Help? I need to reinvent myself

I have been RN for 23 yrs. I spent last yr taking care of parents who were terminal. Quit 2 good jobs to do it...
I do not feel doing patient care is what I need right now. Nor do I feel I could actually do patient care right now. MY experience is L&D yrs ago, Mostly Home health with several yrs of LTC thrown in. I would like to teach but more staff development than academia. Have ASN, plus all of BSN except specific nursing credits required per university (Have 128 credits). I do not feel getting MSN in Education would be worth the $$ as I am 54 now.

What can I do to get a staff development job? I live in SE TN so not lots of opportunities here. I have done staff development as part of ADON or Clinical Supervisor positions but never as my sole job title.
My favorite part of every nursing job I have had, has been the teaching, precepting, orientating.
Any ideas would be welcome!

I just do not feel I can just return to home health case field manager. I am still mourning and do not feel it would be healthy to push this. Been 3 months since I lost my mother, DR says I am doing fine with mourning the losses and at the things one must do except I have not been able to work. Luckily I can manage financially for awhile. But I am bored to tears. I have volunteered at animal rescue, and at grandkids school... Nothing clicked.

I appreciate any help offered in advance.
Have you thought about being a Certified Diabetes Educator? I was told they make good money in California. I don't know if you earn the same in your area.

Thanks, that at is a good idea. TN salaries are rather low but that is life in TN. I wonder what the requirements are to become one. I will have to check into it.

Checked into Diabetic nurse/educator... requires MSN.......Any other ideas? Thanks for helping!

Do you like computers? I teach clinical documentation via an EMR. Informatics is HOT right now, and many health systems will hire and train nurse even without IT experience, because of our clinical focus. Just an idea...PS the $ is good.

I'm not sure if you've considered working for a company doing nursing education. For example, when a hospital I worked for signed up with Johnson & Johnson to change the IV catheters they used, nurses from J&J came to inservice us. It's not like a sales rep job as it is in education. I've spoken to nurses at many different companies who all loved their jobs. That might be an avenue. Another thing I'm not sure you've checked into would be at your local community college. When I lived in NC, with an ASN you could teach at community college level. It may be the same in TN. You also may be able to teach a certified nursing assistant program. Both of these types of positions would enable you to teach and mold upcoming healthcare members. My husband was able to get a job at the local health department in NC. He didn't have to have his BSN, associate's degree only. That might be an avenue to explore as well. As someone else recommended, nursing informatics is exploding if that is an avenue you want to explore. You mentioned working as a staff educator. Are you near a veterans administration hospital? They may have openings you could apply for. (I know the VA here in Michigan has a posting specifically for a staff educator. I'd apply for it myself but I'm considering grad school for my master's this fall so can't do it.) I do know many facilities hire staff educators but they have been required to staff for part of their appointment so I'm not sure if that would be what you would want. No harm in checking local facilities though. Just throwing this out there...have you considered becoming an instructor for American Heart Association or Red Cross? If you become an AHA instructor and can hook up with an active training center, you could be quite busy teaching classes. And you might find you enjoy it. I did that for a while, had a blast. Ok, out of ideas for now.....hope this might help give you some options. Good luck to you.

Computers are okay but I get frustrated by them much too fast. But thanks, I had not thought of that idea before.

Quote from highlandlass1592I'm not sure if you've considered working for a company doing nursing education. For example, when a hospital I worked for signed up with Johnson & Johnson to change the IV catheters they used, nurses from J&J came to inservice us. It's not like a sales rep job as it is in education. I've spoken to nurses at many different companies who all loved their jobs. That might be an avenue. Another thing I'm not sure you've checked into would be at your local community college. When I lived in NC, with an ASN you could teach at community college level. It may be the same in TN. You also may be able to teach a certified nursing assistant program. Both of these types of positions would enable you to teach and mold upcoming healthcare members. My husband was able to get a job at the local health department in NC. He didn't have to have his BSN, associate's degree only. That might be an avenue to explore as well. As someone else recommended, nursing informatics is exploding if that is an avenue you want to explore. You mentioned working as a staff educator. Are you near a veterans administration hospital? They may have openings you could apply for. (I know the VA here in Michigan has a posting specifically for a staff educator. I'd apply for it myself but I'm considering grad school for my master's this fall so can't do it.) I do know many facilities hire staff educators but they have been required to staff for part of their appointment so I'm not sure if that would be what you would want. No harm in checking local facilities though. Just throwing this out there...have you considered becoming an instructor for American Heart Association or Red Cross? If you become an AHA instructor and can hook up with an active training center, you could be quite busy teaching classes. And you might find you enjoy it. I did that for a while, had a blast. Ok, out of ideas for now.....hope this might help give you some options. Good luck to you.

Quote from nlmooreChecked into Diabetic nurse/educator... requires MSN.......Any other ideas? Thanks for helping!

You mentioned you were a L+D nurse years ago, what about some sort of educator involving that? I'm thinking more patient education than educating other nurses, but for instance a IBCLC (a certified lactation consultant).

Have you checked out the Staff Development forum under nursing specialties on this forum?

Yes, thank you I did... and I will post another question there but it is looking like you should have MSN or be in exactly the right place at the right time to get into the field.I am just a bit discouraged as I did not think changing areas of nursing would be so difficult. The last year has been horrible and has left me questioning my abilities.

There are several teaching opportunities out there. There's Public Health, Lactation Consultant, Healthcare Coordinator or even clinical instructor. You just have to check into the job websites like NursingLink, Monster, for more description on those areas. Only you know what's best for you and sometimes you have to make some sacrifices in order to get what you want, especially in this economy. In my case, I might have to relocate. My mentor advised me if I put up limits, it will be difficult for me to find another job even though I already have some experience. I never thought that I will be going back to school, but with employers preferring a BSN (and most likely in the future an MSN), I guess I don't have a choice but to do that as well. BJ