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| Nurse Refresher Course |
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by Bonnie L. Pope, RN - May 21, 2010
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As an older nurse who has been off the floor for a number of years still doing her thing in other health-related areas, but not presently employed, I've been looking for nurse refresher programs in my area to upgrade my knowledge and skills. The economy is only just getting back on its financial legs, so I've been job hunting, but with little success. The one thing I keep running into is my lack of recent clinical experience. Never mind that I've kept my license current and do CEUs out of the various nurse websites and professional mailings I receive. I even took an IV therapy refresher. According to the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners, this is more than enough to make me hirable. Not so, according to the rejections I've received so far. So, I've been looking for Nurse Refresher courses at the local colleges and hospitals. Talk about a bust. One school is currently revising its program, according to a respondent at the school, but she also sounded honestly shocked I was asking about it. Another school contact never returned my phone calls. One agency, PHES out of Houston, looked promising and even has an online learning option. However, Texas' Hazelwood funding won't cover it since it's not a traditional classroom. And I don't have $1500 for the course. I'm unemployed, darn it! So there it is, and there I am between a rock and a hard place. I have a lot of good years left in me as a caring, competent healthcare provider. My skills need a little upgrading, but for now, I guess I'll just have to remain where I am: a blogger and a neighborhood health care go-to.
Bonnie Pope has been a registered nurse for over 14 years. She has practiced as a med-surg pediatric nurse, outpatient clinic team leader and educational resource nurse, as well as a clinical nurse consultant. Bonnie is an Army veteran with 10 active years and 3 reserve years as a Preventive Medicine and Environmental Hygiene specialist. Currently, she is the full-time caregiver of a specially-abled young adult. Bonnie has been married for 34 years and has three grown children.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| RN TX (San Antonio) |
on 23 Apr 2012 at 10:53 am |
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| I just found this thread. I know it's dated but I am a fairly new grad nurse since fall of 2010. It was really hard for me to gain employment without the experience. I had lots of clinical experience and I was finally able to get hired in pedi. home health and have been there since. I needed to work. Colleagues have also been having problems finding work. I want to go to the hospital but I feel I have been out for quite some time some of those skills have faded. I think a refresher course would be great for me. All the hoopla about nursing shortages is not true. Not to mention the BON newsletter that comes out often showing so many nurses getting their licenses suspended or revoked. I am now so afraid to work in a hospital. |
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| Brenda Allen (Conroe, Texas) |
on 01 Aug 2011 at 12:08 am |
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| I'm still searching for a RN refresher course closer to my home. I contacted PHES in Stafford, Tx. but it is so far from my home. Does anyone know of a refresher course closer to Conroe, Tx. What really irritates me about trying to apply for a job is applying for a job over the internet. It is so frustrating to not be able to talk to someone face to face. I heard that most hospitals hire an internet service to go through resumes and decide if you are a good candidate to call in for an interview. It seems like many good nurses are being passed by through this process. There doesn't seem to be to much of a nursing shortage if hospitals keep passing up good nurses. |
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| Brenda Allen (Houston, Texas) |
on 21 May 2011 at 2:23 am |
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| Hello, I have spent many hours on the internet looking for an RN Refresher course. I found one through Memorial Herman on Gessner but it is pretty far from my home. Does anyone know of a class close to Conroe Texas? I have been in nursing for 30 years, but need hospital experience because I want to return to hospital nursing. Please let me know if you know of a class. I have run into so many dead ends that I am about to give up. Thanks, Brenda |
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| Andrea (Houston Texas) |
on 19 May 2011 at 2:27 pm |
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| Seems I am in the same predicament. After 12 years in the Med/Surg field and Cardo-thoracic ICU setting, I am finding it difficult finding a RN refresher course and maintaining my home and all the bills that come with it. Its been 8 years since I was in Clinical nursing and need a brush up on my assessment and skills. I don't think online refresher course is for me. I need clinical direction and refreshment as I don't feel confident as I used to be. If you have any advice I would appreciate it. |
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| Marcia (New Jersey) |
on 24 Apr 2011 at 5:58 am |
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| i am so glad to hear that i am not the only one in this situation. I have been an RN for 26 years and worked hospital nursing for many of those years. i also have a BSN and am certified in my field which is Obstetrical Nursing. I have clinical expertise in all aspects of Maternal/child nursing. I had to leave hospital Nursing for personal family reasons, and for the past 3 years have been working homecare nursing. Now my husband is getting ready to retire and we want to sell our house and move, possibly to Texas, where I would like to get back into my field of Obstetrical Nursing. It is very sad that they will hire a new Grad over someone with 26 years experience because we have been out of the exact field for more than 1 year. There has to be something we can do about it. it appears there are too many of us in this situation. What a waste of good experience. |
