Getting first school nurse job

[nycNurse2b]

Aside from getting the required certification for my state, what is the best plan of attack if I want to get a school nurse job within the next couple of years?

Schmooze with principals? Get a peds job?

I currently have sub-acute rehab and supervisor experience

Thank you!

[Farawyn]

No certification for NY. Only an RN, they don't even care about a BSN.

I went on www.olas.com

There's a lot of school nurse postings there.

Good luck!

[nycNurse2b]

Thank you Farawyn - actually I'm NJ now.

[Farawyn]

Thank you Farawyn - actually I'm NJ now.

Booooo, your name threw me.

[fetch, BSN, RN]

Any nursing jobs you have working independently, emphasize those on your resume/cover letter. Apply to be a sub nurse if your schedule allows. Really be up on your seizure/diabetes/asthma/food allergies info. Peds jobs, ED jobs, community health jobs, all have skills you can emphasize to interviewers. I know a couple nurses in my area got their foot in the door by working with the health department (we work closely with them, especially their vaccination clinic) or mobile flu shot clinics.

If you interview with a principal, have some sort of worksheet put together to present. (I created a diabetes flow chart aimed at 4th/5th graders, so they can use math skills to calculate their insulin and computer skills to look up food values on a specific website. But there's no diabetics at my school so I never ended up using it!) Principals are used to interviewing teachers, which means they see portfolios and data. Anything along that lines will set you apart from the nurses who bring in resume/cover letter/reference letter.

And yeah, if you happen to know any principals, schmoozing with them won't hurt!! Best of luck.

[nyy2]

I agree with Fetch...if you can - apply to be a sub. The subs will have the first shot at any openings. I actually went part-time at my last job to be able to sub in a couple local school districts. Last May there was an opening for my current position, so I was able to apply and accept the position before it could go "public". Previous to this job, I worked at a peds office for a few years and then an asthma/allergy office, both of which I believe were good preparation for this job.

Good Luck!

[rbytsdy]

Apply to be a sub. Many districts desperately need subs.

Join NASN and join the NJ State School Nurse Association. There are boards like these where job opportunities are posted.

[Windchaser22]

Also join the county school nurses association.