'Paging the school nurse!': school nurses in St. Louis, Missouri, juggle some very complex duties. Finally, their work is being recognized--in the form of better pay.

If you think school nursing is all about flu shots, Band-Aids, and record-keeping, you haven't made an appointment with St. Louis nurses Susan Davis, Marve Stewart, and Janet Utley. A school health professional in this urban district, they say, is a mentor, role model, "risk manager," and operator of a full-service health clinic--for students and adult staff alike.

The daily workload of a St. Louis nurse can involve everything from home accidents and chronic diseases to tube-feeding and the fallout of social problems. On top of daily injuries, "we see kids dealing with stress at an early age, kids whose parents are incarcerated, chemically dependent, or shot," says …