School nurse Andrea Allison sits in a quiet office, working on reports on Monday, Dec. 12.

“It’s finals, so people are taking advantage of the time to study. It’s not too busy today,” Allison said.

It isn’t always like this in the nurse’s office, however.

“There may be nobody, or there may be six bodies,” Allison said.

Allison loves working with and teaching kids. It’s part of the reason why she became a nurse.

“When I first started [college], I couldn’t decide wether to be a teacher or a nurse,” Allison said. “With this [job], I get to do both.”

Both Allison and health aid Kerry O’Keefe-Owens started working at the school this year, after former school nurse Charlene Haines found another job.

Allison’s job requires her to help students with whatever is wrong with them. She stocks supplies for students, but she also has to be on the look out for more serious conditions.

“The biggest part [of being a school nurse] is knowing what the students don’t know,” Allison said. “When you come in with a belly ache, I have to know everything it could be… and know what questions to ask to figure out what’s wrong.”

O’Keefe-Owens agrees.

“You never know what’s going to come in,” O’Keefe-Owens said.

The nurse’s office receives an average of 38 visits per day. Allison has problems with some of these students who come in solely to skip class.

“My least favorite part of the job is kids trying to trick you and just get out of class,” Allison said. “[But] sometimes it’s hard to tell when someone’s actually sick, or just faking.”

Allison has noted the number of students trying to go home has gone down since the school started early release on Fridays. Also, Allison is cracking down on students who are coming into the nurse’s office but aren’t actually sick.

Sophomore Alex Cabrera said the new nurses may be a little strict.

“When I go [to the nurse’s office] to get a cough drop, she only gives me one, when I need three,” Cabrera said.

Allison says that this is part of the reason she and O’Keefe-Owens were hired.

“You wouldn’t believe the number of kids last year who came in because they were hungry or tired,” Allison said. “So many people came in for things they could take care of themselves…[The district] had to hire two nurses to take care of the number of students coming in.”

However, Allison doesn’t always experience problems with all the students.

“As many students as you have who just want to go home, you have just as many people who are fighting tooth and nail to stay,” Allison said.

Allison’s favorite part of the job is the students.

“I love getting to know you,” Allison said. “It feels like I can help you a little bit more.”