HR background & management

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff -

You cannot manage something you don't know how to do. You will have to become a competent clinician prior to becoming a nurse manager of a clinical area. Anything else is just too horrible for the staff you would be supervising -and the patient care. Even the JC recognizes this (finally) by their requirements for specialty certification for nurse managers. Oh, BTW - advanced degrees (MSN) is becoming increasingly the minimum requirement for clinical nurse managers - at least in my part of the country.

If you really don't like bedside nursing (altho if that is the case, why did you do this?) there are other options. Why not move into an outpatient area or a specialty area with more 'clinic-type' hours such as dialysis, cath lab, endo, etc.

If you want to take advantage of your background, why not consider nursing recruitment?

An advance degree isn't necessarily needed, but it might help if there's other competition. I have a BSN. I might eventually get a combo MBA/MSN, but I'm not sure I want to go higher than unit manager.

Once you're working and you find a place you like, get in there and volunteer for a committee. If your current unit manager needs help, (I volunteered to do the unit scheduling for our manager) ask if there's anything you can do. Work up to being charge and team leader. When a position in management opens in your place or somewhere else, that will show you have leadership skills.