PLEASE!!!!! I need some advice.

[tx esrun]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice. I'm wanting to re-enter the workforce after having stayed home with kids. Here's kind of a synopsis of my situation.....I received my license in 1991 from a nursing program affiliated with a large healthcare company. I went straight to work at a hospital (in the ICU setting) owned by this healthcare company per a contract for the payoff of my tuition ($8,000). A couple of years later the healthcare company was being split from the hospitals which were subsequently sold. In order to continue to receive the benefit of having my tuition paid I had to stay with the healthcare company. By doing this I entered an adminstrative setting as a nurse. I ended up loving this and went on to be very successful in a management role. The only reason I left was because of an ill child that needed my care up until this last year or so. I am wanting to re-enter nursing but not sure what approach to take. I no longer live in that big city with all of the various nursing opportunities, instead, I live in a small community with limited opportunities for nursing (ie, no hosp., 1 HH agency). However, there are several very reputable Nursing Homes and plans for a small hospital in the next year or so. My thoughts were that I would apply at a Nursing Home and if hired it would give me an opportunity to get back in the swing of things until the hospital is opened. I have no experience in a Nursing Home setting and I haven't worked in 5 years. I'm looking for your thoughts on what chances I do or don't have with getting hired. And, if there are any nurses out there who are in a position to hire can you please give me some advice. Thanks!!!!!

[bargainhound, RN]

If your goal is to get hired at a hospital, I would not work at the

nursing homes. It would be better to commute to a hospital

while you are waiting for the local one to be built.

[tx esrun]

Thanks for the input. I guess I was wordy and yet vague in my post. My main goal is not necessarily to work in the hospital setting but to re-enter nursing period. I'm not opposed at all to working in a nursing home it's just that I have no experience in that setting and wonder if I'm even qualified.

[bargainhound, RN]

Yes, you would be qualified to work in nursing home setting.

HH is highly in demand also currently. So those learning those

skills, exposure to their forms/procedures would also be valuable

in this day and age.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

I think a nursing home setting might be good to get re-aquainted with nursing. Just as long as it is a good nursing home that will work with you and provide training/ orientation..

The basic nursing skills would be refreshed..vitals, bedside assessments, blood draws, IVs,wound care, trach care,dealing with docs, pts and families, delegating, time management, etc.

Now days we are seeing a wide variety of medical conditions in LTCs...cardiac rehab..CABG pts...MI's...ortho pts...hips, knees, fractures with casts and pins, Gastric Bipass pts, extensive wound care pts, Trached pts..pts with drains, TPN...then you have your general long term pts with dementia and other psyche disorders.

LTCs take new grads, I'm sure they would like an experienced nurse. I've worked with a few who have been out of the work force for a while...they are doing fine now.