‘Nurse Julie’ will miss student interactions

RANDOLPH – Julie Loberg has been answering to the name “Nurse Julie” 100 times a day for the last 32 years as well as answering all health-related concerns and questions at Randolph Public Schools.

At the end of this school year, Loberg will be dropping ‘Nurse’ from her name and settling into a comfy deck chair, cup of coffee in hand to start life as a retiree.

A Randolph alum, Loberg gradated from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1979. She previously worked at Osmond General Hospital, and as a school nurse in Wausa and Plainview.

In her time at Randolph, she’s worked under seven different superintendents. When she started in 1992, more than 500 students were enrolled at Randolph.

For the past 13 years, Loberg also worked as a paraprofessional in addition to nursing duties. Her days included playground and lunch monitoring as well as working with small student groups as a para, conducting annual student screening and administering first aid as needed as the school nurse. She also collected and reviewed immunization records, taught wellness classes and CPR, among other duties.

“As the only nurse, I will admit at times I felt a little alone to make decisions but the secretaries are wonderful and take over as needed,” Loberg said. “They were all eager to learn first aid, medication administration and all things related to keeping the students well and happy.”

Memories stack up with the years. Major illnesses and outbreaks are especially memorable from COVID-19 to head lice, she said.

As an EMT with Randolph’s volunteer department, Loberg also recalled responding to a car accident where “a little girl recognized me from school and started to cry to see the familiar face,” she said.

Being a part of the school’s crisis team was difficult and challenging, she said.

But it’s the little things, too, Loberg looks back on with fondness like students grateful for newfound sight after a screening indicating they needed glasses.

And there was the time she got a parent report of a child who insisted the amount of toothpaste on the brush was correct because Nurse Julie told him so.

She’s especially proud of her work in getting Randolph Public Schools designated as a Heart Safe School with staff training and automated external defibrillators at each school building.

The decision to retire was difficult but also easy in regard to staying motivated and active enough to keep up with students’ energy, she said.

“As one student asked, ‘Hey, Nurse Julie, do you have fake teeth?’ I said, ‘No. Why?’ Her reply was ‘Well, most old people have fake teeth.’ She put me in my place,” Loberg said with a smile.

Loberg may consider substitute work as a paraprofessional during her retirement.

She’s looking forward to spending more time with family, decluttering her home and spending time outside in the dirt with her plants and flowers.

She will miss her daily interactions with students and staff.

“I hope I am fondly remembered as a caring and hard working nurse,” she said. “These were the attributes I hope to have encouraged all students to have.”