Out of Nursing For 25 Years, I Loved a Come Back

My Career History

I loved nursing. I loved the excitement, especially the learning atmosphere. I trained in a training hospital in California. I graduated eons ago in 1975. After taking 5 years of education, I minored in Bible and emerged with my RN, BSN and Public Health Certificate. I had a great training in Mental Health and Nursing philosophy. I had a solid nursing background. I loved it, did I say that?

My Nursing Pin

I was so proud of myself because I accomplished something that was worthwhile and I could use it while doing what I loved. I loved caring for people. I loved feeling valuable because I was giving help to someone who needed it in a career I enjoyed.

In the 6 years I worked prior to my come-back, I gained a vast and valuable experience in a medical-surgical setting, a unit for stable cardiac patients and I floated into intensive care when I was needed there. At that time, my only nightmare was when they stuck me as a very new grad onto a floor that I knew nothing about and there was nobody but me. I am amazed that they didn’t find reasons to excuse me from my job!

Then I found my niche. I took a hospital-based obstetrical course and graduated with honors, I received a certificate and was very much feeling that I would like to pursue a career in obstetrics. But we were leaving the area at that time and I guess that was not to in the future for me.

I laid aside that dream (and many more) to gradually emerge into a much different world that I loved equally well. I had and have many dreams and tried to fulfill them all at once. I was young and could conquer the world of my dreams.

My Second Love

I found my second love. Becoming self-sufficient was an adventure for me. I emerged myself completely into my new lifestyle and imagined embracing a naturopathic career. I had so many plans, studied all kinds of therapies, all kinds of natural healing paths. I loved the book Back to Eden. I read everything I could get my hands on about living clean and natural. The simple life was very good for me. It also prepared me for my next stage of life. This too I had dreamed of all my life and it was becoming true after long years of waiting.

My Highest Calling

This next stage of my life was the highest calling of my life. I had so many dreams. My children would share them with me. I could not imagine a more satisfying life. It opened up areas of healing that I have never imagined. I fervently tackled being wife and mother, gardening, health. I had a life without the stress of a career and I felt free. When I got a taste of the life I thought I would love, it hurts all the more when I had to give it up.

Death of My Dreams Gave Me a New Avenue of Living

My life stages blurred together and became a tumbler mix of good and bad. Unfortunately my dreams died. Most of them. But not all of them. That was only because I let it happen.

One great and necessary benefits about having kids, is that they become the best support of all when you need them the most. They needed me at that time in their lives too. We made a good fit.

Stormy Days

So, here entered my new stage of life, mixed up, but clearly the path I needed to go. Back into my first love, Nursing. I had not been employed since 1982. It took me a year to go through the refresher nursing course when it should have taken me 3 months! I was worn out but the course and direction was so worth it! The instructor, Carol, was exactly who I needed. I had had some very good nursing skills before I stopped actively working. She encouraged me to fine tune those skills. For very good reasons I had decided not to work part time while raising my children, and that I will never regret. But to reenter a career after 25 years of ‘retirement’ was difficult to say the least.

It took me a year to get the courage to go back. I had a good friend Janet who gave me the inspiration and direction to return to nursing. I only wish I would have contacted her after I finished the course, I had an interesting path to take as I tried to get a job. Actually, I had 2 hospitals actually compete over hiring me, even before they knew much about me. That’s the good thought.

One hospital didn’t hire me because they didn’t have a teacher for me. I would be hired as a student and needed training. The director was pretty upset that they did not have it set up for me to do that. That made me feel pretty valued. Like I said, I had been out of nursing for 25 years raising my children and living a self-sufficient lifestyle. My skills in many areas had increased.

The other hospital had a mentor for me. The mentor was great, but I received no education, she insisted that I knew everything I needed to and just needed to get out and do it. So, on shaky ground I stepped out. Within a year, this hospital started a student nurse course. I would have loved to have been a part of that and so envied and supported the first graduates. Starting out on shaky ground, that’s the bad thought.

Read 10 Reasons – Why was I so valuable and why should Refresher nurses be promoted and appreciated?

Please comment if you know a refresher nurse, or aid or anyone in the health profession who came back to their field after being out more than 3 years? Was that a good or bad experience?