James Savage completed 色花堂鈥檚 Return to Nursing Practice course,聽designed to support adult, children鈥檚 and mental health nurses who no longer have a 鈥榣ive鈥� registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council to return to the profession after a break. Here, he shares his experience of the course.
鈥淚t was an enormous support to undertake the Return to Nursing Practice (RtNP) course amongst a group of individuals where we were all a part of the same community. We had all been away from the profession for various amounts of time, and for various reasons. Some of us had been hospital trained, others like me had been graduates but away from academia for a long time.
鈥淗aving completed post-registration education in critical care in London, I decided to try nursing in the USA 鈥� suffice to say as a UK-trained nurse, I found it extremely ethically challenging. Returning to the UK, I decided to step away for a time to reassess and then, as my partner was diagnosed with MS, in many ways my career became a secondary priority.
鈥淚 began working in the aviation industry while caring for my partner, who died 18 months ago. In many ways, I never really stepped away from the profession, as I was looking after one person with progressively complex healthcare needs. I never fell out of love with nursing, but rather circumstances dictated otherwise. The Covid-19 pandemic spurred my desire to 鈥榙o my bit鈥�.
鈥溕ㄌ� delivered a supportive and nurturing academic environment. There was a real feeling of focus on behalf of the academic staff in supporting the cohort to successfully complete and regain entry. The course was a great refresher on healthcare legislation and clinical skills days proved to be a great confidence booster. Yes, I can still catheterize a patient and insert an IV cannula 鈥� hurrah!
鈥淢y biggest achievement happened while looking after a patient during placement. The individual had been given a terminal diagnosis and I made time to sit down with them and give them time to chat, offload, and cry. On discharge she asked to see me to say thanks.聽As her nurse, I聽gave her the opportunity to discuss and react to the news she鈥檇 just received. Everyone else had been superb on a practical level 鈥� but I made time and space for聽her to just聽chat, and help her process the information she鈥檇 received. She described me as a credit and asset to the profoession and a real nurse and a I cannot begin to describe how that made me feel.聽
鈥淗aving completed the RtNP programme and gaining entry back onto the register, with a little thinking outside of the box, I鈥檝e successfully secured a registered nurse post within the palliative care environment. This isn鈥檛 where I worked on my placement ward, but that experience gave me positive appraisals and enabled me to establish solid working relationships.
鈥淔or anyone considering returning to nursing, have faith in your ability! You鈥檒l be surprised by just how much you鈥檝e remembered and how quickly you will resharpen your skills. Embrace the technology 鈥� it鈥檚 nowhere near as scary as it looks 鈥� and be prepared for surprises. You鈥檙e re-entering the profession with additional life skills under your belt. The way we nurse has changed a little 鈥� but the core values have not.鈥