Take a refresher course: If you let your license lapse or become inactive for several years, your state board of nursing may require you to take a refresher course before reinstating your license. These programs typically cost between $1,500 and $3,000, and they take a few weeks or months to complete.
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To simply offer refresher courses is closing eyes to what is happening in today’s job market. Perhaps state boards of nursing just don’t want to become aware of what is happening in real life — such as age discrimination — of which no refresher course or college degree(s) can correct. Leave A Comment Cancel reply Comment
As a state government agency, the board of nursing regulates the state’s Nurse Practice Act, determines the requirements necessary to maintain active status and approves nurse refresher courses. Contact state and community colleges. Call area hospitals to see if they offer or can recommend a refresher program.
More than 3,400 nurses have completed the refresher course at UNC-Chapel Hill in the last 20 years, and the program coordinator works with participants to secure clinical placements that match a student’s previous experience and employment interests.
Although a return to nursing requires diligence, courage and patience, nurses who have done it agree that their effort has more than paid off. Trish Conway, RN
Michigan State University (MSU) is one college that allows students to take RN refresher courses from home, as does the University of Delaware and South Carolina's Beaufort Memorial Hospital, which offers a four-month online refresher course for both RNs and LPNs.
As a state government agency, the board of nursing regulates the state's Nurse Practice Act, determines the requirements necessary to maintain active status and approves nurse refresher courses. Contact state and community colleges. Call area hospitals to see if they offer or can recommend a refresher program.
Offered through colleges and hospitals, nurse refresher programs are designed for RNs and LPNs who have been out of the field for at least three years.
For Sue Kuhns, who had been out of nursing for 14 years, the San Marcos refresher program, which combines classroom instruction with a clinical practicum, was a chance to renew her skills and reconnect with other nurses.
She found the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s online Learning Extension, which provided valuable test review apps. She studied for one year and passed the exam the second time.
She had maintained an active nursing license throughout her career in sales, and she decided to enroll in a refresher course at Northeastern University. Although she had to take a significant pay cut once she made her return to nursing, she has no regrets about the career shift.
Heather Stringer is a health and science freelance writer based in San Jose, Calif. She has 20 years of writing experience and her work has appeared in publications such as Scientific American, Discover, Proto, Cure, Women and the Monitor on Psychology.
Elizabeth Trevino had planned to take the NCLEX after finishing nursing school in 2004. But pregnant with her son, she started experiencing postpartum depression soon after the birth. Elizabeth Trevino, RN. During the next several years, her plan to pursue nursing seemed increasingly elusive when she had another child and became a single mother ...
To avoid wasting your money on fraudulent or irrelevant courses, contact your state board of nursing for approved programs. Stay current with continuing education requirements: Again, state requirements vary when it comes to continuing education requirements.
How to Get Back to a Nursing Career After a Break. If you’ve taken a few years off from your nursing career—to take care of young children, for example—you might be looking at returning with a mix of trepidation and excitement. Trepidation, because things change so quickly in nursing.
Experience is worth a lot in the nursing field because you learn the real business of being a nurse while you’re at work, not while you’re at school. You have the experience, which makes you a valuable commodity for a nurse manager who’s looking to hire staff .
Excitement, because the majority of nurses report high career satisfaction (though not always high job satisfaction, but that’s a story for a different article). To make the transition back to work easier and less stressful, it pays to prepare for the challenges that returning nurses face.
Knowing your requirements will help you determine whether a job is a good fit for you. For instance, if you want hours, but not benefits, going per diem might work for you. Or, if you’re one of those rare and lucky souls who don’t need much sleep, working nights could be a good fit.
If you’re returning to work after taking time off to care for a child or a sick family member, you may still need some flexibility. In nursing, as you know, this tends to mean shift preferences or part-time status instead of full-time.
Returning to your nursing career will be easier if you take a few steps while you’re away from work. It’s not impossible to find a new nursing job if you let some of these things slide, but it’ll take longer and be more stressful than if you kept current on aspects of nursing like your certifications while you were out.
After being away from nursing for more than 20 years to raise a family is it even possible to get back in at any level? I have a current New Jersey license, CPR certification and volunteer experience.
It absolutely is possible for you to get back to nursing in some way, so don’t despair.