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| Yvette Cheeks (Texas) |
on 05 Mar 2011 at 10:39 pm |
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| I want nurses who are re-entering to know in trying to meet the requests and needs we have added over 20 more clinical sites in Texas. We now have clinicals available in San Antonio, San Angelo, Brownsville, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Lewisville, Stafford, Conroe, as well as Houston our corporate site. We keep trying to add more but, some of the facilities are not interested they say they have too many nursing programs that they have to work in as well as new employees and the preceptors get burned out. Which I can understand. We have added other types of sites including: urgent care centers, indigent clinics, hospice, as well as hospitals.Anyone still needed a course contact us. Website phesonline.com or email phes@windstream.net or toll free 877-313-7437 |
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| D (Canada) |
on 01 Nov 2010 at 10:31 pm |
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| I believe that Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton Alberta has a correspondence course available to renew license. |
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| JY (USA) |
on 20 Aug 2010 at 12:01 am |
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| My sentiments go out to all the experienced RNs, with advance nursing practice, who can't get hired w/o recent acute care experience. I'm in the same boat, albeit quite. I'm a foreign trained nurse with progressive and advance nursing practice in my home country.I am a respected figure and leader in my field before I decided to move to USA to join my family for good. I thought I can use my rich nursing knowledge and skills, which were all patterned after the US, but just like everyone else here, I can't even get inside the door of agencies, much less hospitals. I'm getting frustrated because I have not experienced rejection career-wise, 'til now. I've got 4 prospective employers who told me they were really impressed with my experience but unfortunately can't get me due to lack of recent experience here. Sometimes I ponder why didn't I think of this early, say 2 yrs ago when hospitals are still hiring left and right. Those that I have trained in my home country had jobs, the trainer- none. Isn't that ridiculous. Just because I was late to get into the frantic hiring of hospitals. I am in a quandary at the moment. Reading your comments, considering that you are all trained, educated, and experienced in USA, somehow helped me accept the fact that recession is not really over. I wish everyone here the best of luck, including myself. Godspeed. |
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| Bonnie Pope (San Antonio, TX) |
on 07 Aug 2010 at 9:27 pm |
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| Gail; you're in a good area for the colleges and teaching hospitals. Check on-line or call the education departments at the schools, or contact the Nursing Education departments at the hospitals in your area. Check around Dallas, too. Good luck. |
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| gail prysiazny (fort worth texas) |
on 07 Aug 2010 at 12:15 am |
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| I need a refesher course for RN, since i have not worked on a hospital in a while. Can you hel me. Gail Prysiazny |
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| Bonnie Pope |
on 03 Aug 2010 at 11:31 pm |
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| A recent comment stated something that will probably prove to be the best course for any nurse who has been out of floor clinical practice for a while, but wants to get back to it again. It might mean taking an entry position and orienting again with a preceptor to a floor's routine, equipment, etc., but in the long run may be the only alternative to not going back at all. I can see the grimacing and cringing such an idea might generate, but the dearth of refresher programs may necessitate such a move IF floor practice is a nurse desires. That is, if she/he can convince a facility to do such a thing. |
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| Serena (Houston) |
on 03 Aug 2010 at 8:41 pm |
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| Yes, I too am dealing with these types of responses. I have a great job, function more as an NP but w/o the 'letters', but am thinking of going back to bedside care. I have to smile, at times, b/c I KNOW I am an excellent nurse, a proficient clinician, and a 'go to' person for just about everything I have done in nursing. I think it (getting back) might just mean taking a 6-month stint in a much lesser position and getting the clinical routine back down. THEN, with 'recent experience' the world may be a friendlier place. And yes, I don't "get it" either.....but sometimes you just have to roll with the changes. Good luck to ALL of you~ |
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| washrn76 (PA) |
on 21 Jun 2010 at 10:53 am |
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WOW! This is an amazing account of one of many problems in this world...If there is such a "nurse shortage" why are all of us who have dedicated our lives to nursing being ostracized for not having "recent" experience??!! Talk about SAD!! And as always, it is the patients who suffer for not getting the care that is needed. I too, have been looking for a refresher course, as I, after 34 years of nursing am having trouble finding ANY type of nursing position.
