Refresher course starts tomorrow

Nurses Retired

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Hello every one! I am new to the site. I graduated from nursing school many years ago, took state boards and then stayed home to raise my kids. I have decided to reactivate my RN liscence and the class starts tomorrow. I go back and forth between excited :wink2:and scared to death:confused:! I am glad I found this site and I am encourage to see I am not the only one returning to school!

Oh my goodness! A local hospital just hired me today! I cannot believe it! They actually hired me!

Now I'm scared to death! I finished my refresher program in November and I already feel like I forgot everything that I 'refreshed'

What state are you in? I have been trying to find an refresher course in NY and NJ and no one is getting back to me. Thanks

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

go to your board website, and you can usually find approved refresher courses.... they honor.

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MsDiva, I am in So. Calif. I found my refresher program by going to the State Board of Nursing website and then researching the approved refresher programs until I found the one that best fit my needs. They didn't have a spring class this year, though...because of the economy...They couldn't get enough students, presumably because the word is out that it's not so easy to get a nursing job right now. Maybe that is why you haven't received a response?? Don't give up! Be tenacious.

Sally ... thanks so much for the encouragement! I remember talking to you when I was wondering if I was "too old" to go back into nursing. Your words meant a lot back then. thank you!

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

awe, Justkaren2.......... thanks, at 61yr., I do not feel it, and am even thinking of returning to critical care this Spring.....( In a small hospital of :lol2:course >snicker

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I wish you the best, I am sure you are very nervous.

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I am currently doing a refresher course after being out of practice for 16 years to stay at home. Has anyone else done it after this long away? BTW I practiced full time for 12 years before I left to stay home. So far the course is going well but I have to arrange my own preceptorship which is making me nervous. Any suggestions?

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Specializes in home care, med/surg ICU, ER, Hospice.

Wondering how JustKaren2 is doing now.

I felt the same way she did when I was hired at a small hospital last December. I took my refresher course in October of 2008.

I'm still a nervous wreck!

Let me know how you are doing.

:yeah:

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perbd: Thanks for asking :) I am actually doing very well and I have come a long way. Perhaps I still have to look up things and ask more questions then the 'seasoned' nurses, I could still use a little more work on my organization skills, and the 12-hr shifts kill me!, but I actually feel like I'm a pretty good nurse, so I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to return. My anxiety level is through the roof when they float me to ICU, though!

When I feel overwhelmed, it helps me to know that even the nurses that I admire very much feel overwhelmed at times.

I think it is a good thing that you feel "a nervous wreck" ... that means you care and that you will look things up and ask questions instead of pretending you know it all.

Thanks for asking about me :)

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
perbd: Thanks for asking :) I am actually doing very well and I have come a long way. Perhaps I still have to look up things and ask more questions then the 'seasoned' nurses, I could still use a little more work on my organization skills, and the 12-hr shifts kill me!, but I actually feel like I'm a pretty good nurse, so I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to return. My anxiety level is through the roof when they float me to ICU, though!

When I feel overwhelmed, it helps me to know that even the nurses that I admire very much feel overwhelmed at times.

I think it is a good thing that you feel "a nervous wreck" ... that means you care and that you will look things up and ask questions instead of pretending you know it all.

Thanks for asking about me :)

I am so very proud of you, and as I said earlier, WELCOME BACK, you are needed !

:yeah:

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Thanks, Sally...you're the best! When I look back on this thread, it brings back how frightened I was (I had forgotten).

For those of you considering returning, I hope you find encouragement in my story. My life has totally changed since I entered that refresher program. Heck! I might even get married to a man introduced to me by a friend I met in the program. It's all so surreal.

If I did it, anyone can do it.

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Specializes in Education, IV Therapy, Travel Medicine.

Not a difference between Refresher, Re-Entry, or Re-activation. Same thing. The Texas BON calls it a Refresher but individual facilities name it various ways. In Texas, you have specific course requirements and minimum clinical requirements. You can always do more.

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