Hearing the teacher ramble on and on about what seems to be the most boring topic to listen to immediately urges students to jump at the opportunity to leave class. Since the most common “escape mechanism” to leave class is to visit the nurse, students often end up in the clinic.

When students are having a rough day or in immediate need of someone to talk to while also facing the daily pressures of high school, they desire a safe space, opting for someone who’s loving and caring. As of Jan. 2, the new nurse at Coppell High School, that loving and caring person, is nurse Jessica Thompson.

“What shined through to the administration when picking the best candidate is [Thompson’s] practical experience which allows her to think on the fly,” associate principal Zane Porter explained. “We need her to go to a classroom at least once a week so with over 3,000 kids and close to 300 adults on the CHS campus, while hosting so many athletic and academic events, we need someone with knowledge and experience in FERPA and HIPAA guidelines.”

As a mom of four children, all going to schools in Coppell ISD, Thompson never thought she would end up back at her high school, 20 years removed, especially after previously working in various emergency rooms for the past decade. Graduating from Coppell High School in 1999, she started working towards nursing school and became a registered nurse, making this her 20th year in the career. Thompson went to El Centro Community College and earned her associate’s degree, propelling her to gravitate towards acute care facilities.

“To me, the most important factor about being a high school nurse is the nurturing relationship between the nurse and student because of how incredibly diverse the high school is and the large spectrum of students’ needs going from very basic to incredibly specific,” Thompson said. “I’m really impressed by how comfortably students talk about their symptoms and it’s definitely beneficial having the bonus ‘mom’ sense, as it helps me connect with the students more.”

Nurse Beth Dorn was the previous  high school nurse  and transferred to a smaller school environment, leaving EMT teacher and former EMT fireman Gary Beyer to fill in the gap of the nurse’s job, along with clinic aide Nan Fullinwider greatly stepping up to fill the nurse’s shoes. Fullinwider had been a teacher for 44 years and loves the overall interaction with students because she feels like they help keep her young.

“At the time, I was so stressed as I had to help out in the clinic and didn’t get to the job I was hired for, accounting for all the paperwork, but after having nurse Thompson, the environment has become much more relaxed,” Fullinwider said. “My responsibility is just to support the nurse, and she’s so great with students, working hard to make everyone feel loved. She welcomes the students with open arms, and we are always there to help each other, so it feels great to have a helping hand when specific students are coming in.”

Because of Thompson’s background in Coppell, she is grateful that her job is helping the youth community while she also strives to achieve her daily goal of making sure each student feels safe, healthy, and comfortable knowing they have people who care for them.

“When you have a solid nurse with critical experience in emergency rooms, you feel comfortable knowing they will do whatever they possibly can to assess a student’s needs,” Porter said. “The fact that she knows our district so well is great because of how well she understands our community and family, as a whole.”

Follow Rhea Choudhary (@rhea_choud) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter