Question:
Dear Donna,
I was in critical care for 15 years and an ED nurse for about five years. I haven?t worked full-time for about eight years. I did a couple of travel positions in that time period. I have a BSN, and I am 60 years old. If I wanted to go back to work, what would you suggest?
Jane
Dear Donna replies:
Dear Jane,
I can?t tell if you?re interested in bedside nursing or something else. I also don?t know how long you?ve been away from the bedside since you say you had ?a couple of travel nursing positions? in the last eight years. If you are interested in returning to the bedside, depending on how recent your clinical experience is, a refresher course might be in order. See the article ?Reentering the Workforce? at http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/reenterwork.html for more information.
If you are interested in exploring your options, whether bedside, nontraditional, or both, I suggest that you start getting out to Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek Career Fairs . These events are great places to learn about a broad range of opportunities, brush up your self-marketing and networking skills, and test the waters to see what employers are looking for. Read the article ?How to Get the Most out of Attending a Career Fair? at http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/fair.html.. And since I?ll be speaking at, and doing a book signing of my newest book, The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses, at many of these events this fall, you may just run into me there! See where I?ll be at http://www.dcardillo.com/events.html.
I also recommend that you consider attending one of my upcoming Career Alternatives for Nurses(R) seminars, which you can find at the above link. This program will help you to identify transferable skills, obtain information and resources on more than 60 different opportunities for nurses, teach you how to effectively market yourself, and show you creative ways of finding jobs.
Best wishes,
Donna
Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek?s ?Dear Donna? and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career. Information about the books is available at www.nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a ?Dear Donna? seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.
