A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

MT hoping to move to RN position - mt

Posted: Mar 05, 2013

I am currently a full-time MT. I am hoping to get out of the field completely soon. I have an RN license, I put nursing on hold to raise my kids and enjoyed doing MT while they were little. Now money is extremely tight and I know I can make much more doing nursing. However, I am terrified of going back. I have done the same thing now for 15 years, and it is SOOOO hard for me to change! Can anyone who has gone through this give any suggestions of how to get back into it? Any idea of the going wages for an RN in a doctor's office versus home health versus nursing home, etc. I really, really want to make this jump, but after 15 years I'm afraid I just don't have the current skills to do it. Can anyone give any tips or encouragement? Thanks for any information.

RN - Mooselips

[ In Reply To ..]
Is there a college or facility nearby where you can take a "refresher" course? Some places where the nursing shortage is bad do offer such things. After 15 years there are a lot of changes! I'm doing both--I work 3 days a week as an MT and have an RN PRN position with a home care/hospice agency. It makes for a nice balance between the 2 jobs, so maybe you could consider something like that also (so one job or the other doesn't have you pulling your hair out!). The rate of pay for the RNs where I work (in a very rural area) is in the high $20s to $30 per hour range. The PRN or per diem jobs in home care, in the hospital, in the SNF, of course pay the best but you get no bennies. The local prison pays well over $30 an hour. The office nurse jobs pay less than transcription--but are less stressful nursing jobs for the most part! I was only out of nursing for about 4 years and I was stunned at the changes when I went back---mostly the computerized IV machines, lots of new gadgets, computerized charting, spending more time staring at a computer than looking at the patient. But that's a whole other story! :-) Good luck with your decisions! It IS scary but you'll do fine!

what is more scary - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
What is even more scary is the fact that she has been out of the RN profression for 15 years. Refresher course or not, I would be scared to be under her care as an RN. Sorry, but would not want to be her guinea pig for refreshers. No room for errors in health care in any capacity. If you have been out for 15 years - stay out! Don't come back and possibly commit any errors.

That makes no sense - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
So it would be "scary" to have a recent graduate be a nurse? Ridiculous.

not a recent graduate - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
She is NOT a recent graduate of nursing. Sorry, but she is a "has been" and her nursing skills are not current whether she has held her nursing credentials or not for 15 years.

stale bread - stale nurse - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
You made your decision 15 years ago to leave the nursing profession. Don't you think things have changed just a bit? Eating stale bread in prison would be bad enough, but having a stale nurse would be even worse just because it pays $30 an hour, or at least until you injure/kill somebody via your incompentency. I say - hang it up lady.

My opinion - reader

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you're just jealous because you lack any skills outside MT (if you even have those) and are therefore stuck and drowning. Only completely miserable people like yourself would try to drag someone else down with them. What's really scary is that people like you and the racist below walk this earth--granted, you're probably the same poster anyway.

Hey MT to RN -- YOU GO FOR IT!! Get your refresher courses done and a get a great paying job and leave the LOSERS behind!!! =]

Thanks - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for the encouragement. I don't have any intention of being in a hospital or supervisor position, obviously. I just see the writing on the wall for transcription, and don't want to wait until it gets any worse, then try to make the jump. How do you like home health? Are the hours pretty flexible or strict? I think that is what I am leaning towards right now. Do you find it more/less demanding than being in a hospital/nursing home setting?

Thanks.

I think the main issue is - being honest with yourself

[ In Reply To ..]
and the reason for leaving nursing 15 years ago. True, you don't have current skills. But you can get those to a point of safety in a refresher course, and I would think you would be more or less the status of a GN when you start until you are safe on your own. They aren't just going to feed you to the wolves. Plus you haven't been OUT of the medical field, so in terms of theory you will be on good footing, better than a new grad, in my opinion. But is the lure of money and security making you forget the reasons you left it in the first place? I keep my license current but would probably cut off a limb before I returned to nursing. Sometimes I think about it, but then I remember the dread, the panic, the insomnia, etc. If you liked it and got out of it for your family and circumstances have changed, I say go for it!

