He said if it were a VIRUS, he would give antiobiotics? Are you sure you understood that right? Viruses don't respond to antibiotics...
The nurse knows that strep is going around. That's something you can take to the bank, mom. One reason why doctors do strep tests is because strep throats don't always have "white stuff" on them to tell the doctor that it's strep. Tonsillitis is a possibility as well, and it's not the same as strep.
I will tell you that my kids don't always have a fever with strep. They don't always have a terrible sore throat with it either. They sometimes are nauseated instead. If they came home with a stomach ache and drug around at home instead of enjoying playtime, I knew something was up. I'd run them down to the doc after school and get a strep test. One time the doctor told me that my son's throat didn't look like strep at all, but to make me feel better, she would do the strep test. When she came out to the waiting room a bit later, she apologized to me in front of all the moms out there and told me that to her surprise, my son DID indeed have strep. She told me that my mom's intuition was good.
Sometimes you just have to know your kids.
I tell you this so that you have a bit of an understanding why the doctor isn't necessarily agreeing with the nurse. Also, you should know that if you get your child to the doctor TOO soon, that strep won't necessarily show up. That happened to my college son last year at the end of exams. He felt poorly, with a sore throat and nausea, papers to write, a theatre play to act in (bad timing having to be onstage while feeling like this!) The school nurse did a strep test, but it came up negative. He came home and went to his family doctor for his yearly physical right after exams, and I told the doctor about what had gone on, and he decided himself to take another strep test. THIS TIME strep showed up.
If your daughter weren't non-compliant with the strep test, you could take her back next week for another strep test, but I have a feeling that she'll be just as scared next week as she was today. Go ahead and give her the antibiotics. Strep is nothing to play with - my sister at 5 years old was misdiagnosed (the doctor assumed it was viral) and ended up with scarlet fever. It was scary - her skin sloughed off and she looked like one of the zombie people, and it also affected her joints and she couldn't walk for two weeks. NOT as scary as rheumatic fever, but still really serious. You do NOT want to mess with strep.
I hope this helps - you can tell that my family has dealt with this plenty.
Dawn