Nursing has been my desired profession since as long as I can remember.  I graduated from Saint Anselm College with a Bachelor’s degree in 1980. Twenty-two years of my nursing career has been spent in critical care nursing at MGH, Winchester Hospital, & Lahey Clinic Medical Center. Many circumstances have brought me to school nursing.
As an active volunteer with two children attending North Andover Public Schools, one day I was asked if I would like to substitute for the nurse, and I thought, “hmm, that might be fun” and accepted the offer. My husband travels for his job a great deal, so after my third child was born, scheduling conflicts, child care and crashing on my way home from work one morning after a 12-hour night shift swayed me to leave Lahey Clinic and start substituting more often. After passing the Department of Education’s Teacher Literacy Test and the National School Nursing Certification exam, I was offered a part-time job in the North Andover Public Schools at NAMS.
As time went on, the Saint Michael job became available and as fate would have it, I was offered the position. This is my tenth year at SMS. Where has the time gone? My oldest daughter just graduated with her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Brown University; my son is living in NYC while working on finishing his degrees from UCONN; and my youngest is starting high school at Central Catholic. All this academia has finally persuaded me to work on accomplishing my own dream of obtaining my Master’s degree in Nursing.  It is very challenging; I finished my sixth course this summer. 

It is a pleasure caring for your children at St. Michael School. Watching them grow from very young children into teenagers is such a rewarding experience.  Every spring the student’s eyes convince me to renew my commitment to serve them. I truly love being a part of their lives. There is never a dull moment and their zest for life makes everyday a new adventure. Thank you for sharing your sons and/or daughters with me.

Many blessings and stay healthy, Linda Sullivan, RN, BSN, NCSN