Are RN refresher courses helpful?

Hi,

Has anyone taken an RN refresher course? I'm an RN returning to the field after several years at home with my kids. I understand the need for a refresher course, but I'm curious how well they prepare you for returning to work? Are they helpful? What kinds of things do they teach? It seems most courses offered in my area include clinicals in a LTC facility. How can this prepare a nurse to go back into an acute care setting?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
I took a refresher course. The theory part was online, but then I had clinicals on a pediatric floor. We had to find our own clinical placement, and could choose the area we wanted to work in. I now work on a peds floor, and feel like I haven't been out of nursing even though I was a SAHM for 8 years. The refresher helped me get my foot in the door.

I worked with some refresher nurse students last month. This program took them through the whole facility. I worked with one student for 8 hours in a telemetry unit and she was very much into doing hands on so we worked as a team through my shift. They say its like riding a bike, you just have to get up there and do it again. After 8 years out of ICU nursing I got pulled to ICU from telemetry and had a nice assignment until 2am when I had to transfer one patient and recover an OR patient intubated and on diprovan. Had not done that for a while but it came back quickly and I had a lot of support staff too. Find a program that fits what you want to do as a re-entry nurse.

Thank you! The thing is, there are few refresher courses offered in my area, and they include classroom instruction and clinicals in a LTC facility (which is kind of odd because I live in a large metropolitan area with a lot of prominant hospitals).I think it would be great if the HOSPITALS offered some kind of RN re-entry program to better meet the needs of a returning nurse. They are only offered through continuing ed at local colleges.My backround is L&D, which I'd love to do again- or level II nursery. I'm not sure how a clinical in a nursing home can prepare me for that

How long have you taken an RN refresher course?

The ones offered in my area are about 4-8 weeks long.

which state do you live in？I live in Bay area of California.if you are in Ca,do you know which college is good for RN refresher courses.

I live in MN- Twin Cities. You could check the CA Board of Nursing website and maybe they would list some refresher courses in your area. Or you could try community colleges nearby. Good Luck!

Hi, I have the same problem. I had a gap of non employment for 5 years, I'm french and I got my RN licence in Florida, last april. I 'm a pediatric nurse and I applied for many positions but unfortunately, everything came back neg. I went to the college but the refresher course takes 6 months! Few days a week. I 'm looking for a faster class with clinical part which is the most important for me. I'm in a hurry because it took me so long time to get my credentials evaluation, Nclex and work permit...;o(Please, tell me if you find an interesting option. Thanks.

It seems that the refresher courses in my area are inconvienently far (New York). I think I remember reading that it was about 3 months, or so.

I've heard of online refresher courses, but I think you need to arrange the clinical component yourself. I'm not sure how you'd do that- maybe call hospitals and ask about it?It seems there is a need for better and more accessible RN refresher courses in most areas of the country.

I have a similar question about re-entering the work force but in a different way. Actually, I plan to repatriate back to the states after 14 years of working Saudi Arabia. I am committed to another year and will use this time for planning.I am Director of Nursing in a mental health/addiction facility and I am also an adult NP. I am also currently mid-way through a masters in health care administration. I do not want to work in mental health or addiction directly once back. And, I have not practiced actively as an NP since being in Saudi. As the only western raised/trained nurse in my hospital I do a lot to establish a higher level of care with generally poorly trained staff from several countries, including Saudi. It is another world few can understand ( i think), unless you have been there. I'm not sure the direction I will take in the States. I left general nursing in 1981 for NP school and left NP practice in 1995 to come to Saudi. With 30 years of experience and several consultancy assignments for the Ministry of Health while in Saudi I have quite a bit of experience but where to fit in back in the States, I am not sure. I was thinking about a nursing refresher just to get up to speed with technology and would like to find an organized way to review general medicine for NP practice. In the end I will pursue management but if in nursing, I think knowing what is currently going on in nursing in the states would be helpful.Any ideas or anyone who has faced a similar situation who might comment would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

Yes, the courses are helpful and in some states if you have been in-active a certain amount of time they are required in order to return. The reason some of them don't have many hospitals as the clinical site is the hospitals feel these nurses are few and far between and would rather concentrate on the student nurses and schools. I teach with a refresher program and it is heck getting in to a hospital in come cities. For instance, in San Antonio they have a consortium that decides on clinical sites a semster in advance and we can't get a spot when we need it even though we have a signed affiliation agreement. In Dallas we currently have a nursing home, a rehab center, and an adult health outpatient clinic and are still working on trying to get in a hospital. But, then in Houston we have a great clinical spot at a hospital but, 2 others that have signed agreements but, when we have a nurse in their area of town and they say they can't do it right now, they have too many students,etc. They are very short sighted because the refresher nurse is just got to get up to speed on the technoology and does not have the same learning curve as a new grad. Our main site has hired several of our nurses and one of my former refreshers is now 3 and 1/2 years later a nurse manager at the same site. So, we do what we can with what options are left to us to get the nurses back in. We offer in class which I think is the best way but, if unable to come to class then we do correspondence for coursework and then schedule clinicals. The correspondence still has lots of instructor interaction. I think it is important to return to practice safely so therefore, a refresher is most helpful.