Common interview questions for a school nurse position?

LACA, BSN, LPN, RN · Nov 17, 2010

My interview consisted of a lot of "what would you do" type questions. I'm in an elementary position now, but also interviewed for a high school position before this one. I have been asked:

What would you do if a (HS) student confides in you that she's pregnant?

What would you do if you knew a student was using drugs, alcohol, etc?

What would you do about an upset/irate/angry parent?

What would you do if you saw two children roughhousing in the hallway?

What would you do if a friend outside of school asked you about another friend's child?

What is your policy on how to treat children who may be poor, dirty, or uncared for?

What is the relation between a 504, IEP, and medical conditions?

What type of staff member do you think you will be?

What can you offer this school?

Would you be willing to participate in extra curricular activities, attend after school programs, and other events?

The typical "tell me one strength and one weakness" questions.

How do you view attendance and punctuality as a school employee?

Why are you interested in this job?

That's all I can think of for now...I'm sure I will come up with a few more ? I'm not going to give you my answers for all of them, because that would make this post even longer, but if you want to know what I said, just tell me which question and I will answer it for you.

BTW--I was second in line for the high school job, and was immediately offered the elementary school job, so my answers must have worked! ?

luvinschoolnursing · Nov 17, 2010

All of the above plus:

How I felt about doing CPS referrals and when would I do them.

What sort of things would I notify the principal about.

What is the goal/mission of school nursing.

They asked me about how flexible I am--the day is planned out but then having to shift towards a different direction.

They asked what questions I had. I asked them about resources in the area for low income students needing clothes, glasses and medical care. What percentage of the school was low income (70%!!!) How many students a day would I be seeing. Describe an average day. Who does the hearing/vision screens.

ScrapKath · Nov 17, 2010

LACA said:
My interview consisted of a lot of "what would you do" type questions. I'm in an elementary position now, but also interviewed for a high school position before this one. I have been asked:
What would you do if a (HS) student confides in you that she's pregnant?
What would you do if you knew a student was using drugs, alcohol, etc?
What would you do about an upset/irate/angry parent?
What would you do if you saw two children roughhousing in the hallway?
What would you do if a friend outside of school asked you about another friend's child?
What is your policy on how to treat children who may be poor, dirty, or uncared for?
What is the relation between a 504, IEP, and medical conditions?
What type of staff member do you think you will be?
What can you offer this school?
Would you be willing to participate in extra curricular activities, attend after school programs, and other events?
The typical "tell me one strength and one weakness" questions.
How do you view attendance and punctuality as a school employee?
Why are you interested in this job?
That's all I can think of for now...I'm sure I will come up with a few more ? I'm not going to give you my answers for all of them, because that would make this post even longer, but if you want to know what I said, just tell me which question and I will answer it for you.
BTW--I was second in line for the high school job, and was immediately offered the elementary school job, so my answers must have worked! ?

Thank you so much. And yes, I would really like to know what you said for some of your answers. I have some ideas but since you were immediately hired, it would be great to compare. What did you tell them about the questions regarding the pregnant student, the students using drugs, and the angry parents? Also, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with 504 and IEP.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Nov 18, 2010

When I interviewed it was a 3 nurse panel. They asked me things like "How would you handle an angry parent?" "How do you plan to handle a situation in which a parent is unavailable or unwilling to comply(such as when a child is ill or injured?" "Have you ever had to call CPS and how did you handle it?"

Guest717236 · Nov 18, 2010

What experience do you have with sports injuries/emergencies?

Question to ask at the interview--How many schools are you expected to cover?

With cutbacks in our area many nurses cover more than one school which involves driving between the sites several times/day.

LACA, BSN, LPN, RN · Nov 18, 2010

As for the pregnant high school student- my answer was along the lines of "I would assure her that she could trust me and I would maintain her confidentiality and together we would sit down with the school guidance counselor to discuss what the next actions should be that would be in her best interest and I would also make sure she knew that I was available any time she needed me."

