Best way to Re-Enter Nursing....Help!

My original plan was to become a nurse midwife. That was years ago but in any case, right after graduation I started in Labor and Delivery. I now wish that I had done some Med-Surg. I was told that I would be given a 6 month training period, well, the hospital was short staffed and I was already good at 'normal' labor and delivery so they started giving me my own pt's after about 2 weeks!

Long story short, I was never trained and lost that golden window right out of school. I then hopped from job to job trying to find something I was capable of doing. I left my last position in 2005 when I gave birth to my youngest child and stayed home. I had no idea that this would essentially ruin my career all together!

I only have an associates degree. Now I'm wondering how to best go about getting back into nursing. If I went for my BSN would I be able to be hired on again as a 'new graduate'? From what I have read about the refresher courses I am discouraged. It doesn't seem like you are likely to be hired via a refresher course.

I don't especially care for dialysis however I have even considered going to school to be a dialysis tech, starting out as a tech and moving up to a nursing position from there. The thought of getting 'stuck' doing nothing but dialysis makes me sad though. This is however one of the only ways I can figure out to re-enter nursing. A kind of back door.

My passion will always be women's health though. I am also VERY good at it and I am not as strong in other areas of nursing. If I could have my *ideal* job it would be working as either a telephone triage nurse for women's health/postpartum or as a nurse who does home visits after the birth of a child.

I am realistic however and I know that I can't start back in my *ideal* job.

I am also very strong with diagnostics however I have never heard of a nurse in this position. This is quite frustrating when I was often the one to give diagnosis to doctors. (OB/GYN docs see all kinds of pathology not related to their field--I was the 'go-to" person to diagnose a rash or a cough or an abdominal issue etc...)

I am wondering if I have any chance of being hired on to work in an OB/GYN office? I am also living in another state now and so I can't use my network of friends in the field. As the days pass I am growing more and more depressed and hopeless.

I feel really confused about how to best get back into nursing. If there are any human resources people out there, or other's who hire nurses I would love your feedback! Is going for my BSN a good way to re-enter as a new grad again?

Also, I wonder about going back to the old hospital that hired me on right after graduation--the one that promised me 6 months training and never lived up to that promise. I wonder if I asked them to start over if they would. They know the situation as it was back then, there was no manager for our department and we were operating at 30% staffing.

Any, I mean any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have to get out of this depression. I need to have a career that makes me feel like I am making the world a better place. I can't go work at McDonalds!

Thank you for listening,

lo
The reason you have had no responses is because we can't figure out how to get back in either. LOL I took a refresher course, and have 21 years of experience, but no BSN. No jobs. I have toyed with going for a lesser vocational course to get back in too, like surgical tech or ultrasound tech...but not sure I want to go back through A&P and all that to do it.But, since you have such specific training and are good at it/like it, I would say you might have a very good chance at getting a BSN and getting back in the field. I have done telephone triage and it's a business now, your calls are taped and timed and nitpicked. When it first started you were actually allowed to use your nursing skills. It's also very little to do with your field of choice, for the most part.Nurse practitioners are used in OB practices a lot. Also in Public Health. There are a lot of pregnancy/infant/child related programs in Public Health departments and unless you live in a very big urban area, you might not even have to have a BSN. I guess the best way to start is to look for a few places you might like to work, and then be bold and call their HR folks up and ask them what qualifications you'd need and the theoretical "If I had a BSN..." question. And I do think trying to get back in to your previous hospital is a great idea. Always easier to get another job when you already have one.Good luck!