Ask any student at De Soto high school what they think the most important job is at school. Some will say the principal. Others will say the secretary or even their favorite teacher.

However, some kids will say one of the most important jobs is the school nurse. Almost always at the school, getting students the medication they need and treating the sick student or mending the occasional cut or headache.

Tera Brown has assumed the position of nurse after the previous nurse left De Soto last year for a different job opportunity.

“I stared working here in February. The reason I chose this job was because I had researched De Soto High School and it was pretty impressive,” Brown said.

Brown says one of the good things about her specific job was that she had a small schedule, which allows her to spend more time with her daughter, who is entering kindergarten next year.

Though Brown is a school nurse, she is not a doctor, and thus has limitations on what she can and cannot do medically.

“I can do basic first aid things. I cannot make a diagnosis. So, if something is abnormal as far as symptoms go, or something has been going on for a long time, then they would have to go see a doctor,” Brown said.

Brown can also give painkillers and medicines like Tums or Ibuprofen to students who need it with a letter of written consent by the student’s parent or guardian.

So though the principal and the superintendent may make the important decisions in the school, and the favorite teacher may make things enjoyable, but the school nurse is always present to take care of whatever the student’s medical needs are.