Katie Elliott doesn”t match any antiquated visions of a school nurse.
She”s doesn”t sit in her office all day feeding sneezy children tiny paper cups of cough syrup or dabbing scrapes with cotton balls dipped in hydrogen peroxide. In fact, she doesn”t spend much time in her office at all.
Serving kindergarten through fifth-graders at Cook Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School as well as the Columbus Municipal School District Alternative School, Elliott doesn”t have time to wait for children to come to her. She goes to them. To dispense medication. To make sure inhalers are filled. To touch base with cafeteria workers about specialty diets. Consulting with students, teachers, parents and whoever else needs medical advice.
In that sense, the 1998 graduate of the University of Mississippi Medical Center”s nursing program is more like the school doctor.
Elliott, an Aberdeen native, came to the CMSD in 2000 after spending two years in critical care in Jackson and in Starkville at Oktibbeha County Hospital. The mother of three dreamed of being in health care since she was a child watching medical dramas on television. She jumped at a job at Columbus High School because she knew it would give her more time to spend with her children. Soon after she moved to Cook. Now she spends all her time with kids.
How does school nursing stack up to hospital nursing?
Nothing is alike. It”s a completely different ballgame. You have to become a whole different kind of nurse.
In critical care, it”s all about trauma and emergencies. Then you get to school and you don”t see much of that, but you do occasionally.
You have to learn so much about childhood illnesses and diseases and you”re a liaison between the parents and the students, between parents and doctors, between teachers and parents.
Did you have to go back to school for any classes? Child psychology, for instance?
No, I guess it”s just all learned (on the job). But I am now a nationally certified school nurse. I took that exam in 2004. (Elliott also holds the title of registered nurse and holds a bachelor”s degree in nursing.)
It”s a 250-question exam all pertaining to children and adolescents, childhood illnesses, special education rules and guidelines, nutrition and it has a little bit of counseling. We had to do a lot of studying on every aspect of pediatric and adolescent health.
Do nurses have to receive Continuing Education Units like teachers?
Now that I”m nationally certified I do have to get a certain number of CEUs every five years. But prior to that, no.
Walk us through a typical day at work for you.
I come in and have a schedule of where I have to be every hour or half hour for medication administration. I”m caring for diabetics and asthmatics. Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization in children and with all the allergens we”re exposed to now, asthma has become a huge issue.
There”s now a statewide policy where all students with inhalers are supposed to carry them at all times and be able to use them. So I keep up with that and the ones that need help, I assist them.
One of our main jobs is to decrease absenteeism. A lot of kids who would miss school to stay home for breathing treatments, we”re able to do those here. I make sure they use their inhaler before recess and physical education to prevent asthma attacks. That way they get to stay in school.
So you”re the one who steals their excuse to stay home?
Yes, exactly.
How many kids at Cook need medication on a daily basis?
This is the beginning of the school year, so it changes constantly. Parents bringing in new meds, changing them, taking them off, giving it at home. Probably around 20 (students) a day, every day.
Some come to the office. Some of the little ones, I take it to them so they don”t have to get out in the hall on their own. I do a lot of running around.
What are the most common medications?
We have a variety of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medications. I give a lot of those. And you have occasionally diabetics who take their oral medication or insulin.
Due to the rates of childhood obesity you do see more Type II diabetics. In the past it was considered something you only got as an adult.
How much of your role is as nutritionist?
I don”t go into classrooms as much as I”d like due to time restraints (to lecture on nutrition). But with specific students who have special diets, not just because of diabetes, I spend a good bit of time talking to their teachers, cafeteria workers and their doctors to make sure they”re staying on track.
What”s the worst injury you”ve had to deal with at school?
I had a student one time who almost had a finger torn off.
Were you able to stay cool seeing that kind of an injury on a child? Did it get your heart going?
It does. I tend to panic after it”s over. While it”s going on I just jump right in. Her life wasn”t in danger, luckily, so I could see we just need to apply pressure and wrap it up. Then either get the parents or call an ambulance if you have to.
How common are emergency situations?
It”s actually not that common.
What elements would you like to add to your repertoire?
My favorite aspect of my job are children with special needs. Those are the ones I enjoy spending the most time with and learning about. They”re just completely innocent and loving and sweet. They need your love and your care and I enjoy giving it to them.
How accurate is the public perception of what school nurses do?
The general population thinks all we do is put Band-Aids on kids and put thermometers in their mouths. That could not be further from the truth.
(Nurses) discuss often how we feel guilty that maybe we don”t do enough of that because we”re so busy dealing with other issues on a daily basis. Organization is one of our biggest challenges. Where we”re supposed to be when and who we”re supposed to see at what time. And in the mean time we try to fit in the child with the stomach ache or the head ache or the paper cut.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
