-Kean’s New Nurse

By: J.Libia

“Where is the nurse?” This is the question students and faculty were asking from mid October to April 12^th, when Ms. Shirlen Joshua became the new nurse at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. The nurse shortage has put a tremendous strain on the school. Since Nurse Coles resigned in mid October, numerous students have had many medical issues that couldn’t be addressed. A paraprofessional, Mr. Birmingham, was left to fill the void this has created. But there wasn’t much he could do because he wasn’t the nurse. Whenever a student had a problem that required them to visit the nurse, all that could be done was to administer Tylenol, allow them to rest or simply send them home.

Mr. Birmingham soon had other duties in the school to fulfill and was replaced by Ms. Dias from the office and Sergeant Major Cruz from JROTC, who has some medical training.

That problem was finally resolved on April 12, 2010 when Shirlen Joshua became the much needed nurse of Kean High. Hailing from St. Thomas, USVI, she spent most of her school years in New York City, where, she graduated from James Monroe High School in the Bronx. While in college, some of her many achievements were making the Dean’s List and graduating with honors from Borough of Manhattan University.

“Becoming a nurse was something I have always wanted to do,” she said. During her career she has always put her faith and trust in God. Through faith in Him, hard work, and dedication, she was able to become a traveling nurse. She has always wanted to show people the “glamour” of being a nurse. Some of the places she worked included Miami, Florida, and Hollywood, California.

Since Ms. Joshua became a part of the Kean High family, her office has never been empty. It is filled with the students who weren’t able to get treatment before, hoping now to receive the care that they need and, the students who just choose to hang around.