As for the student using drugs, I answered "I would gather as much information as I could so that I would have enough reasoning behind my suspicion to avoid falsely accusing a student. Once I had the information I needed, I would confer with the principal and school resource officer to plan what steps should be taken next. However, if any student, including the user, was in danger, I would immediately contact any necessary personnel to handle the situation."

As for angry parents (and I've used this one several times!!) "I feel that the most important thing is to first hear them out completely. Even if I don't agree or I think they are completely in the wrong, I will take the time to listen to them and try to understand what they are feeling. They are a parent and their child would be involved and they may have underlying concerns that I can address. I would do all I could to take care of the problem, and depending on the situation, offer them what solutions I can. If they refuse to be appeased with that, I would refer them to the school administration with a sincere apology that I could not help them with the problem."

IEP is Individual Education Plan, used when a child has a medical or behavioral issue that requires a plan to be in place to help them and their teacher make the best use of their instructional time. The 504 goes along with it (I'm pretty unfamiliar with these, even now. I was completely honest in my interview and told the principal "I'm sorry, but I'm not very familiar with those terms." He understood and appreciated my honesty. Said he had had several people attempt to "bluff" their way through that question and he knew right off that they were clueless and refused to admit it to him.)

At the end of the interview he asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked him what the population of the school was, what resources they had in place for underprivileged children, what was his view on a school nurse who implemented new programs and lessons in the classroom on her own, how much say I would have in how I did my job, and what his expectations were.

Another thing I just thought of--he asked me how I would handle "frequent fliers"--kids who visit the clinic repeatedly. I told him that I would do my best to address any physical ailments they may have, I would look for signs of emotional, mental, or psychological stresses and if they didn't have any other reason to be coming to me other than getting out of class, I would direct them back to class and discuss their frequent visits with their parents and their teacher. I told him that it was my job to keep them in the classroom as much as possible, and making the best use of their educational time. Their job is to learn, my job is to make sure they are healthy and well and in the classroom doing their best. He REALLY liked that answer.

Guest717236 · Nov 18, 2010

Off interview topic, but as substitute school nurses my colleague and I found a wonderful solution to the "crowd at the Nurses office due to a sub on today issue." I calmly went to the door of the Nurses office and addressed the massive crowd which was loud and unruly. Is anyone in an emergency or critical situation? Absolute silence. I stated Mrs Regular RN is not in today and introduced myself. I let them know that the title is School Nurse Teacher and my office was both a nurses office and classroom. I stated that everyone in line needed to return to their class and return with a book and/or assignment and must sit quietly and wait their turn. Of the 40 students waiting approximately 32 left and did not return. The eight that remained sat quietly and had appropriate issues.

My advice , do not allow a party atmosphere right from the start. Word travels fast and I never at this High school while as a sub had to make this announcement again.

PS-The assistant Principal loved it !

I should add that the Nurses office was in a basement far away from classes and was the only office open. For safety having a calm atmosphere was even more critical as staff response time to a problem was not immediate due to where the office was located..

nightwatchlpn, LPN · May 30, 2013

Love it!!!

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · May 30, 2013

One question I had asked was would I handle frequent fliers (i.e. those students that you see every day or a few times a day and may/may not have a legitimate medical complaint each time).

While I can't remember may exact wording, I did talk about how learning is a priority at school and how I would best try to steer these students out of my office quickly (some of my frequent fliers know they have two minutes and I mean two minutes, I sign passes with a time stamp), but also was aware that frequent trips to the nurses office may equal a deeper emotional issue, that the student may or may not be willing to talk about.

Then, of course, I was asked about how to get a student to open up about those issues. ?

Donaldo Pena · Jul 4, 2019

Loved the post! This will be very helpful. Can anyone tell me who does the interviewing? Is it the superintendent, principal, other? I'm trying to figure out who to address my cover letter too. Unfortunately, it's 4th of July and offices are closed for the day.

Thanks!