Sahuaro High School’s Science Club attended a lecture from guest speaker Dawn Kasardra, a registered nurse with a degree in Biology and an Associates Degree in Nursing. Mr. Devin Veal and Ms. Ashton Hartman, Sahuaro’s anatomy and physiology teachers, and leaders of the Science Club. They arranged for her to talk to the club, and give some basic information about what she does. “The guest speaker was very interesting, I’m glad I got to attend,” says Gabe Galarva, a Sahuaro junior in the Science Club who attended the after school lecture on Tuesday, February 23rd.
Ms. Kasarda started by explaining her position as a Registered Nurse. “As a Registered Nurse, I am able to take care of children, make sure they receive their medicine, take vitals, and talk to the doctor,” explains Ms. Kasarda. She discussed the difference between what doctors, nurses, and PhD nurses are able to do. “For example, if a doctor were to check to see if a patient has died, he can just check the heart beat. If a nurse were to check, there would have to be two nurses for it to be reliable,” says Ms. Dawn.
She then discussed her work with Casa De Los Niños. This is a organization that creates and fosters children and families to live positive healthy lives. She explained how difficult it could be to diagnose children who are nonverbal. “Being a nurse for children has a lot of investigating.” She explained that when children can’t communicate about what is wrong, the nurse has to assume it’s something in order for the doctor to diagnose the problem.
One story that stuck in her mind was one of her past experiences with a little boy at Casa De Los Niños. The little boy told her that he was burned with a cigar and that is why there was a ring on his arm. She recorded it down and didn’t think much of it. Dawn was surprised to find out that the child was not burned at all, but had a fungal infection. “It’s really important to analyze the children’s problem so it’s not wrongly diagnosed,” she says.

Science Club is open to anyone interested.  Meetings are Tuesdays after school.