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Registered nurses and those involved in the medical field are well aware that advances in technology have revolutionized the way medical care is delivered these days.
As a result, many registered nurses who have taken a few years or even several decades off from the profession may feel overwhelmed when they decide to come back to work.
So Dalton State College and Hamilton Medical Center have teamed up to provide a Registered Nursing Refresher Program, aimed at retraining nurses who have been out of the field for four years or more to become recertified and prepared to reenter the field.
“We always say that caring is caring, and nursing is nursing, and while that will always remain the same, the technology we use has changed greatly, from the way we dispense medicine to the way we communicate with patients,” says Lynda Ridley, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nursing Administrator for HMC.
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“All of the systems we use now are different, and nurses have to know how to use these new technologies to practice in the field,” she adds.
Registered nurses who have not worked for more than four years and would like to become recertified to reenter the profession are invited to attend an information session on Monday, April 2, at 6:00 pm at the James E. Brown Center on the Dalton State campus.
Following the session, dates will be set up for the course, which includes an intensive relevant skills reorientation, followed by clinical work supervised by HMC personnel.
“We have teamed up to provide this course not only in response to a number of requests from area nurses who have expressed a desire to become recertified, but also because of the statewide demand for more registered nurses,” says Pam Partain, Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Dalton State.
The 40-hour classroom portion of the program will take place at the James E. Brown Center and will involve relevant study of such topics as respiratory care, neurosurgery skills, medical/surgical updates and other topics.
The 160 hours of relevant nursing practice, or clinicals, will take place at Hamilton Medical Center and will involve supervised rotations in pediatrics, maternal care, and medical/surgical medicine.
Ridley says that the opportunities for reentering nurses are great, including full and part time positions, weekend and evening shifts, and employment in hospital and clinical settings.
“One great option for those who are reentering the field is to work for Whitfield Staffing because of scheduling flexibility and the types of nursing settings available,” she says.
Those interested in learning more about this program may contact Dalton State College’s Center for Continuing Education at 706-272-4454.
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