Pattonville has two nurses, Valerie Guetschow and Heidi Lanham that are always ready and willing to help whoever may walk through the door. These two ladies are pretty similar in their past jobs and what they do currently.

Both ladies worked mother-baby for a year before coming to PHS.

“As a mother/baby nurse I had four mothers and their babies. I had to check vitals, administer medicine, and I had to teach moms how to take care of newborns,” Guetschow explained.

Lanham added, “Each shift I had three mothers. At the hospital I worked at (St. John’s), you pretty much did the same things except sometimes you gave the newborns baths.”

After a year of mother/baby, Lanham realized she wanted to be a school nurse. Guetschow had a different reason for wanting to make the transition from hospital nurse to school nurse.

“To be honest, it worked well with my family’s schedule. I also like working with students,” Guetschow said.

As for deciding which school to nurse at, both women had slightly different reasons.

“I graduated from PHS,” Guetschow said. Guetschow has been at PHS for 9 years.  Lanham said her reason was because her kids went to PHS. Lanham has been at PHS for 8 years.

As school nurses, Guetschow and Lanham have many duties.  Guetschow explained the shared tasks she and Lanham must do.

“We see sick students and staff, we help take care of all the medical records for the students, and we help keep track of the immunization records.”

As with any job they have the challenging times, the rewarding moments, and some memories sprinkled in.

“The most difficult part of being a school nurse is kids not taking me seriously,” Guetschow said. “But the best part about being a school nurse is the students and I think the most interesting is that there is always something new.”

Lanham has a different aspect that makes being a school nurse difficult.

“Treating symptoms that you cannot see. A kid can say that he has a stomachache, but I cannot see a stomachache,” Lanham said. She continued by explaining what she thinks is the most rewarding part of the job: “I think it is the students, especially when they come back to visit after graduation. It makes you feel like you made an impact and difference on them. I think the best part of being a school nurse is the continuity of care. You treat students for four years as apposed to a hospital where you have a new patient every day.”

Lanham said her favorite memory is “when Mr. Hopkins’ class came and remodeled our office. We used to have two separate offices, basically. So he took down the wall that separated us and added a larger closet.”

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