Rachel Bressner

McKinley School Nurse, Rachel Bressner, says that many days she doles out a lot of band-aids and ice packs—but that her job entails so much more. As the sole medical personnel for the school’s nearly 400 students, she must use her nursing training, critical thinking, and instincts to address and resolve a wide variety of problems and situations. Daily tasks include dispensing medications to students and completing paperwork. However, on any given day, she deals with students who show up with anything from a vague discomfort to a scraped knee, a bad cold, flu, Covid, or a stomach ache.

As anyone who has felt anxious knows, sometimes a stomach ache is not just a stomach ache. It can be the body’s way of expressing an emotional issue, whether it’s panic about a math test or nerves about engaging socially, or it could reflect stresses or challenges at home. Young children are unlikely to recognize or even name this invisible emotional pain. That is where professionals like Rachel come in. The mind-body connection is very present in how Nurse Rachel approaches her work, and she is in constant communication and collaboration with the school social worker, Heather Jackson, whose office is just next door. The priority is ensuring students feel safe coming to the nurse’s office, knowing they will be treated with caring and empathy. We certainly feel at ease in her company and can imagine she has the same effect on students. Of all the supplies in her kit, caring and empathy may indeed be her real superpowers.

Being a school nurse also requires good judgment. Rachel has to make her best assessment of what is wrong, what is needed, and whom to call. She tries to see patterns, like the student who always comes in during math, or those whose stomach aches disappear just before lunch, and uses this information to understand what is going on beneath the surface.

We ask Rachel if there was a defining moment that led her to choose nursing. Indeed, there was a key life experience. In eighth grade, she underwent major surgery in a Chicago hospital and recalls, “I just remember the nurses, the doctors, everyone, how they cared for me, and I thought, ‘Man, this is something that I would love to go into.’” Although she initially chose a different major (business) once college rolled around, within a year, she was in the dean’s office asking to switch to nursing. She knew that was what she was meant to do and hasn’t looked back.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Rachel has two sons. One is nineteen and embarking on his own college journey at Illinois State University, where he will study business. Her younger son is four and just starting pre-K. Juggling a career and family can be a challenge, but she is fortunate to have support from her husband and their extended family. And she is very organized, keeping everyone’s schedules on a multi-ink colored calendar on the fridge. She often answers scheduling questions from her family with the reply, “Refer to the calendar!”

What would Rachel tell her younger self if she could go back in time? “Don’t worry so much; let the small stuff go,” she responds. She describes herself as a high-strung kid and a perfectionist who worried about all the details. If there is one life lesson she tries to share with students, it is that they shouldn’t worry too much. They don’t have to do it all; they don’t have to be perfect. It seems like a soothing message and a good introduction to thinking about balance in life. Yet another way in which Nurse Rachel cares for McKinley students in a holistic and nurturing way. We note that they are lucky to have her, and she responds by saying that she feels lucky to have them, “These kids are amazing.”