My decision NOT to return to RN job - Alice

[ In Reply To ..]
You do what you have to do. I will not make any judgments regarding whether or not it is right for you. But, I will share my story.
I took a refresher course after being out of the field of nursing for about 12 years. First of all, the refresher course was lame. It included 3 hours per week of classroom and then a total of 12 hours with patient contact. At that point, I decided that I would not want ME as a nurse, and I didn't want to risk it. Back when I was a new graduate nurse, I felt more in sync with what was going on, but after this refresher course, I did not feel equipped to deal with it all. Not only had technology changed, but the hospital staffing had changed to the barest skeleton crew that they could get away with. I looked for office jobs, but it turns out that, at least in my part of the country, they want LPNs, not RNs. It doesn't matter if you are an RN and will accept LPN pay. Some of these office staffers have made the assumption that they cannot "afford" to hire an RN. As for staff relief type jobs, I've been there and done that. It is awful to be brand new in a facility and given full responsibility at hour one. I remember spending a night in a nursing home on a floor with 90 patients and I was the only licensed one in the place. A deceased patient was in a room and the mortuary could not pick him up until morning. It was July and they had a fan blowing on him for the night. That was the best they could do. This was in suburban Maryland near Washington, D.C., not in the back woods of some rural town.

I have considered taking a CNA course. At this point in time, CNAs make more per hour than I do at home as an MT. It is physically demanding work, but would solve the issue of not being up-to-date with technology, and would likely solve the issue of being thrown into some situation where lack of recent experience would possibly endanger a patient's life.

My state doesn't allow a refresher course after 10 years of absence. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
They require you to take the program again. But, if your state allows it, then do it. Some of the backlash that you are getting here is more than likely people's own frustration from this field and maybe a little jealous that someone can get out.

I definitely wouldn't recommend a supervisory position or ER or CCU or anything, but start off simple, doctor's office or clinic and regain your skills.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks so much - mt

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I don't even WANT to work in a hospital or supervisor position, etc. I would be happy with a 15.00/hour doctor's office job right now (more than I'm making now!). I am leaning more towards home health, etc. It's just overwhelming to make such a huge jump after being at home so long!!

I think you would be great in home health, mt... - betsy

[ In Reply To ..]
would think your skills would come back to you. I'm about to start CNA/STNA classes at the age of 58 and am terrified but looks to me like I'd not have to worry about employment till I can retire. Good luck to you and to me also!

MT to RN - XXX

[ In Reply To ..]
I am just finishing up my ADN after many years as an MT. I think anybody who would tell you NOT to try to get back into is short-sighted. Would it be a good fit for you on a cardiac ICU unit? Not likely. I spoke to a fellow student today who is working on her BSN (she is an RN), and she is currently working at a facility where they do laser hair removal. By state law, they have to have a licensed RN perform the procedure. I also know someone who is a school nurse (RN) and the majority of her day is spent treating minor illnesses, headaches and minor injuries. The school I attend has an RN refresher course that is 8 weeks long (3 weeks on campus, 5 weeks of clinical). Try a class like that and see how you feel - then make your decision. Don't let the Negative Nellies put you down!

Don't listen to the naysayers. s/m - liz

[ In Reply To ..]
I've known physicians who wished to return to active clinical medicine after an extended leave. They take refresher courses, and could very well be the physician of their choice taking care of them today, bitterness and all.

why don't you call your state licensing board? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Certainly, they would be best equipped to advise you about the requirements for reentering nursing. Have you kept up with your license? Have you kept up with continuing medical education credits?

My Take - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
I was going to say the same thing--check with your state.

I was also going to say that a refresher is far different from learning all new stuff. A refesher simply means they refresh what you've already learned. A lot has changed in 15 years, and while I'm not a nurse, I personally would be scared to death to depend on a "refresher."

home health care - Lucy

[ In Reply To ..]
I live in a 55+ community and have become aquainted with some residents who require home health care for blood pressure, insulin checks, simple things like that and also one who needed hospice home health care. I would think that would be a good place to start and agree with checking the state requirements for doing that type of work.

PS to home health care - Lucy

[ In Reply To ..]
Another thing you might consider, as I live in a 55+ senior community is that many of the residents here do not drive anymore. If you are a health care provider, while there are buses/vans available for seniors to attend doctor appts, hairdresses, groceries, etc. through senior programs, many of them hire their home health care providers to be their personal drivers to an appt and the going rate is $15 per hour just for the driving part over and above the home health care wages. If you go into home health care, you may want to entertain the thought of being a personal driver as well, as many will be willing to pay that also. Just a thought - but I know it to be true because I have neighbors who do that.

Actually while I live in this 55+ community, they tease about being one of the youngest. I just met a lady who is wonderful and she is 100 and has had 3 bypasses, so I will never complaint of an ache or pain again. Her home health care lady still drives the lady's cadillac to her appts. Home health can't be all that bad if you go into it.

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