Question:
Dear Donna,
I am 54 years old and have been an RN for 35 years. I recently was laid off. I have not done direct, hands-on patient care for 26 years. My recent experience has been as a nurse reviewer for the Medicaid program. I checked with the local college regarding a refresher course, however there is an 18-month waiting list. My computer skills are very limited and I am a dialysis patient. I am working 12 hours per week as a personal care attendant/companion at $10 an hour with no benefits. Any suggestions on how I can find a job with more hours and benefits?
Laid Off
Dear Donna,
I am 54 years old and have been an RN for 35 years. I recently was laid off. I have not done direct, hands-on patient care for 26 years. My recent experience has been as a nurse reviewer for the Medicaid program. I checked with the local college regarding a refresher course, however there is an 18-month waiting list. My computer skills are very limited and I am a dialysis patient. I am working 12 hours per week as a personal care attendant/companion at $10 an hour with no benefits. Any suggestions on how I can find a job with more hours and benefits?
Laid Off
Dear Donna replies:
Dear Laid Off,
Since you have experience with chart review, you might want to contact some law offices that do medical legal work and inquire about doing some independent contracting for them. It's something you can do from home. Contact the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (www.aalnc.org) for more information about the specialty. You don't need to take any courses or get certified. You already have the experience and credentials.
Try contacting your state Quality Improvement Organization (if that's not who laid you off) and inquire about working for them. They do Medicare review and quality studies. Find your state QIO here
http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityImprovementOrgs/index.html?redirect=/QualityImprovementOrgs.
If you have a car and can get around in your local area, consider doing insurance exams for insurance companies. This involves taking vital signs and filling out a medical history form. The average pay is $30-40 per exam. Find a Portamedic company in your area or call someone who sells life insurance and ask who they use for their mobile exams.
Rather than take a refresher course and look for something clinical (that market is very tough to get into without recent experience), look for something that plays off of your recent experience.
Regarding your computer skills, that's something you should work on regardless of where you go from here. Look for courses at your local library or other adult education forum. You can try to find a friend, neighbor or church member to help get you up to speed also. Many people love to teach and help.
Read “How to handle layoffs” (Nurse.com/Cardillo/Layoffs).
Best wishes,
Donna
Dear Laid Off,
Since you have experience with chart review, you might want to contact some law offices that do medical legal work and inquire about doing some independent contracting for them. It's something you can do from home. Contact the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (www.aalnc.org) for more information about the specialty. You don't need to take any courses or get certified. You already have the experience and credentials.
Try contacting your state Quality Improvement Organization (if that's not who laid you off) and inquire about working for them. They do Medicare review and quality studies. Find your state QIO here
http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityImprovementOrgs/index.html?redirect=/QualityImprovementOrgs.
If you have a car and can get around in your local area, consider doing insurance exams for insurance companies. This involves taking vital signs and filling out a medical history form. The average pay is $30-40 per exam. Find a Portamedic company in your area or call someone who sells life insurance and ask who they use for their mobile exams.
Rather than take a refresher course and look for something clinical (that market is very tough to get into without recent experience), look for something that plays off of your recent experience.
Regarding your computer skills, that's something you should work on regardless of where you go from here. Look for courses at your local library or other adult education forum. You can try to find a friend, neighbor or church member to help get you up to speed also. Many people love to teach and help.
Read “How to handle layoffs” (Nurse.com/Cardillo/Layoffs).
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.
