An RN thinking of going back to school
Hometown: Kokomo, Ind.
Former job: NICU case review specialist
Out of work for: 11 months
I was working with a health-care consulting company and we were trained to go into hospitals and review cases but the hospitals weren't very receptive to that. The company kept promising that business would pick up but it wasn't. Still, I was very surprised the day I got the call.
I've been laid off now for almost eleven months. Never thought it would happen to me. I'm a registered nurse! Most people think if you're a nurse, you can go anywhere and get a job. That may be true if you're willing to or can change specialties, relocate or accept a big pay cut. But when you're 58 years old, applying for positions that would be a change from your area of expertise, you don't even get replies let alone calls for interviews.
Is it the lack of experience in that area? Or possibly because of your age and years of nursing experience, which means they would have to offer you a higher wage? It's very frustrating. You begin to doubt yourself. My unemployment is about to run out, I've had to borrow from my retirement, but I'm not about to give up. So I'm considering returning to school to advance my career in nursing and hopefully open more possibilities.
NEXT: Putting children on hold
