Three ways to refresh your nursing skills

Are you looking to get back to bedside nursing? Whether you’re coming off of a break from nursing (voluntary or not) or just a break from clinical work, Alicia-joy at Transitions in Nursing has your back. The career coach recently posted a blog entry with tips on how to make a smart move back to the bedside. What should your plan of action be? Here are three of her tips:

Decide on the Specialty: If you’re returning to the bedside, this may be a great opportunity for you to choose a new specialty. Take some time to do research and choose your desired specialty wisely, and then create a plan for entering it. Be open.

You may not initially land a position in your desired specialty, but you may find another opportunity that is close to that specialty and that will give you the experience needed to transition. Create a plan for entering that specialty and then start taking action.

Refresh Your Skills: Regardless of the specialty that you choose, you will need to brush up on your skills. Here are a few suggestions:

• Do you have any educational material from prior courses? If you do, pull it out and start reviewing.
• Take a course. There are organizations that offer refresher/certification courses (some of these courses are online and some are in person, so you can fit it around your schedule).
• Do your research. Find out if local hospitals/colleges/private companies offer hands-on courses.

Refresh Your Knowledge: Yes, guys and gals, you may just need to dig out those books from the garage.

You also want to take some time to study new technologies, medications, procedures, etc. (this all depends on your specialty). You can also find a lot of information online–just make sure to use reputable sources.

See the rest of her tips on the Transitions in Nursing blog, and leave your own advice in the comments below.