SuzeeW

Karen, Could you also post a list of current Reactivation Courses? I have some data but my list is far from complete. In fact, Montogomery Area Community College in PA emailed me to tell me that they may have a course starting this year if the demand is sufficient. If not, I have only one other active listing for it in Eastern PA.... It's much easier to locate the Refreshers, but the Reactivation list is difficult.

It will all depend on how long your license is expired. What I was told by the Delaware State Board of Nursing was that since the expiration had taken place and I was out of practice for more than 5 years, I would have to return to PA and actually REACTIVATE. That would place the license back in active status, once I passed the exam. Then DE would probably want a REFRESHER to make sure that the learning requirements met their standards. I was very unaware of the difference between a Refresher Course and a Reactivation Course. Once your license has lapsed, you are more likely to be looking at Reactivation than Refresher.

That is exactly why I miss Nursing so much. It doesn't matter what the patient or client gives US, it's what we have to give to THEM. What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing that and I wish you all the best in your journey to becoming a nurse!

Deb, my situation is a bit similar without all the locations. I was originally licensed in PA but moved to DE. My license was in good standing, I just didn't renew. DE won't allow me to become licensed unless I reactivate in PA. The Refresher Course isn't good enough since it's more than 5 years that I have been in active practice and the license expired. The Reactivation is a bit more entailed than the Refresher is. I found one Reactivation course in PA and a few months ago got an email telling me that one other college is trying to form a course too. The problem is, they have to have enough people to make the class even worth their effort. Even if I wanted to take the Reactivation Course at either college in PA, I'd have to stay up there because of the schedule. And being a single Mom, I can't afford to miss six or eight weeks of work and stay in PA. And the Board of Nursing in DE may not accept the Reactivation per se, and may want me to retake a Refresher here in DE even after I take and pass a Reactivation in PA! I thought I had found a solution at the University of Delaware who offers a course. Turned out it's only a Refresher and the state of PA won't accept it because the U of D hadn't included a standardized version of NCLEX for refresher. Neither state is making it easy, but they make the rules, so I gotta do what they want. The cost of all the Refresher and Reactivation courses, plus lodging, plus losing income is what made me take a look at just doing the whole thing over again. If I can challenge the CNA exam and pass, I can then apply to a two or three year program with a bridge to BSN. I have my BA in Psych and Spanish and would love to eventually have my BSN. All of this at the age of 49...... Hey, you're never too old to learn :) Do you think you can revert to the CT license and take it from there or the original state that you were licensed in?

One step at a time is exactly right :) We'll do this, and once we've both passed the exam and we're full and true RN's in practice, we will know even better the meaning of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone!" Good luck and we can keep each other and the board posted in our process. We can serve as good examples to others :)

Lisa, you are SO SO right! And your words should be tatooed on every student nurse at her pinning ceremony! If I think about what I'm planning to do, I want to run screaming lol so I just smile and tell myself it will all be just fine :) What's driving me now is my desire to serve. I've done the selfish thing for the last several years. I stayed at home and was the Mom with cocoa and cookies when they got off the school bus. I made mad money at the beach bartending and working for a Chef for the Hotel DuPont.But at the end of the day, I hadn't really helped anyone. Oh, one reg client at the restaurant had Alzheimer's. I would help his wife get him to stand and put his coat on him :) You know what I mean though, at the end of the day, it has to be about something other than you. That's what will keep me from running screaming off of this path that I have to admit I created for myself. NEVER let your license lapse! NEVER.

It's a good thing, you have plenty of time to check out the requirements and utilize Suzanne's plan. From what I've read here, it sounds incredible! I moved from PA to DE and the hoops I would have to jump through would bankrupt me lol I've contacted the DON here in DE and totalled up my costs. It actually will be less expensive in the long run to actually begin again. I can't believe it but it's true.... I am hoping that the regs might change in the next year or so but I doubt it. In any case, I will be doing the reviews and checking out Suzanne's plan when the time comes. I just hope the economy doesn't make it even harder to get a position. Please keep us posted on what the requirements are to get reinstated. I'm learning more about this all the time! I had to add this: When I spoke to the PA BON they would NOT accept a refresher course from the U of D (University of Delaware) due to the omission of a standardized exam at the end of the course. I would have to arrange that exam and a preceptorship on my OWN. And no hospital in my area in DE had a BSN that was willing to go out on a limb as a preceptor for clinical evaluation. If I attended Northampton CC or Montgomery Area CC for the Reactivation, I would have to stay up there for most of the weeks, and even then DE wants to play politics and "maybe" they would accept the Reactivation from PA. If not, I could retake an entire Refresher Course here in DE.... With the amt of money and time spent in class I should have an honorary doctorate lol

Hi, I second the advice to check each state's specific requirements. There is a huge difference between a refresher course and reactivation. I also allowed my license to lapse and moved to another state in the meantime. Being out of the field for 13 years I would have to return to my original licensing state, reactivate, then apply for acceptance in my current state. Congratulations for wanting to return to the field. I didn't imagine seeing myself wanting to do that same thing, but I do. And I am actually so jazzed at even the first steps to reactivating my license!