School Nurse Interview

Flare, ASN, BSN · Dec 2, 2010

if you click the "search this section" and search interview, you should find a nmber of posts about interviews and the type of questions asked. I will say this, as a new grad you may have a difficult time in running a school health office simply because aof a lack of experience. As a school nurse you are the sole medical provider for the building. and it is up to you to determine when a student presenting to you with what may seem like an emergency really has an emergency. It's up to you to make the decisions as to how to intervene and who needs to be excluded to home and who can stay. Sometimes it's black and white, but more often it's a huge gray zone.

Good luck with the interview - let us know how it went.

VampRN · Dec 2, 2010

Thank you! will do =)

Humanatarian123 · Dec 2, 2010

GOOD LUCK!!!!! :rckn::rckn:

CaliWai · Dec 9, 2010

How did your interview go? I hope you got the position and enjoying every minute of it!

I have one year of medsurg experience and interviewed for a school nurse position just three days ago on Monday. I feel like the interview went well. At the end of my interview the superintendant asked me when is the soonest I could start, and I told her out of respect for my current employer, I would like to be able to provide them a two weeks notice. She proceeded to tell me they will make their decsion in two days... so I was hoping to receive a call by today (Wed). When should I follow up? My friends tell me NOT to f/u tomorrow as it might be too soon, that it's best to f/u in one week - in case they needed time, or HR had to figure out a few things. What do you all think? Waiting is hard, but I realize it's only been a couple of days... I've had to wait longer in previous job interviews. :heartbeat Thanks for your time!!!

VampRN · Dec 9, 2010

hi! well my interview was actually changed to yesterday wed (dec. 8) i also think the interview went well. she asked me to go back and spend an hour with the current temp school nurse so that i may have a feel of what she does. i'm hoping this is a good sign!

glad to hear your interview went well also!

i was reading on some websites that it is good to follow up as soon as possible so that they may see your interest in the position, some recommended as soon as 24 hours.

i sent a thank you note last night via email and also to let them know that i will be going over today to spend some time with the nurse. in the thank you note i also included a few things to remind them why i am a good candidate for this position. i think you should contact them and let them know ur interest.

good luck! i'm sure you got the job!!! :yeah:

CaliWai · Dec 9, 2010

I think that is deffinitely a good sign!!! I think anytime you are introduced to other staff, and given a tour of the unit/office, it means they like you and you are a serious candidate. I hope you get it!!!

I received the call today from HR but not what I wanted to hear. Unfortunately I didnt get the position... the HR rep told me they found someone who met more of the qualifications and that I came in 2nd and asked if it would be ok to keep my application on file for the future in case something doesnt work out (I guess with their first choice).

Now I'm hoping she'll quit soon. LOL. Only kidding of course. It was my first interview after one year of being a new grad on a med surg unit and was glad I had the opportunity to interview, and ultimately the kids deserve an experienced RN. I will send them a X'mas/thank you note for their time. The interview taught me my weakness... I only have a temporary school nurse credential, and I have no school nursing experience. It's a catch 22 though - I can't get into a school nurse credentialing program w/o being hired as a school RN first. Ohhhh well, so the plan now is to do something about what I can, which is to get some school nursing experience by subbing. Gotta keep goin! I know I want to be in a school setting, and like all things, it's just a matter of time.

VampRN · Dec 9, 2010

So, I went today and met with the current school nurse... lets just say I'm not sure I'll ever go back there again! She made this place look like the last place any nurse will like to work. She tells me she can't wait to get out of there because of the high risk environment.

She was hired to work for one school and since there are two schools in that buiding she also cares for the children in the other school as well. These are schools for children with PDD.

She tells me that they are constantly trying to get meds from her without a doctors order and that they keep saying they wont make her liable for it.

She said that kids a violent. Also that she has narcotics for some of the children and this is not under lock and key its just lying there in the cabinet which anyone can basically access. There are barely any doctors orders for the meds... and so on.

I don't know, I still have not been offered the position or anything, but this is really scary, I am a new grad with no paid RN experience, don't think this is the place for me. It would be totally different if the school was of children without PDD. :uhoh3:

Artistyc1 · Dec 10, 2010

So, I went today and met with the current school nurse... lets just say I'm not sure I'll ever go back there again! She made this place look like the last place any nurse will like to work. She tells me she can't wait to get out of there because of the high risk environment.
She was hired to work for one school and since there are two schools in that buiding she also cares for the children in the other school as well. These are schools for children with PDD.
She tells me that they are constantly trying to get meds from her without a doctors order and that they keep saying they wont make her liable for it.
She said that kids a violent. Also that she has narcotics for some of the children and this is not under lock and key its just lying there in the cabinet which anyone can basically access. There are barely any doctors orders for the meds... and so on.
I don't know, I still have not been offered the position or anything, but this is really scary, I am a new grad with no paid RN experience, don't think this is the place for me. It would be totally different if the school was of children without PDD.

I understand that this may not be the place for you, but it appears as if there are things she could be doing about the situation that she is not addressing. IF "narcotics are not locked up", WHY has she not had this fixed? I had to do it for my office, and all it took was a padlock, for Gods sake! If there are no med orders, and they are required by the state, perhaps she needs to call physicians for them. Otherwise, of course there will be tremendous liability! They may demand meds without an order all they want, but that doesn't mean that a nurse has to give them. I have, at my school, needed to send memos on this issues many times.

However, not knowing how many students, though you state 2 schools, and the complexities of care for them, perhaps there is more to this issue for you? If there are huge numbers of students with complex cares, it may not be a wise move for a new grad to take this on.

VampRN · Dec 10, 2010

yes this is true! I did ask her what she has done about the situation and that she should require a lock for the meds and she tells me she has done so several times and that nothing has been done about it.

I think I was just overwhelmed with all of the negativity she spit out. We spoke for a little over 45 mins and it was all complaints about the place I did not hear one positive thing come out of her mouth. I was so excited about the position.