Return to nursing after 13 years?

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Hi all,

I'm new here and looking for advice. I got my BSN back in 1992. Worked for about 4 years in a hospital pediatric unit then went to prn status for awhile. Then worked for about a year for an adult daycare center. Got married had kids and eventually put my license on inactive status in 2001 to raise my kids (one of which has autism). I've been at home since 2001 and have considered reactivating my license since my kids are now in jr high/high school.

For the past year I have worked part time as a PCA for a home health agency just to get my feet wet again in the working world. I've really enjoyed it and am now considering taking the Nurse Refresher course to get my license back. I have a few questions, if anyone has the time to reply.

1: I'm looking at the refresher courses between Moore Norman Tech and Canadian Valley tech in Yukon. If anyone has taken these, I'd love some feedback on how you felt the courses were. My fear is that I have been out of the field so long that even a refresher course couldn't bring me back to a comfortable skill level.

2: Is it worth it? I really need a somewhat flexible schedules, which is why the home health pca job has worked out well for me this past year other than the fact that it doesn't pay hardly anything. I do not want to work in a hospital anymore, to be honest, and I only want to work part time. Is it worth getting my license back? Is it realistic to think there are any jobs out there that have flexible hours for a nurse?

3: I've even considered just getting my home health nurse aide certificate and doing that, rather than the longer course to get my license back, but I feel I would be wasting my nursing degree. But I've been told by a nurse I work with that nurses aide home visits are flexible and you get paid by the visit. Has anyone ever gone from RN to nurse aide? Does that sound just like a ridiculous idea?

4: Has anyone gone through the trouble and expense of doing the nurse refresher course and then not been able to find a job? My fear is I'm too old to start over (I'll be 43 soon).

Any advice or thoughts are welcome.

Thanks for reading! :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Hi, and welcome to Allnurses!

As an RN, you could work part-time or PRN for home health agencies, hospice, private duty, group homes, or any number of entities outside the acute care hospital setting. If you have the BSN degree, you might as well go through the hoops to get your RN license back and actually be paid what you are worth. I could not imagine working as a PCA or home health aide when my RN license would enable me to earn two to three times as much.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

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Thank you for the welcome and for your thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. :)

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I was applying for life insurance. I had a LVN come out and draw my blood. It took her no time at all to weigh me and a few other things. It paid around $30 a visit. She said she does around 10 a day. Sounds pretty good to me if you are looking for something easy?

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