CONNIE TRENT

"When you're an old grandma, do you want not to have any teeth?" asks Connie Trent, school nurse at Sawnee Primary School in Cumming.

The assembled children hang on every word. After all, this is "Nurse Connie," who brings new toothbrushes and the "tooth fairy" (a local dental hygienist) to teach them about proper brushing. She also knows what to do for upset stomachs, broken arms, earaches and seizures. She has a ready lap and a calming touch for any sick child.

Trent, RN, BSN, likes feeling "needed" by the school's 700 students and 100 staff members. "When you're the only medical contact for many students and their families, there is never a normal day," she said.

There was the boy who poured glue in his ear. Or the lunch crisis when a child had a serious reaction to peanut butter while another student was choking. A teacher, trained in CPR by Trent, performed the Heimlich maneuver and saved the day while Trent treated the other child.

Trent spent 16 years in neonatal intensive care nursing in Michigan before becoming a school nurse.

"I never expected to like it so much, but I feel like I'm making a difference in these children's lives," she said.

"There's longevity in school nursing. It gives me great satisfaction to get glasses for a child whose family couldn't afford them or to push for Medicaid emergency funding for a child to have a tonsillectomy and tubes in his ears."

Trent believes that her role in doing vision and hearing screenings catches problems early and improves performance in school and life.

While much of her practice is prevention and treatment of small emergencies or common illnesses, it can also be lifesaving.

"I was checking a class for head lice and found a raised, irregular mole on a little girl's scalp," Trent said. "I told her parents to see a doctor. It turned out to be melanoma, and they removed it. The prognosis is good, because we detected it early."

"Nurse Connie has the demeanor of a seasoned medical professional and the smile of a friend," said Lynn Waldron, a school staff member. "Everyone leaves her clinic feeling a little better about themselves and their health."