Interview Questions

fetch, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2013

I had a few situational questions in my interview as well. A lot of them were a whole paragraph of information and then a short question at the end, so you had to keep remembering the important information.

What would you do if a teacher came into the clinic and said a child shut their hand in the bathroom door and was bleeding?

What would you do if a student with no history of allergies says she ate something she's allergic to?

Hope your interview went well leahrn1! Good luck!

EllBowRN · Nov 19, 2013

One that I had a few times:

How will you handle a situation when you're the only one who thinks _________ should be done. (In other words, how to handle when your clinical judgement is either unpopular or in dispute)

BumblebeeinNC, ADN, BSN · Jul 22, 2014

Leahrn1,

I have an interview this week for a school nurse position and I wondered if you would mind sharing how you would have answered the above questions? I'm trying to soak up as much info as I can before my interview. I am currently in Peds at a hospital and school nursing is totally new to me!

Thank you,

BumbleBeeinNC

schooldistrictnurse · Jul 22, 2014

BumbleBee,

maybe you can give an idea of how YOU might answer those questions and ask for feedback on that.

BumblebeeinNC, ADN, BSN · Jul 23, 2014

I have an interview this week for a school nurse position and I'm answering questions posted from the beginning of this thread to get some feedback on my answers. Please let me know how I can improve on answers. Thanks!

What would you do-

If a student came to you and thought she was pregnant (middle school)

*My answer - I would work with the student and school counselor to help the student work through her feelings. I don't believe in abortion so I would have to be careful in an interview situation to show that I would support the students emotional needs.

If a student wanted a bandaid for her wrist but was obviously hiding the rest of her arm from you.

*My answer- I would ask where the wrist injury came from and ask if there were any other injuries on her arm. If she said no, I would let the student know that if she needed to talk about anything that I would be glad to listen. This could be cutting or physical abuse by another person.

If a student presented with a headache after a collision with another student in gym

*My answer- I would monitor the student for S&S of concussion for 30 minutes. If no signs, I would call parent and let them know what happened and send a list of s&s of concussion to watch for at home.

If a student presented with a few signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis but did not have a known allergy

*My answer- this depends on if I have a standing order to give Benadryl. If so and applicable, I would give Benadryl and continue to monitor patient for further s&s. I would send a note home to let parent know what occurred and that patient may need to be allergy tested.

Where do you draw the line on calling a parent or not calling.

*My answer- any injury with the head, face or neck I would call. This is kind of vague. I think it would be a case by case basis.

Why would a nurse need to sit in on a committee with a teacher, principal, social worker and student having academic issues?

*My answer- Student may have a disorder that affects learning that may require medicine or some sort of therapy.

How familiar are you with diabetes regarding pumps, injections, carb counting?

*My answer- I am not very familiar with pumps. I give injections regularly in the hospital. I am somewhat familiar with carb counting. I know that you enter carbs into the pump and it dispenses insulin to cover if needed.

Have you ever had to deal with an irate parent?

*My answer- unfortunately, yes. Typically the parents are upset with "the system" in situations. It's my job to first listen to the parents and not give excuses. Next, I would try and find a solution to the problem. If I was not able, I would definitely find out who could help them solve their issue.

Ok schooldistrictnurse, how did I do?! What do I need to improve on and would YOU hire me? Thank you for your input!

schooldistrictnurse · Jul 23, 2014

hello BumbleBee!

I can offer a few tweaks to your answers. Remember to keep in mind a few things for your interview:

you may not know all the answers, but there are resources out there to help you. If they question you about a topic you don't have a lot of familiarity with, try to mention somewhere you can go for more information. Like the insulin pump question--could you add "I would work closely with the child's diabetes clinic or provider and parent to learn the specific parameters of her pump and settings."

As for the potentially pregnant student, an additional line of inquiry would be "why do you think you might be pregnant". You might just learn that the student is ill-informed about sex in general. This might be a teaching opportunity, within the approved scope for her grade level. You don't mention contacting the parent. In this kind of situation, the school social worker and I usually wrk together with the student and give her a clear message "you have to talk to your mom about this-- do you want us to call her and have her come in today so we can all talk to her together." If the student says she will talk to the parent at home, we set up another meeting with the student to follow up ASAP.

For the student potentially cutting, I would not leave it so open-ended with the student. I would

tell he student that I would give their name to either a counselor or social worker in the school (depending on what you have available) and that they would be following up with her. I would present to the student that this is our usual procedure and let the student know that I am concerned about her well-being and I believe the counselor can be of help.

As for the student with signs of an allergy, I personally would contact the parent right away. The student may not be aware of an earlier reaction to something, or a family history of sensitivity.

You are right about a medical issue affecting academics, but you can take it a step further and mention that you can help staff understand how a medical condition affects a student in the classroom. Teachers know that a student with diabetes needs injections and something with keeping track of their food, but maybe not much more. You can help them understand that a student with diabetes may need free access to water and the bathroom at times, etc, etc.

Remember that these comments are just another point of view on these situations. I am by no means saying my answers are right or complete. Maybe you will get more feedback.

What I think is important to present in your interview is that you will work within the policies of the school or district, you have resources available to you, you will be collaborative with parents, providers and the school community, you will advocate for best practice, and you have a genuine interest in the well being of the students.

Best of luck and please let us know how it works out.

BumblebeeinNC, ADN, BSN · Jul 23, 2014

Thanks schooldistrictnurse!! I'll take all of that input into consideration. I was doing some "research" last night and discovered that this local middle school has 17 job postings right now! Eek! We have a brand new HS that opened last year that only has 6 postings. Should I be concerned?

Thanks for any input and I will let you know how my interview goes.

Bumblebee.