THIS BLOG NEEDS TO GO TO THE MEDIA!! People need to know what is happening...maybe now people can understand why no one wants to go into nursing anymore... |
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| Bonnie L Pope (San Antonio, Texas) |
on 18 Jun 2010 at 10:31 am |
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| A recent comment was posted about Capscare, a refresher program, probably net, available out of Lake Worth, FL. The clinicals are done at several hospitals in the Florida area. I've found the cost of thise internet courses can be cost prohibitve to cash-strapped unemployed. An example of this is the PHES on-line nurse refresher program here in Texas. Their cost is $1500, and requires $500 up-front to register. As with the Capscare program, grants are available, but the clnicals are held only in Houston, a good three hours from my home here in San Antonio. Our local colleges' programs are classroom and can be entirely funded through a special state program for veterans. Since I qualify, I can be patient and wait for these programs to complete their revision process |
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| Donna Hogan (Binghamton, NY) |
on 18 Jun 2010 at 10:30 am |
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| It is unfortunate that there is a paucity of RN refresher programs. Without grant funding, local schools are not likely to provide such services. Perhaps this issue needs to be brought to the attention of national nursing organizations. We need to lobby for federal funds to address this overlooked area of need. |
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| Dona Browne (Delray Beach, Florida) |
on 17 Jun 2010 at 9:13 am |
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| There are only a few -5 0r 6 refresher courses in the US at the present. One is called Capscare located in Lake Worth, FL. They can be found at capsed@bellsouth.net. Or just google the name. Our hospital is one of their providers for clinicals and the students come from different states - New York, Massachussetts, even Italy recently. . Look at it as an investment in a future job and take it off your taxes if possible. |
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| Joan (Miami) |
on 17 Jun 2010 at 8:24 am |
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| Same thing here. Needing to supplement my income, I have actually done what I never wanted to do. Apply at an agency. Well, they do not want me as I have not been on the floor in several years. I have almost 15 years of experience, can run circles around many nurses on the floor, but can not get hired because "I do not have enough recent acute care experience". However, they are hiring new grads for an intense acute care course at one of the local hospitals. The catch is that you have to be a new grad. Does this make any sense. If I had to do my career thing over, I might have chosen something different. |
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| Bonnie (San Antonio) |
on 15 Jun 2010 at 11:34 am |
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| Lisa, the best I can probably recommend is to check with your local schools of nursing, two year schools, or Google or Yahoo nurse refresher programs for your state and see what turns up. I'm waiting for two of our local colleges to update their programs and have been calling them on a weekly basis to get enrolled. Good luck to you. too. |
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| Lisa H. (Mobile, AL) |
on 15 Jun 2010 at 8:55 am |
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I am soooo glad that we are talking about this. I, too, have 15 years of nursing experience, but have not worked in a hospital in 12 years. I have been unemployed for about 9 months and have had problems with travel positions especially wanting at least 2-3 years of recent hospital experience. I have been wanting a nurse refresher course for years though so that I can update my skills. If anyone knows of a course, on line or hands on, please let me know!!!
