Athabascan

I highly suggest using UWorld and practice those SATA questions. There is a strategy for answering these types of questions. UWorld does a great job of explaining.

Agree with the above. I am an operating room nurse of 20+ years and RNFA in neurosurgery, ortho/spine/ Level I trauma. Go directly to the OR. The OR is a totally different specialty and you will need to train in this specialty for at least 4-6 months depending on the OR specialty you go into. There are many sub-specialties to include: burns/oculoplasty/urology/ transplant/spine/brain/trauma/general - and many more specialties you probably have not heard about. I recommend working at at teaching hospital as well and/or Level I trauma center. Skip the med-surg thing. ER would be a better fit.

The size of the school district, administrative team at the school, and working conditions make a huge difference for job satisfaction. All this being said, I would not want to start my nursing career off in a school district. One needs a good foundation in nursing in the clinic or hospital setting. School nursing is a different type of nursing altogether! Great hours, lots of time off - but job satisfaction is tied to helping students stay healthy and tuning out the parents/staff/administration - I hate to say.... I would not have wanted to start my nursing career in a school nursing position.

I feel it depends on where you are at in your nursing career. School nursing is more political now with BOE putting their political agendas before best practice. School nursing is not difficult work. Yes, you don't get the same respect when working for educators, they do not appreciate our skill set. I certainly love the hours/vacation and flexibility. My day is not anywhere near as stressful as working in the hospital. Also, you have time to work on your graduate studies or other certifications when there is down time. I would not suggest a brand new graduate nurse work in school nursing as you will not get the clinical experience as you would in a hospital setting. I find that older generation nurses transfer to school nursing before they retire if they are fortunate enough to find a school position willing to pay a decent salary - good luck with that! I work PRN in addition to make some extra spending money. So I have the best of both worlds. I am working on a school nurse grant and when that expires I will more than likely just work PRN. It depends on where you are at in your career!

Sounds like there is prejudice. That is worst thing for our nursing profession. We are helpers, not judges. Sounds like you are on the right track! Be well,

Listen to your nurse attorney before you do anything. I hope you have nursing liability insurance that covers license protection. Good luck,

Look for another job and count yourself lucky not having to work for a company such as this.

I tried all of your tips above and the minute the future employer's HR department finds out - it is a dear john letter within days. The nurses hire me, but the HR departments look at me like I have the plague. I wish I could have a happy face to share, but I have a ton of critical care, Level I, neurosurgery experience and I can not even get a long term nursing job. Best of luck!!

I have not been able to find work after a 10 year drug free recovery. No one wants to take a risk on an at risk nurse. Any tips on getting past the prejudice and finding a nursing job. Chena

You are absolutely correct. Not sure why the AMA and MD's seem to fare better than nurses when having substance abuse concerns.

I too went through the same scenario, but did not even make it past the background check. They saw my misdemeanor and all talks halted. I too was given a contract, salary, "met the team" but HR put the brakes on fast. I disclosed ABSOLUTELY everything, the nursing director that hired me was fine with all of that especially since it was 14 years ago. I surrendered my license because I could not afford the peer assistance program. I was reinstated last year from BON with no restrictions and guess what I CAN NOT find a job! I am a OR nurse with specialty in Neurosurgery, Level I trauma and Ortho/Spine and no one will touch me. I am very disappointed that no one will return my calls. I live in a very rural, white conservative location and there is not a lot to choose from here. Any ideas. The prejudice is terrible to deal with.