New middle school nurse, Claudia Small, is excited to help our students here at Triton.

“Nursing is a profession where you are also always learning something new; this makes for an exciting career,” said Small, “My hope is that I can continue to provide the best nursing care possible for our middle school.”

Small has always known that she was going to pursue a career in nursing. It has always been a strong passion of hers. After getting her degree, Small spent her first eight years out of college in Boston working as a critical care nurse and the past eleven years working in school health. Small may be new to the middle school, but she is not new to the Triton district. She has been substituting in our community for years, which has gotten her familiar with the faces and how things run around here. Small is excited to spend a lot of time here and make an impact in our school district.

Small has three children that have attended our middle school, so she loves to be working in a recognizable place. She enjoys seeing old faces still around from when she would visit in the past, and this makes her want to stay here for a long time, she said. She is fortunate to be working a job that she loves, she said, and to be in such a great environment everyday.

High school nurse and Small’s mentor, Mrs. Goldsmith, talked about how Small is the perfect fit for the job. “She is not a new face,” Said Goldsmith. “Mrs. Small has always been very friendly and helpful around here.”

Small has worked with Goldsmith for a long time, both assisting and substituting, in the many years of her career. Being a nurse is a very difficult job, more difficult than it looks to be, which makes Goldsmith excited for Small take on the challenge of the new middle school nurse. By working together in the past, Goldsmith knows that Small is a hardworking person and is ready to take on any task.

“It takes almost a full school year to learn everything,” said Goldsmith.

Nursing is a job where new information is always being thrown at you because of the vast majority of knowledge you need to grasp. Small is open to asking questions when she feels the need; this lets Goldsmith know that she is devoted to her job and is always looking to improve herself and her work ethic. Goldsmith is always happy to see an incoming call from her, she said.

Small has grown to learn new ways to communicate with people and to work in different environments. You need to be able to adapt to different places and unusual ways of work. Small claims that in this profession, trust is number one because being honest with your patients builds a strong relationship.

Days are always exciting in the middle school because you never know what is going to happen or what you will expect, she said. Small loves that each day brings you something different along with a lot of diverse work. Even though being a nurse can be full of excitement, Small claims that there is a serious, more boring side too. Paperwork is her least favorite part of the job, but she doesn’t let that stop her from enjoying the better and more interactive part of the job, helping out the students.

“She made sure I left her office with everything I needed to feel better,” said Camden Tinkham, middle school student.

Small seems to be fulfilling the task of creating a warm and happy place for students to come to when they’re in need.

“I have brought my pet fish, Clementine, from home and added some blankets and pillows on my chairs,” said Small. Students are feeling comfortable when in her office and they feel great after leaving her hands, which is what the job is all about.

Small seems to be making an impact in the short amount of time she has been here.