Thanks & Good Luck to each of you! |
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| Bonnie Pope (San Antonio, Texas) |
on 10 Jun 2010 at 6:35 pm |
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| Seems I've touched on a hot spot with many of my fellow nurses. We have experience, but we 'age out' of any floor or clinical employment if we've taken time to explore other non-clinical areas of nursing, like Julie from CT comments, or if family needs take us out of the environment for a year or more. In my case, it was automobile accident and subsequent back injury that took me out for over a year. The BNEs of various states have their own time limits when a refresher is needed; here in Texas, they recommend after 5 years. However, they're caveat is that time is not written in stone. Bottom lines lie with the hiring agency or facility. What we need are more facilities that offer internships to experienced nurses who have kept their licenses active, but need that basic refresher while still providing patient care. We have the knowledge and wisdom. Just bring us up to snuff on the new technology. |
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| Nicole (Phoenix, Arizona) |
on 10 Jun 2010 at 12:24 am |
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I am so glad someone is talking about this. I have a year of neurological ICU experience and have been off for 9 months caring for a family member until permanent placement was available. I have not even been able to even get an interview floor position of any kind in Phoenix!
I am stuck if someone dosent hire me soon I will need a refresher course. I feel as if I will never work acute care again. It is very disheartening after you give your all to help others seeing new grad positions yet even with a bachelors degree and finishing a masters degree still not working. |
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| VV (East Bay, CA) |
on 09 Jun 2010 at 11:41 pm |
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| I agree, there should be hands-on extensive refresher courses for RNs; some nurses like me would be interested in taking them without being paid prior to be hired permanently. Some of us even, would pay for them. |
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| Julie (CT) |
on 09 Jun 2010 at 4:15 pm |
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| I have found that despite my 30 years as an RN, 17 in the emergency department, when I apply for positions in acute care, most hosptials want two years of recent hospital experience. This is a problem for those who have worked in other venues and now wish to return to acute care nursing. Why is it that hospitals are willing to extend nurse internships to new graduates, and place them in a busy ER, but balk at hiring an experienced nurse because she needs a refresher course, or recertifications? I suspect the lack of resources and willingness to put brand new graduates in ICU or ER are financially motivated. It is very discouraging. Good luck! |
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| Yvette Cheeks (Texas) |
on 05 Jun 2010 at 8:54 pm |
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Hi Bonnie, I have a few suggestions. First of all if
are unemployed you should qualify for assistance
under the WIA Program of The Texas Workforce. Contact
me directly I can give you forms. We are approved providers
Secondly, we give a 10% discount for military you
Just need to show proof. We also do payment plans. We want
to help you as much as possible to return to clinical practice.
Hospitals just do not have the resources to do extended orientations which is all you really need. Give me a call 8773137437 or email Yvette Cheeks RN,BSN
Professional Healthcare Education Service Inc.
3727 Greenbriar Dr#403
Stafford, TX 77477
281-313-7437@windstream.net Stay Encouraged
It will work out. |
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| RN in SD (San Diego) |
on 25 May 2010 at 9:05 pm |
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It's not encouraging for our New Grad Nurses to know that even experienced RNs are having a difficult time finding a position. I have also noticed that the number of misrepresented "experienced" travel RNs that are hired to fill any empty spaces has grown.
The nature of this economy is that many who would have retired now, are unable to do so. So they stay.
The difficulty facing the facility is the need to hire experienced Nurses; but the facility's inability, or unwillingness, to train the myriad nurses who need "refreshing" or those who require training to fill in the gap between school and hitting the floor/ward running is simply not available in the amount needed to get our nurses working. I agree. More learning opportunities are needed to improve employability for RNs everywhere. |
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