interview next week for school nurse position! Advice?

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

I'm so excited about my interview for the elementary school nurse position next week! However, I'm a little nervous about the interview because I'm sure it will be different than when I've interviewed for other nursing positions. For one, the person interviewing me is an assitant super. She's not from a nursing background and I don't want to go off on my "nursing schpeal." Suggestions on questions that might be asked?

Thanks!

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Specializes in School Nurse, Maternal Newborn.

Good luck on your interview! Some things that they may do is to pose scenarios, and "what would you do in this situation"? What you have to keep in mind is that, usually, you will be the only medical person in the building, and will be called upon to make a lot of decisions regarding emergencies, etc.

Keep in mind- even if it seems that your day starts when the kids get there, and ends when the last bus leaves, you can't always get your work done within that time frame. Hours will very likely be longer than you will be paid for.

They may ask some questions that will test your ethics. Some of the questions that are asked may not make any sense to you, but are used in hiring processes in a lot of places. Give a lot of thought to your answers.

Show enthusiasm for one of the biggest changes that you will make in your career. I have many years of experience, but this was different from ANYTHING I had ever done before. It is NOT easy, by any means, as many children have social difficulties that make your hair stand on end. Only after becoming a school nurse did I realize what a bowl of cherries my childhood was, compared to a great number of kids!

Depending on the state you will possibly be working for, there may be a website for school health services- this will give you a lot of information regarding state guidelines for a myriad of health problems you would be likely to encounter.

SMILE. And, GOOD LUCK. (Or is it "break a leg"? )

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Specializes in LTC.

I agree with the above posts. They may give you three scenarios of visits and ask you which child would you tend to first ? They may ask you how would you deal with an irrate parent of staff member. I'm sure you will do fine.

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I recently interviewed for an elementary position and was hired on the spot. I can't wait for school to start in August!!!

Your goal as a school nurse should be to keep all children in the school community healthy and in school/class.

You need strong assessment skills, critical thinking skills, and be willing to have great communication with administrators and parents. My experience with parents is that you have to gain and earn their trust with their children.

Scenarios and what would you do are likely to be questioned. Triage.

Also, it doesn't hurt to ask the administrator after you feel that you have "sold yourself" ---"What is your expectations of me as the school nurse?"

Good Luck with the interview!!!

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm super nervous about this, but hopeful. NEOtoKIDS - congrats on the new job! Do you happen to remember anything specifically they asked you about? I'm a good prioritizer, as that's what's required in floor nursing. I also think I specialize in calming people down when their upset (i.e. parents) and communication. I have an associates degree in psychology, so hopefully that will be a plus. I know I use psychology with patient's every day, and elementary kids are no different!

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.

The psych background will help- at least here we have a lot of kids with developmental and behavioral problems (mostly behavioral).

My fallback answer was to check policy/procedure.

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One scenario asked of me was--"How would you treat a child with a head bump/injury?"

Most schools should have policies/procedures in place. Luckily, I had subbed as a nurse in the school district and already knew what steps to take in order to follow policy/procedure.

Assess, observation of child for up to 30 mins. if needed before sending back to class, phone call to parents in addition to informational sheet sent home for signs/symptoms to be observed for next 24 hrs. I take any and all head injuries very serious.

The tragic head/brain injury of the actress Natasha Richardson is quite a reminder of how a head/brain injury can result in death.

Always, always take steps to notify parents of anything that could possibly come back to haunt you.

There was also the question--"What would you do if you had 5 students show up at the same time in the clinic?"

Triage.

Good Luck!!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, School and Camp Nursing.

I recently interviewed for an elementary school nurse position and I was asked what would I do if I had a student that presented with signs/symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction but the student had no known allergies. According the the nurse practice act in my state school nurses have stock epi pens and can use them based on our assessment.

Another question I had was how would I go about communicating with and eventually treating an injury on a kindergartgen student with a developmental disability. In the scenerio the student had never been to the nurse before and was scared.

I was also asked how I felt about treating the teachers and staff in addition to the students.

I was once told that if you are asked why you applied for the job you should never state because of the schedule.

Good luck and let us know how the interview went!

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