to take a refresher course or not?

[HurricaneRN]

Alright, here is my situation. I have 1 1/2 years experience as a tele nurse but have spent the last 2 years at home with my kids. Would a refresher course be useful? My family is moving to south florida in April and a community college offers a refresher course starting in May, so I don't know if I should go ahead and apply for the refresher course or see if I can get a job in April, but that might be too late to sign up for the course! Does anyone know what the refresher course actually entails? Is it like a drug review and skills lab? I know there are clinicals at hospitals but I dont know what the book work is.

Thank you!

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

there are so many types of refresher courses it would be hard to describe unless someone took the same one you mentioned. Personally, I would try to get a job and ask for a preceptor or extended orientation. Offer to take the course ONLY if you get the job. Why spend the money if it is not needed? The facility may have learning modules that can bring you up to speed.

[bill4745, RN]

I left for ten years (ICU) and quickly gained my skills back with about 4 weeks of orientation. You should do great with some time spent with a preceptor.

[MJB2010]

A refresher course certainly cannot hurt! The worst case would be you get there and find you already knew everything. I say go for it, it will look great on your resume to be proactive!

[jjjoy, LPN]

As another noted, there isn't a standard curriculum for refresher courses, so you'd have to find out what the course you are looking at entails. In general, the class probably isn't necessary and I'd bet you can get a job without one. Where I am, there's no expectation or requirement that re-entry nurses will have taken one.

But in today's hiring world, in some places, even with experience, it can take months to land a job and the class might be a useful activity while continuing to apply for jobs. And just accept the loss of class fees if you end up dropping out due to landing a paying job. But check out the actual program to see if it might have anything to offer you. If it doesn't, then forget it.

The refresher course I took through a community college was just a once a week evening lecture and otherwise self-directed study at a low cost with an optional clinical experience. Very workable with a full-time job or full-time job search. Another one offered by a private college was an almost full-time four month program and cost A LOT, though it did offer a good chance of being hired on at their affiliated hospital.

In the class I did take, most had been out of nursing longer - much longer - than just 2 yrs. It included about 50 hr of mostly pointless lecture (rehash of med-surg nursing text) and required something like 20 hours of self-directed skills lab. (This school's lab was amazing, open at all hours for drop-ins, well-stocked with modern supplies and staffed with a currently working RN who could answer real-world, latest practice questions - nothing like my alma mater's skills lab!)

As I hadn't worked bedside after graduation, I mainly took the class for the hospital clinical opportunity. It was just being paired up with another nurse for several shifts but for me it really helped to feel a lot more confident in interviews. Still, that experience wouldn't be useful to many re-entry nurses and most classmates didn't participate.