For 30 years, Julie Light has been known as “Nurse Julie” to the Lisbon community.
Originally from Van Horne, Light attended the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) as a recent high school graduate pursuing a chemistry degree. However, after her first year, Light realized that she wasn’t enjoying her program, so she turned to her mom for advice.
“My mom suggested, ‘Why don’t you be a nurse?’ and I was like, ‘oh, okay,’ not really thinking much about it. Two weeks before school started, I applied [to St. Luke’s Professional School of Nursing] and I got in,” Light said.
Light went on to get her nursing degree through the usage of her transferrable credits from UNI and the St. Luke’s program in Cedar Rapids in collaboration with Coe College.
After graduating from the nursing program, Light went on to become a nurse at St. Luke’s Surgicare and Endoscopy in 1984. All the while, Light became a mother and the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) at Lisbon Schools.
At the time, the school did not have a nurse. Realizing the need for a school nurse, with an increasing number of asthmatic and diabetic students in schools, Light brought the issue to the school board, to which the board agreed to hire a half-time nurse that would be paid partially by the Lisbon Early Childhood Center (LECC) and partially by the school.
“I didn’t think that would look good for me, advocating for a job and then applying for it, so I didn’t apply,” Light said. After weeks had passed without any applicants, Dr. Karam, the then elementary principal at Lisbon, called Light and asked her to apply, to which she initially turned down.
However, as more time passed, Dr. Karam called again, and Light agreed to apply and ultimately became “Nurse Julie.”
For the first few years, Light was only “Nurse Julie” half-time. When she wasn’t “Nurse Julie” at the school from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., she was working either as a nurse at Surgicare in the mornings, or at the University of Iowa hospitals in the evenings or on weekends.
It was around 2004 that Light became “Nurse Julie” full time, and quickly, she realized that being a school nurse comes with more than just physical duties.
“There’s also a big social emotional part of school nursing. There’s a degree of social work that goes on, just because of kids in their situations at home or situations here. There’s a lot more situations where kids can alter their social emotional status,” Light explained.
According to Light, that has been one of the biggest changes over her time as the school nurse, alongside an increased number of students with anaphylactic reactions to foods or insects, seizures, and asthma.
As a result of the increased medical conditions that students are facing, Light had to begin carrying rescue seizure medication, EpiPens, and Narcan, which, according to Light, those things were never considered when she took the job 30 years prior.
In 30 years of being “Nurse Julie,” Light’s favorite part was her time with the kids.
“No two days are ever really, truly alike, because you don’t know what’s going to come through the door, which makes it kind of enjoyable, but seeing some of the same kids every day with meds or whatever is also very enjoyable, because you get to see them often. Working with the kids has by far been the most rewarding part of it,” Light said.
Similarly, the kids will also be one of the biggest things that “Nurse Julie” will miss as she enters the next phase of her life: retirement.
“I will miss everything about it. Not only the kids, but the staff, the parents; I will miss everything about school nursing at Lisbon Schools,” Light said. “We’ve all seen our ups and downs, and it’s like a huge family, and I will miss that. We’ve just got good friends here- great friends here, and we’ve all shared so much together, and we’ve a big family, and I’ll miss that.”
However, even in her retirement, “Nurse Julie” will still be around.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Light said.
In her retirement, Light plans to do some volunteering in the community, including her tradition of playing piano for choir concerts of all grades at Lisbon, and even helping and subbing for the new school nurse when needed.
Alongside volunteering, Light is excited to spend time with her grandchildren as “BumBum,” a name that her grandchildren have given her. Currently, Light has 12 grandchildren, with one more on the way.
“If I’m bored, it’s my own fault, because there’s plenty of stuff to do out there,” Light said.