The side of Cedar Park that many students don’t see, and hopefully won’t have to, is one of the busiest. Nancy Shields, the school nurse, often sees 30 to 50 students, and two to five staff members a day. As of March 5 she has seen 2,984 students in the clinic.

“The biggest thing I see is students with no breakfast,” Shields said. “They come in with headaches wanting food.  The best thing that students can do to prevent this is to eat a healthy breakfast with carbohydrates and a lean protein source, like oatmeal and turkey sausage.”

This year the nurse is working alone and the school has lost funding for the vision and hearing screening teams, so Shields has to take on the extra roles with her already busy days. Not only does she do all of those positions, but she is a team leader for all the high school nurses in the district.

“I do clinic audits, lead all high schools, and hold meeting to pass info down from the head district nurse,” Shields said.

She says that her biggest irritation is when students lie about being in her office.

“I do not like it when students lie to their teacher about being in here,” Shields said. “Nurses are the most trusted professional in the US. Kids need to ask themselves, would I miss going to a party for this, before coming in here.”

The week of May 6 through 12 was nurse’s week, and May 7 was School Nurse Day. In honor of nurse’s week, the front office staff got Shields flowers, gift cards, chocolate and cookies all in a nicely wrapped box.