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Guild members also are being tapped as mentors for local nursing students. ValleyCare has partnered with a local community college, Chabot College in Hayward, to offer a cohort program at the hospital.

“We’re pairing our retired nurses with our student nurses to form a buddy system,” Jordan says. “We know how grueling nursing school can be and we hope our retired nurses can offer support and encouragement to the students.”

Alumni Guild members also receive the opportunity to keep abreast of new medical developments through a series of classes.

“We regularly hold classes on topics including infectious diseases and arthritis,” Jordan says. “We hope to keep our retired nurses current on nursing topics and also allow them to share this knowledge with the students they are mentoring.”

ValleyCare would like to expand its alumni program to offer nurses the opportunity to work in the hospital in a capacity similar to Rogue Valley’s ReturN program.

“We have 15 retired nurses participating in the program,” Jordan says. “As we continue to grow, we’re exploring different ideas in which our retired nurses can remain active and share their expertise.”

Reaching out

Chris Hlushak, RN, worked as a nurse for eight years before she got married, had children, and decided to be a stay-at-home mother.

Sixteen years later, as her children were preparing to leave home and attend college, Hlushak decided to return to nursing.

Fortunately, her plans coincided with the launch of a new program at Poudre Valley Health System in Fort Collins, Colo. REACH (Re-entering Acute Care Hospitals) was introduced to encourage former nurses to return to the profession.

“I was very thankful to have found the REACH program,” Hlushak says. “Without their assistance, I would have had to take numerous classes at a community college to get up to speed.”

REACH is a four-month program that offers former nurses the chance to attend classes at the hospital, learn new skills, and become adept at new technology.

“The program is open to anyone who has been out of nursing for a significant period of time,” says Candace Pruett, RN, BSN, nurse recruiter for Poudre Valley Health Systems. “Rather than send former nurses to a new employee orientation that isn’t exactly what they need, or putting them in classes with new graduates, which can be humiliating, we decided to start a program that would specifically address their unique needs.”

For Hlushak, REACH provided her with the skills she needed.

“I had kept abreast of new technology, but the assessment process had become much more detailed,” she says. “It was a hard learning curve, but REACH gave me the skills and confidence I needed to return to nursing.”

Pruett notes the program has been so successful that the health system plans to use it to recruit nurses to their new hospital, slated to open in 2007.

“REACH attracts stay-at-home moms, retirees, even nurses who have worked as consultants and want to get back into hospitals,” Pruett says. “It’s a great way to welcome nurses back into the profession.”

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