Experienced nurse now inexperienced

Emergent, RN · Dec 30, 2013

They have nursing brush up courses available for nurses who are reentering the field. They will do clinicals in a hospital, I knew someone who did this after returning to nursing.

roser13, ASN, RN · Dec 30, 2013

Not only are those courses available, in some cases they may be required. In today's job market, I doubt that you will be able to catch a hiring manager's attention without some sort of official brush-up course. Also wouldn't hurt to renew CPR, etc.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Dec 30, 2013

don't sellyouself short. Tasks are the easiest part of nursing to learn

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Dec 30, 2013

I think that you will find out quickly that it is like riding a bike....however, for a number of us, things change so much so often that we all have to think about keeping up. The pp are right--if there is a refresher course in your area, take it. It can't hurt. If nothing else, you may find between smart pumps and computer charting, you may not find it as difficult as you might think.

Best of luck to you!

All4NursingRN · Dec 31, 2013

First off what do you want to do? If you're looking to get back to bedside, perhaps med-surg is a good start? Also I would be honest during interviews (not too honest of course) prospective employers don't need to know that you feel like a new grad again, I'd leave that out. Find somewhere that's willing to put you on a decent length orientation, and ask for an extended orientation if possible.

cadawasp · Dec 31, 2013

I had left nursing for 15 years and was able to make the return by taking a refresher class given at a local college during their winter break. I found the course by going to the NLN for assistance. I was a six week classroom and two month on-site program. When I finished the course I read every nursing journal I could to bring myself up to speed. I took a job in a hospital that was inner city and wowrked on a mostly medicine unit. They gave me extra time on orientation and I was lucky enough to find a great mentor to help me make the transition. I will not say that it was easy but it is doable. I have gone on to complete my BSN and am currently working on my MSN in education. My biggest advice when you start to practice again is when something comes up you are unfamiliar with ask questions and look things up you will find that you can go from novice to experienced in a very short time. Certain things we do not forget and they come right back.

SAHMnurse · Dec 31, 2013

I am in the same boat and recently applied for a refresher course. My problem is that the thought of going back to nights, holidays, weekends, and an over-worked situation doesn't appeal to me. In fact, I'm scared. My life as a stay at home mom has been wonderful. Nowhere near the stress I had at the hospital.

84RN · Jan 2, 2014

I was at home with kids for 17 years --- worked 10 years before that in SICU and L&D. I was required to do a refresher course. Florida calls it "RN Remedial Course" and it's for RNs that have been out of clinical practice for more than 5 years, or those that have failed the NCLEX 3 times. The course had 120 hours of theory, which I chose to do online. There was also 80 hours of clinical, and by the time I finished the last shift, I felt like I could get back into the swing of things and it did a lot for my confidence.

Like you, the thought of returning to nights, weekends, holidays and the physical difficulties of hospital nursing didn't appeal to me. For these reasons and others, I decided that home health would be a good fit for me at this point in my life/career. I've been back to work for over 2 years now, and it hasn't been easy, and I'm constantly learning new things---but do feel comfortable in my job now. The surprise for me was that I never, ever wanted to work with geriatric patients, and thought home health wouldn't be as full of skills as I'd like, but I've grown to love the work and there are a lot of skills involved.