---

E-mail to a friend | Print This | Select Text Size:
Question:

Dear Donna,

I received my BSN and had an active license until 1 1/2 years ago. For health reasons, I needed to stop working some years ago, but I was freelance writing, so it helped my credibility to have an active license.

I want to return to nursing, but not in the hospital. I'd like to do something that calls on my knowledge of nursing and healthcare on a part-time basis; maybe as a home-care companion – just something to get me out of the house for a while!

Is a refresher course required, suggested, or considered a plus? I'm 58 years old. I love hospice, so I may go the hospice volunteer route; but I may also want to do some office work.

To return to nursing, do I need a refresher course? Or does it depend on the kind of nursing work I plan to return to?

Annie

Dear Donna replies:

Dear Annie,

I'm assuming from your note that you live in a state that has active and inactive RN license status and that a refresher course is required to reactivate your license. If that is the case, whether or not you take that route depends on what you really want to do going forward. Obviously, you will have more opportunities and make more money having an active RN license. But if, as you say, you mainly want to get out of the house, then it isn't necessary. Being a hospice volunteer is a great option.

If you do not need a refresher course to activate your license (every state is different on this), and you can activate your license in another way (e.g. by completing CE courses), then you don't need to take a refresher course if you wish to work outside of the hospital. Even in a nursing position, most hospices, for example, have training programs for hospice workers. And you certainly wouldn't need it to work in a medical office.

Good luck,
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.