With the objective of describing the use of the nurse's office or sick room in a rural elementary school, data was gathered from administrative records relating to sick room utilization and absenteeism. Monthly variations in use of the sick room, utilization by grade level, consistency of usage, complaints presented, and absenteeism were the main foci of data analysis. Results indicated that elementary students use the school sick room in a manner comparable to the way adults use the physician's office and clinic. Females make more visits than males. There is good evidence that many visits are unnecessary. Implications point to a need in health education to address the problem of improper use of health care systems. (DS)