Interview at Shriner's Hospital

seasonsofchange · Dec 12, 2012

Much much congrats on all of your success!!!! You have given me sooooo much hope. I finally have been accepted into nursing school starting jan 2013. Today I received the bad news that I was denied student Liability Insurance. Without it I cannot continue in the program. My circumstances are very similar! Did you have problems with liability insurance? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. In the process of writing a reconsideration letter now. My 2nd and final DUI was 3 1/2 yrs ago and the first was 8 yrs ago. not sure if its the time frame that's hurting me? I have talked with my school and they are saying one DUI not that bad but two your almost barred from BON. Also clinical sights thru out school may also deny my advancement. Please let me know if you ran into any of these situations and if so some advice:) or if you haven't had any of these problems what would you do in my situations? Again, HUGE congrats to you! Thanks for being my light at what seemed like the end of the tunnel:)

acp0041 · Dec 12, 2012

Well I can't speak for your state, but here in Oregon, I was able to get into school just fine but had to talk to the director a few weeks into the program. She wanted to let me know that I might run into problems when I applied to the board for my license but that I was allowed to continue if I wanted to (mine were 9 and 14 years old at that time). She never mentioned anything about Liability Insurance for students so we either didn't need it or I was eligible, I don't know anything about that. Of course I decided to stay and my experience with the board was that I would only be able to get a license if it was granted on probation. I agreed to the probation stipulations and have been licensed for a few months now. I've had about 4 interviews so far (since October) and have another one set up for next week, so you can get companies interested in you, you just have to start looking at the right ones.

Here's my advice for you...first, I would ask your program director if the insurance is the school's policy or the hospital sites' policies. If its just the school doing that, then you should find another school to go to (easier said than done, I know but if you can get into one school, yo have a good chance of getting into another, right?). Also, you said you were writing a reconsideration letter, is that like an appeal of the decision? If so, consider what you have done since that last DUI 3.5 years ago...have you been in recovery or just sober? Would the school allow you to delay your start date to another time, maybe 6-12 months later if you were willing to start attending meetings/submitting voluntary U/As? I would have another meeting with the director and ask if there is anything you can do to be eligible for that insurance, in fact, find out who the insurer is and call them yourself.

I was told by my director (who had been told by the head of the board), that the literature says that after 2 years of recovery, the incidents of relapse are significantly lowered so this is the time frame that I have found to be the "standard" both with the board and with employers. So I don't think its the time frame...not knowing anything about you though, it would be hard to tell why they aren't more willing to work with you right now.

If you want to talk more, send me a private message and I'm happy to give you whatever advice I can :) Its not an easy road but I can tell you that after having gone through all of this, I am more committed to my recovery and my career...I've had to work harder for it than most of my peers. I also know that recovery and change are possible and have honestly made me a much more understanding and empathetic nurse, especially in the field of addition.

NurseToBe3 · Dec 16, 2012

Did you get the job? How much nursing experience do you have? I am almost done with nursing school and my pediatric rotation was at Shriners. It was very different that the larger hospitals! Some days I liked it and other days really didn't. The hardest part for me was that so many of those kids aren't "fixable". They have procedures done to improve their quality of life, but they will never have anything close to a normal, comfortable life. There were many kids that weren't as bad and would have some quality of life, but there were days it was just really hard. My heart sank for the kids that wouldn't ever really improve. I think it takes a certain kind of person to do that every day and I admire the nurses who do work there! Good luck!

acp0041 · Dec 16, 2012

No, I didn't get the job...I was told it was given to another applicant with more experience But I'm glad I got the interview, believe me, after sending out hundreds of applications, its a wonderful feeling to even get some interest! I'm still plugging away and have had a few more interviews, hopefully someone will see in me what I see in myself soon! Oh, and to answer your question, I just graduated in June and had no pediatric rotation, it was optional and I chose ICU instead...so if you have experience there, it would probably be beneficial if you decide you want to work there.

Good luck!

RNReadyManc · Jun 9, 2013

No, I didn't get the job...I was told it was given to another applicant with more experience But I'm glad I got the interview, believe me, after sending out hundreds of applications, its a wonderful feeling to even get some interest! I'm still plugging away and have had a few more interviews, hopefully someone will see in me what I see in myself soon! Oh, and to answer your question, I just graduated in June and had no pediatric rotation, it was optional and I chose ICU instead...so if you have experience there, it would probably be beneficial if you decide you want to work there.
Good luck!

Did u get a job