A registered nurse refresher course: Serving the community

The Texas Board of Nursing recognizes that nurses may interrupt practice or change practice settings throughout their career and requires experienced nurses who have not practiced in more than 4 years to take a refresher course. In response to community requests for a local option for inactive nurses to reenter practice, the Department of Lifelong Learning in the university's school of nursing launched an RN refresher course in summer 2010. This article describes the scope of the RN refresher course, program costs, and future endeavors. More importantly, the article describes the nurses who are returning to nursing practice, including their age range, educational preparation, and length of time out of practice. Steady growth in enrollment, expanding clinical affiliations in the local area and selected areas throughout the state, and positive employment outcomes have facilitated course sustainment and growth.