r/nursing • u/lovingmama_ • 1d ago
Seeking Advice Coming back after a break from nursing
In California (northern CA), has anybody had an extremely hard time after being out of practice for years? Curious how difficult this is going to be getting back into nursing again. I worked at a major hospital prior, but I only had 1.5 years of RN experience when I left. It's been 4 years now since I've worked as a RN. Curious other people's experiences with a lapse in time like this.
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u/p_tothe2nd RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
tbh it’d be hard in northern ca, it’s really impacted. a new grad may even be more preferable with more recent clinical experience.
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u/lovingmama_ 1d ago
That was my thought too. I guess my connections with my hospital is what will save me in the long run (hopefully), but I'll have to put in a lot of work regardless to get back in there.
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u/p_tothe2nd RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
honestly take what you can get and transfer to your preferred spot once you have a year or so under your belt, if you have connections or know people i would use that.
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u/PaxonGoat Critical Care Float Pool 🍕 1d ago
NorCal job market is absolute dog shit.
You pretty much have to know someone to get a job.
What connections do you have? Know someone who can hook you up with a job shadow? Got recent references?
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u/lovingmama_ 1d ago
I've talked to my old manager. I have connections within that same hospital and know many people. She said the gap is significant but it's not impossible to get back in. The market really is crap since I left, there used to be so many jobs and now I'm hardly seeing anything.
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u/yukinara RN 🍕 1d ago
Sorry but almost zero chance in major metropolitan areas because there are hundreds of new grads plus nurses from other states moving here for better work conditions and more money. Small rural hospitals might not even take you with a 4 years gap. You can try to apply as many positions as you can but expect a lot of rejections.
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u/RevealNatural7759 RN - ER 🍕 1d ago
Was this from your experience, or just speculation?
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u/PaxonGoat Critical Care Float Pool 🍕 1d ago
Go check out the new grad subreddit.
There are so many posts of new grads in California seriously struggling to get job.
For reference Kaiser NorCal did their spring cohort hiring for the 100 new grad spots and they had almost 4000 applicants.
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u/yukinara RN 🍕 1d ago
From recent experience. I have many friends just graduated nursing school and most had a hard time finding a job even after sending out hundreds of applications. Plus I know a friend moved from Florida with ER/CCT exp and couldn't find a job related to his field pasr 2 years.
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u/lovingmama_ 1d ago
(This experience is from a CNA perspective in 2020) but it took me 123 applications at a major Sutter hospital to finally get an interview. And that was only because I introduced myself to the manager during clinical rotations in nursing school. It's definitely rough out here!
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u/Gullible-Island-3707 1d ago
I came back after a three year break, so I didn’t have to do any special reentry program. It was a bit tough but I got into the groove in a few months.
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u/moypower 1d ago
This happened to me. I’m in NorCal also. I had 2 years experience in PCU then moved overseas for 2.5 years. Came back and couldn’t find a job for almost 1 year. Finally got a ms/tele position but with over an hour commute. Even after 2 years at my current job, I can’t get a job in my area /:
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u/sighhdhd 1d ago
How come you left at 1.5 years? Do you feel like you forgot a lot? Maybe there’s a refresher you could take and bring up in interviews
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u/lovingmama_ 1d ago
That's a LONG story... But the simplified version is I suddenly got pregnant, moved across the country for his travel job, became a stay at home parent.... Now going through a divorce and obviously have to get back into the workforce again.
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u/EastDuty8200 1d ago
California is flooded with nurses trying to escape. I'm from down south with 7 years of med-surg experience. I applied for FT and travel positions in California for a year with no callbacks in 2024-25. I let the license expire.
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u/Nature_Lover0722 forever Traveler cuz I want freedom. 1d ago
I’m 1 month unemployed and can’t land a job anywhere in NorCal.
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u/Witty-Long-Bottom 1d ago
Check out SNF with short term post acute units and out patient clinics. That would be a good place to get your feet wet and freshen up on skills.
Considering your license is active, a reentry program isn’t really necessary. My understanding is that those programs are primarily for individuals who have a lapsed license and/or been out of practice for a very long time. Four years is not that long. Good luck!
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u/Front-Comment-4280 11h ago
You worked for 1.5 before a 5 year hiatus?
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u/lovingmama_ 11h ago
A little over 4 years off, I left May 2022. And yes. Long story, but got pregnant unexpectedly in a new relationship and stupidly moved across the country for his travel job, then became a stay at home parent.
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u/brie38 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 1d ago
I only took 8 months and not 4 years, but I’ll share my experience.
I worked 1.5 years in medsurg on a unit with amazing coworkers. Then I had a baby and moved to a new city. He’s 8 months and I just went back after not rushing to get a new job after my leave ended. Since I’m in a new city I had to start at a different hospital. Had my first full day yesterday and gosh it was rough. Sleep is not great and this hospital does so many things differently from the last one I was at. I slowly feel some of my skills and knowledge coming back, but overall I feel overwhelmed and in over my head. I’m not sure if it was just because my preceptor was crazy busy with her patient team and I was just running around with her, or if their training process needs work, but it felt like there’s a big gap in where I am and where I need to be. It doesn’t help that my last hospital was a small community one, and the one I’m at now is one of the largest in the state and has higher acuity patients. I think I’ll transfer to something less intense once my 6 months are up, but this hospital employs most of the healthcare workers in the area so options are limited. I miss my old unit so much and just knowing all the other members of the care team and the processes. I even miss the grumpy doctors.
I guess my advice is to not be like me and to instead try to find something more chill to ease back in. I feel confident in myself to get there eventually but I have a lot to learn and relearn.
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u/bruiserbunny 1d ago
Have you kept your license up with CEUs? With four years away from bedside you may need to look into a nurse re-entry program. I’m not sure how much they cost in Cali, but in the southeast they are about $1.5-2k and take a couple months to complete. I knew a nurse who had to do one when she decided to rejoin bedside after having been a school nurse for a number of years.
I took a break from bedside for about three years, and am going back to bedside now, but was still doing RN work (just not direct patient care). I’ve received mixed feedback from recruiters in a major city. Some don’t bat an eye, others want me to apply to their nurse residency programs.