coming back to nursing - need advice

lisa41rn · Jun 18, 2005

Go to your State BON website or call them and find out who offers RN reentry courses. I'm just finishing one. It's three months long and fairly intense. Two months of classroom time (two months/two days/6 hours/day) and one month clinical time (one month/three days week/8 hours/day). I too graduated and never worked as a nurse, but for me that was eight years ago. There were 16 women in my class, one quit and one seems to have failed the clinical part, so there's only 14 left. A few have been out of nursing for almost 18 years and are doing great!!

These courses are often offered through a hospital's education dept. The cost for me was almost $2,000 and if I get a job with them I'll get the money back after six months of employment. I just found out yesterday, I might have a job on the floor my clinical rotation is held on!! I'm so thrilled!! I'm a bit nervous as it seems like a challenge, but the nursing home I've been working at for the past month part-time is very unfulfilling to me. I think part of it is the lack of help I receive from them. I can't get anyone to help with paperwork. I really hope the hospital works for me. Not working after graduation as a nurse really has been an obstacle regardless of the "nursing shortage" but I'm determined to make it.

Check out the re-entry/refresher classes. It's a way to get back into it quicker than going back to school again. I plan to get my BSN, only eight classes away but will start that slowly in a few months. Hope this helps you. Good luck to you!!

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2005

Hi everyone,
I graduated with an AAS RN degree about 20 years ago. I have never worked as a nurse (been working in sales). Now I'd like to come back. I checked with the NYS ed. dept. - all I need to do is take an HIV course on-line and send them my fee in order to make my license current. The problem is that I don't know what I am qualified to do. I don't want to do hospital or nursing home care (I don't think my body would allow it). I need some direction. I talked to someone a Pheonix University and they suggest Nursing Management. I'm not sure I like that and I don't want to wait years before I can get a nursing job. Any advice would be greatly apppreciated.

Hi: I have been out of nursing for about 10 years. I am in CA and let my license lapse and I had to take the NCLEX again to get my license renewed. Although all the hospitals want a refresher course, I cannot afford $2000. However, there will be one coming up in Sept. that costs about $300 and is approved by the CABON. It is given through the a community College here. I understand that you don't want hospital nursing and neither do I, but I was told by one of the hospitals that working in a LTC would be an option. Not my cup of tea, but I might do that part-time until the Sept. refresher comes up. I might try psychiatry (I have volunteered there for about a year) or maybe Corrections. I have worked there through agencies and it is not a hard place to work. Just have to make sure you know how to make good assessments and don't let the inmates intimadate you.

My my biggest problem right now is that I worked for agencies for many years and either I don't remember the names or they have been sold. Probably a good thing for you to do is see if you can get a refresher course, and also if you have to wait for it, is get some of the review books and CDs that are mentioned on the board (NCLEX section discussion) like Saunders, or some of the others.

I spent a couple of hours on Monster trying to create a resume and trying to put information as far as time and places of employment that I forget for the agencies, then found out it was limited to 2000 characters. That's all for me today. I'll try to get a better grip tomorrow.

Anyway the refresher course would probably be the lst and best step for you.

Good luck to you and to me!