccines. We have health measures that we have implemented before. When people let their personal opinions override the overall public health good or only listen to information that supports what they think I think it’s very challenging. I appreciate people’s skepticism and hesitancy and I want people to be comfortable in what they are doing. But I also want people to think critically and base their decision on science and not fear. One of the things I really struggle with is if you’re not going to get vaccinated, I do believe that is your choice, but when you spread misinformation to other people in order to influence their decision, I really think that is problematic.

Q: when there is a surplus of information, how do you get reliable information that you can trust?
A: I try and read peer-reviewed evidence-based medical sources. Not taking the news on face value. I want to know where your source is. Are we looking at the whole piece of information? We will pick out one phase of a study that doesn’t look at the whole picture. Keep reading and educating and try to keep and open mind because nobody knows; this is all new. All we can do is make the best decisions. There are people a lot smarter than me making these decisions. We have to evaluate everything thing with a critical mind. Really evaluating all of these pieces that make research good solid medical research.

Q: during the pandemic we watched a lot of the news, so do you trust the news?

A: I do think you have to be aware of what the source is and where the bias of you know any particular channel was. You know people lie and you’re going to get a different Source from Fox News and you’re going to get a different perspective from CNN and a different perspective from ABC. I try to read something I disagree with every day or find a source that I don’t particularly go for. If someone says something I don’t agree with I try not to immediately shut it down; look at the whole picture. I do think we live in this news-cycle headline-grabbing society that sometimes we just get information and it’s really hard to put that in perspective so I think the news can be good, but I think before I make any really informed in-depth decisions.

Q: you in control of a lot of what goes on in the school district so do you have any moral conflicts as a supervisor?

A: I’m not in control because the ultimate decisions don’t land with me. The ultimate people accountable are at the superintendent level. We’ve had a couple situations where I think from a public health perspective in front of medical lens, we are not making the right decisions and it’s hard to lead a team through that. I have to trust that that they’re making the right decision and that’s what we want. But trying to convince people that weren’t at that high-level meeting and convey that message and kind of lead them through this and letting them know that they’re supported, that we hear them, that we realize there’s problems, that this isn’t perfect, that there’s a lot out of our control is really really challenging.

Q: What would you like to see done differently to make your job easier

A: Be kind of each other. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt and assume good intent because no one’s trying to hurt anyone. People are so angry and so quick to judge. I have young people working for me and these women are in their early 20s, some of them are college students, some of them are single moms and they’re working super hard. Then these parents just treat them so poorly. The emails I send, I’m always calm and empathetic. People assume that we’re out to get them personally. I think everyone should just take a step back and realize that whether I’m making a decision you disagree with or agree with, there is rationale behind it. If you don’t understand, it ask the questions! But stop with the anger and assume good intent.

Q: why is there such a disconnect between parents and you doing your job?A: I make decisions that don’t benefit them. I think people are angry and they’re taking the message out on the bearer of the bad news. I think people are tired, and I totally recognize and understand that this has been two plus years of stress where people have been food insecure, and their jobs might be on the line, or they might have been home with the kids when they weren’t planning on it. There’s a quick-to-judge culture. I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there. I think that people have lost a lot of tolerance. And I think it’s sometimes hard for people to see beyond what’s right in front of them and not be so reactive. Not that this is a political view, but I think normalizing the shock value, the quick reactions, the negative talk, the name calling. I think it was normalized. And we’re seeing you know so much disrespect in the school district. Behavior problems, mental health crises, and a lot of it has to reflect what’s going on at home. I think we’re going to be seeing the implications of this pandemic you know from the society and mental health and behavioral perspective with our young people for a long time and it’s certainly hard.