return to nursing after 5 years - advice please?

[cominghome]

Hello everyone -

I am a diploma RN in Pennsylvania, but have not worked as a nurse since January 2000. I have kept my license active, but have lapsed with the CPR certification.

My husband is starting his own art business, so I'm thinking of returning to nursing on a part-time basis. (I currently work full-time in the IT field.)

I guess I'm just looking for some general advice on returning to this career, what, if any, experiences you may have with refresher courses, or words of warning that I'd be better off working at Starbucks!

My nursing experience was in CV-ICU for 4 years, then general med-surg for 3, then 2 years of community cancer screening and outreach. I'm thinking any return to nursing at this point would be most successful in a slower-paced (ha!) environment, maybe LTC or something along those lines.

I'd be interested in your thoughts - thanks for your time!