Unwelcome RN wanting to return to nursing

U.S.A. Minnesota

Published

Hi,

Does anyone have suggestions for a good RN refresher course in the Twin Cities? I know most are offered through community colleges. I'm also wondering if anyone knows about or has had experience with online refresher courses.

I've been out of the nursing field for about 10 years and would like to return, and I'm finding it very difficult to even get a response from hospitals to which I have applied. I've been treated rudely by some, and have felt very brushed off. As a returning nurse, I've felt unwelcome and ignored. This has been a real eye opener for me.

I realize that I will need a good orientation and some retraining, and I'm prepared to work hard and be fully committed to my future employer.

After months of applying at various hospitals and not getting anywhere, I'm going to try taking a refresher course and see if that helps.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks.

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I would go ahead and take the refresher course. Employers can't expect anything more of you and you will be paying for it yourself. If they continue to give you the brush off then try the various agencies. Agencies are usually a little more welcoming to prospective employees. You can get a good look see at different facilites by doing staffing and perhaps you can get some info about openings. You will also get a chance to create a favorable impression and might get the support of a nurse manager to help you in the hiring process.

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Try MPLS VAMC

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, oncology, cardiac.

Agency work would be a great start! Have you considered nursing home or home care atleast you could work there get some experience while taking a refresher course. I do think a refresher course would look great on the resume! Do you have your BSN or ADN? Personally, I worked nursing home for almost 2 years and now that I'm working on my BSN I thought I should return to acute care again. The problem I had was it was very difficult to even get an interview, BUT I had two and was offered a job. So, it is possible it just may take some effort. I also think since there are a lot of hospitals that are magnet or achieving magnet status they are looking at the BSN prepared nurse or higher. I heard through the grapevine that Regions won't look at an ADN nurse only BSN. Also, I heard River Falls, WI hopsital is the same. If you have numerous years with ADN then they would consider you.

I heard North Memorial has new grad programs, Health East too maybe they would put you in to a new grad type program to give you a bit more training....never know unless you ask! A friend of mine got into Gillette Children's new grad program for NICU and really loves it.

Anyway, just some options! Good luck, I know it can be frustrating! :banghead:

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Thanks for the suggestions, freezebabyRN. I have a BSN. I'm planning on taking a refresher course, which I think will be very helpful. I am also thinking of applying for a med-surg position to get some good experience and challenge myself (I haven't worked med-surg before). I don't know much about agencies, what exactly are they and what do they do? Sorry, I've been out of the nursing loop for a while!

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, oncology, cardiac.

Hi Salgal! What type of nursing did you used to do? Sometimes hospitals may use agency nurses to fill in their gaps. I'm not 100% how much training you would get, but then again if you have been out of nursing for 10 years that may not be the way to go either. Homecare or clinic would be good until you could get back in the hospital. Where did you apply that you could not get in? I think HealthEast has quit a few openings, PLUS they have some med/surg openings. Did you already apply there? Good luck doing your refresher course! :yeah:

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Hi freezebabyRN, thanks again! I've done labor and delivery for several years. I'm looking a little more at med-surg now to get some well-rounded experience. I'd rather not say which hospitals have given me the cold shoulder because I feel like I'd be bashing them for the whole world to see:(. I have had some contact with Healtheast and they've seemed very kind and helpful. Finally! Thanks for your encouragement.

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, oncology, cardiac.

Good luck to you, you'll get in eventually! It can be a frustrating tast. Sometimes you wonder how with a so called nursing shortage! hee hee

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.

Try the VA! They are flush with $ right now, and hiring up, updating, building. Also, sometimes the rural hospitals are willing to spend time with someone "out of the business" for awhile in a kind of shadowing/preceptor way. This way, they get to "try you on" to assess the fit, and you get to soak in the learning while assessing them. We did this a few times at the rural hospital I worked in, and it worked well for both sides. However, it was an unpaid shadowing experience. We benefited from a couple of great hires, and in one case, we had to bluntly pass. This nurse ended up employed in a venue other than acute care, so she learned about herself as well.

Good luck!

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Thank You!

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