Just out of curiosity.....how long after leaving nursing did you keep your license active?
I'm asking because it's almost time to renew mine, and though I've been out of nursing for almost a year, I want to leave the door cracked just in case a job I can handle comes up. I plan to renew my license this time, and then see what happens in the next couple of years before deciding whether or not to give it up.
I'm 55 and don't see myself ever going back to the floor or management. {{{shivers}}} But I can imagine doing something like telephonic or advice nursing, which is probably nice work if you can get it. (I've applied for Social Security Disability but I want to work at least a few hours a week if possible.)
The other thing is, I've heard that some states allow a nurse to hold a "retired" or "inactive" status by paying a fee to the BON. What would be the advantages of that as opposed to allowing your license to lapse? Inquiring minds want to know!
Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
at 65/ i an vacattioning in family practice, 4-4&1/2 &days a week........sorta keeps my foot in the door, as long as cognition permits safe practice :)
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
at 65/ i an vacattioning in family practice, 4-4&1/2 &days a week........sorta keeps my foot in the door, as long as cognition permits safe practice :)
Cognitive issues are part of the reason I shouldn't practice anymore. Between my illness and the meds used to treat it, I have about 5 functioning brain cells left and I'm afraid to burn them up trying to remember who needs their meds crushed in applesauce and who wants theirs in pudding!
All kidding aside, I'm glad you've found a way to make nursing work for you. :)
I left nursing two years ago due to the needs of family members. That situation has changed, but I didn't go back to work. I decided to let my license go inactive this October at renewal time. I just don't see myself working anymore at all, let alone as a nurse. I haven't missed it a bit. I'm 58, and I worked for 20 years. In two years, I'll probably relinquish my license. It does feel a little strange, but maybe since I was older when I graduated, I never felt that being a nurse was a huge part of my identity.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I appreciate your perspective. I'll be 56 in a couple of months and have actually filed for disability, so I don't see myself returning to clinical nursing, ever. I'd do chart reviews for insurance companies at home if I could find such a job, but that's about it.
It's strange, I don't miss nursing as much as I would've thought. Could be because the last two years of my career were awful and I lost two jobs because of my mental health issues, so I left on a decidedly sour note. I do miss the camaraderie and the adrenaline rush that came with catching a patient's downturn before disaster struck. But I don't miss the politics, the neverending documentation, or being treated like a pack animal. I don't miss dealing with patients' families and administrators who haven't worked a floor since 1988. And I don't miss rushing through my days and never getting to spend quality time with each of my patients.
But I will renew, at least if I can afford to. After all, that insurance company job might be just around the corner. LOL
I've looked at ad after ad for chart review positions for years now, unfortunately every one of them required experience. I can't believe they feel the need to advertise such positions on a regular basis, but never put forth that they are willing to train a potential candidate for one of those positions.
I'll soon be 63 and have been out of work periodically since 2008 due to my spouse's terminal illness. I'm once again looking for a position and am finding it very hard this time and I am figuring ageism is very much part of the problem. Most places require 12 hour shifts and they are killers for my knees and back. I also have a form of dwarfism that is causing bone spurs to form at my elbows, making my already short arms even shorter and causing great pain during lifting and turning. A fact that manifested itself during the two years I worked nights on a 16 bed LTC unit, to the point that after working I had difficulty grasping or carrying even a cup of coffee!Where were those 12 hour shifts back in 1975 when we suggested them to admin as a way of staffing our two ICUs - you can't imagine the horrified looks we got from admin! Now, we get those same looks when we say we can't physically do 12 hour shifts! As far as working from home, I've been told my skills at chart review and abstraction are 'too old'. I last did this while working infection control in 2008. Really, too old? A chart is a chart. Once you figure out where everything is, it does not take a brain surgeon to do it!
I too am wondering how long to keep my license active after I decide to pack it in, which may be sooner than I figured, if I don't find a position soon, I'll be forced to apply for retirement 3 years early, sacrificing between $300-500 a month. And after a recent sweep in 3 of the local hospitals of all their long time staff, I do not see myself finding anything. Ageism is alive and well here in West by God Virginal.
I know I'm late on the response here, but here goes ...
I've had my license since 1987. I haven't been working, due to family issues, for the past ~8 years. But I still keep my license current/active.
I almost let it go this time due to California's renewal / licensing issues since 2013. But finding and reading this site inspired me to keep it current.
Now I am considering enrolling in an RN~BSN course. Or an AALNC course. I figure if I am going to spend money and time keeping my license current I might as well get something out of it beyond CEUs.
Who knows, though I'm not interested in going back into acute care clinical Nursing, I may find a position that lets me use all that "new knowledge" ... lol
I figure it took too much time, blood, sweat and tears to earn and keep my RN license through the years. At 55 and ~ 20+ years down that road, I'm not ready to let go of it yet.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Update: I did renew my license after all, even though I'm still not working and have no intention of doing so in the foreseeable future. Guess I'm just not ready to give it up yet. :-)
Update: I did renew my license after all, even though I'm still not working and have no intention of doing so in the foreseeable future. Guess I'm just not ready to give it up yet. :-)
Good for you. After all, you never know, an opportunity could arise two weeks from now!
My license was up for renewal in July, tears ran down my cheeks when I hit the inactivate space. If I had renewed I would have had to take the infection control course, my CPR had expired, so decided seeing as I retired, and hadn't worked since last July, I didn't renew. I can reactivate it any time by contacting them for the form. No hours of practice required in NYS, no CEU's, just infection control. It was kind of like a chapter in my life was through, and I miss the kids I cared for, but time to relax. No more alarm clocks, no more driving in the snow, unless I want too. Love the freedom.
Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
Real nurse, I honestly do not know if I can relinquish.....I will maintain, as long as physical endurance, and cognition permits, I have failed , retiring three times....but today at pace, complexity and liberal time off, I love working in family practice, a mear 7miles from my farm, But today I work because, I want to....and blessed I don't have to.....it is such a big difference......I sense for me, this level of practice, keeps "tuned up".....& genuinely fun....best wishes to all â¤ï¸ I feel I can do this job safely for a while longer, might re evaluate in four more years at seventy.
I am almost 70, will renew my license one more time as still working cardiac outpt clinic which I was lucky to get into after many years in critical care nursing (which I absolutely would not go back to doing). In all of my over 40 years of experience I have not seen especially in area where I live an increase in pt/nurse ratios at the local hospitals and we all know that patient acuity has gotten higher and higher. What is wrong with nurses? Are they afraid to complain to change things??? And yes, I see many departments in the hospital that seem to have many workers but NOT the nursing floors.
, retiring three times....but today at pace, complexity and liberal time off, I love working in family practice, a mear 7miles from my farm, But today I work because, I want to....and blessed I don't have to.....it is such a big difference......I sense for me, this level of practice, keeps "tuned up".....& genuinely fun....best wishes to all â¤ï¸ I feel I can do this job safely for a while longer, might re evaluate in four more years at seventy.
sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN
2,399 Posts
at 65/ i an vacattioning in family practice, 4-4&1/2 &days a week........sorta keeps my foot in the door, as long as cognition permits safe practice :)