Originally Posted by rplnurse
Northern California: Stay away from the hospital in Creasant City. They have no tollerence for older nurses or Gay nurses. They will dump you in the middle of the wilderness
Yes, reentry experiences can differ markedly depending on where your first re-entry position is. I was home with my kids for 10 years (having moved out of state from family) and had a terrible experience with first reentry position which was in a large regional hospital that preferred hiring new grads. I had taken a Reentry/ Reinstatement course (included 120 classroom and 60 clinical hours on a M/S unit).
When I started at this hospital, they were in the midst of a building project and many other changes. During orientation, I was with many different nurses (no preceptor) and was looked down upon as an older nurse. Has anyone noticed how even young nurses whiten their teeth to where they almost glow? Is this required now too?
The med system was computerized and they were switching to a new program - one that the nurses I 'followed' did not teach me (as they continued on old one), yet I was expected to know it when off of orientation and was called on the carpet about it when my percentage of use of this new program vs. the old one was not up to par as quickly as they wanted it to be. This was NOT a user friendly program and had hair pulling glitches. This percentage number (of use) was calculated for all staff and affected the (new) director's own review from above. I had been interviewed and hired before this unit director arrived for an 8 hr. day shift position - and most of the floor was on 12-hr. She wanted everyone on 12 hr., and found a way to get rid of me, hiring a new grad in my place. I felt like thrown out garbage - whereas all of my nursing experiences in the past were successful.
One day after leaving there (what a relief too) I saw a flyer up for a pediatric homecare agency opening up in our area. I'd worked acute care peds in the past and filed an application. I was hired the same day and have been working for them since. Last year I was given clinical manager responsibilities and also do direct care and visit cases. This summer I worked for a month at a camp for underprivileged children (many from foster and group homes) and found the work very satisfying and fulfilling. I love the kids, and plan to stick with peds...I'd worked acute care pediatrics in the past...but also love ambulatory care. Lots going on at this busy camp...a continuous stream of kids (and staff) with various needs to attend to at the health center.
Now I'm considering taking a school nursing course so I can work as a school nurse during the school year and a camp nurse during the summer. The college I graduated from with my BScN offers the school nursing course, only thing is it's out of state so I have to reinstate my NY license.
I will say it hasn't been an easy road re-entering - it takes time to rebuild your confidence, which can only come with experience and time. It takes time to know where you belong in the field, or where you want to be. I guess my motto would be, "Don't give up, there's a place for you out there" even if your first position doesn't work out. But be careful about where you go. I think a lot of it has to do with the employer and unit manager/director - some will give us a chance, others will not.
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"Alright everyone, I've been waiting for this" Have been nursing for many years. VA Medical Centers, Private Hospitals, 
Or they will be nursing me
