Re-entry into the registered nursing work force: we did it!

Because the enrollment in nursing programs dropped in the late 1990s and healthcare agencies and education programs were seeking ways to increase the numbers of nurses, Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana, and Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, designed a plan to encourage nurses who had been out of nursing to re-enter the work force. This article details the steps used in this partnership and demonstrates a process for helping registered nurses to return to nursing. In the 6-credit, 8-week course, nurses were prepared to function on a medical-surgical unit by reviewing important concepts related to nursing practice, physical assessment, nursing process, nursing skills, pharmacology, and clinical nursing update. It was anticipated that receiving college credit for the course would be a motivator for returning to study at the registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing level. With 2 full clinical days each week, the students could experience a normal work shift and the routine of a busy clinical unit.