Hi, I’m new here, and would be grateful for advice or someone sharing their own experiences if they were/are in a similar situation. Hope this post is not too long.
I have been out of nursing for about 7 years. I would like to return to the field, but I am nervous about even attempting to get back in. The reason is I only had 2.5 years of experience when I left.
I took a job in a clinic after graduating, really enjoyed it, but after two years, I switched to a surgical floor hospital job to gain more experience ( I could not get a hospital job prior to this.)
Unfortunately, I left the hospital after only 7 months. In retrospect I realize how terrible of a decision this was for my career. I did have normal stress of adapting to the hospital, but the unit itself was great, I had ample orientation and supportive management and co-workers. I was working nights and my body just did not react well. While normally healthy, I now felt horrible and was sick almost constantly, felt depression for the first time ever and a constant dizziness. I began to dread my shifts so I spoke to my manager and she was supportive, offering me either day shifts or an outpatient position.
I’m not sure why I did this, I think I just felt so burnt out physically, and also had the advice from my family to leave... so I just gave four weeks instead. I was thinking I would take some time off (was getting married soon,too) and go back to a clinic position.
Instead, I ended up getting married and having 3 children back to back. I have stayed home and raised my kids the past 7 years and enjoyed (mostly!) every second of it. Now with the last one soon approaching school age, I dream of having my nursing career back.
I have the option of taking a nursing refresher course with clinicals in my area. However, it is over $2,000.00. That would definitely be a financial burden on my family if I am not able to secure a job afterwards. I think the course is mostly geared towards adult med/surg but would be helpful for skills with an outpatient position as well. I definitely need some kind of refresher.
I guess my question is- do you think it is even worth it to take a course and try to get back to nursing when I have such little experience and clearly a black mark on my resume? Or should I forget my dream and look for fufilling work outside of nursing. Would love feedback and others similar stories. Thank you.
I suggest to ask potential employers what refresher course most of the returnees take.This could help you weed out programs they might find acceptable anyway.
Nights always hits some of us very hard but you eventually learn to manage it,the night shift is ideal when you have child or need to have one parent at home.
You do not have a black mark,you gave proper notice,no suspensions etc on your record,you will be fine in that area,do it you will be glad you did.Then come back here and tell us how you did.You can always look for work in blood bank if nothing else.
This is my humble opinion. I love nursing. I love the act of nursing that is, the rendering of care to a person in need.
I hate the atmosphere. Nursing itself has got to be one of the most thankless, meat grinding, depressing, stressful environments to work in. I've been at this a long, long time and the way nurses treat each other is horrific.
The never ending, petty, backstabbing, can't win attitude of a whole lot of these women I work with just sucks me dry on a daily basis and I'm counting the days until I retire.
I would NEVER encourage my daughter to choose nursing as a career.
Having said that, if you really aren't that sure, and it sounds like even when you were in it you weren't that sure of being a nurse, then let it go. Millions of people switch careers during their lifetime.
Let this be one of those, "Oh and I was a nurse at one time" type of stories. Look into you heart and ask yourself what you would REALLY like to do with your remaining days here on this earth and GO DO IT. Live a wonderful life that enriches you and fills you so that not only do you have good days, but your teach your children by example that life is not to be dreaded each day.
The best of luck to you and my thoughts are with you as you do this.
Did you even keep up your license? Do you honestly remember anything? Seven years is a very long time to be away for someone with even more years of experience. You forget meds, symptoms of serious illness, etc. I don't want to put down your dream, but I would be very nervous about returning to nursing. Is there anything else you could see yourself doing?
I work with people who never took a break from nursing and they can't remember meds symptoms of serious illness ect...
Many, many women in my area take many years off to raise their children and then return to nursing when the last one leaves the nest.
I would not worry about returning. You will likely be orienting for 8-12 weeks again. That will give you more than enough time to re-familiarize yourself with practices, policies, etc. I don't see the need for a refresher course.
As previously mentioned, I also work with veteran nurses whom I wonder how they can find their way to work, let alone take care of patients. You'll be fine!
So I'm not the only one, huh? I worked three years med/surg full time (days) when I had little children. I left full time when I realized I was missing every important milestone with them (whether having been at work or exhausted at home) and changed to per diem for about a year. I then left the bedside and went to a clinic position thinking the 9-5 type hours would fit in better. I was rushing them to early drop off every morning and picking them up at after school when it was dark. I hated every day of it and realized that I was just. burnt. out. I was embarrassed, to say the least, that I had worked so hard to get my RN and was seriously questioning the whole profession.
I've been home full time for almost 3 years now. My kids are older now, get to and from school on their own and I obtained my BSN while I was home. I loved bedside nursing, but I love being a mom WAY more. I am trying to find part time or PD position, but I believe that being away more than even a year puts me at the very bottom of the pile (plus being away from the bedside for even more). I was thinking of the refresher course also, and, other than the previous poster above who had success, I keep hearing they were a waste of money. I live in a big city, so maybe being in a rural area helped?
Anyway, I'm in this boat with you. Why is a profession with one of the highest amount of women in it so averse to rehiring us when it's a fact we are the usual caretakers of our children? I'm seeing a lot of job postings with "new grads welcome" lately....how come no "returning to bedside" jobs out there? I have more than a clue of how it's done. I agree that I need some refreshing....but I had absolutely NO CLUE what I was in for when I was a new nurse, and now I do. I know the questions to ask, how to handle tough situations, and when to admit I don't know how to do something....all the things I didn't when I was new.
So, cheers to us. The ones who chose possible career suicide when we chose our hearts and souls. Heck, if nothing else, I'm even considering learning botox injections! No lie....but, sigh...I love making people FEEL better rather than LOOK better ;) Hang in there.....oh and also, I read an article to look into outpatient dialysis as those institutions usually have training. I have recently submitted a resume...we'll see. Good luck. You're not alone.
Even though this post is two years old, as the OP, I just want to follow up with this as a success story. Maybe it will encourage someone in a similar situation.
About a year ago, I decided to apply to a few low acuity positions before trying the refresher course, and to my surprise, I was offered a part time clinic position almost immediately. The training was good but I was surprised at how quickly my skills came back to me. I’m so glad I did not give up on my nursing career.
traumaRUs, MSN, APRN
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