So, what can you do to help boost your nursing career job prospects?

Refresher Courses

Many of you may have sizable work history gaps, making it hard to find a job. If you have a large work history gap of three or four years (or more), or you feel your skills are rusty and need some serious practice, refresher courses offer the chance to brush up your nursing abilities, get your confidence back, and most importantly help show a recruiter that you're ready to return to work again.

Where to go to locate a course in your area:

State nursing board
State nursing association
Local community college
Search online
Courses do cost money - some are around $1,000 though prices vary - however you should be able to find one that provides a good mix of both classroom time and clinical practice. Some even include an internship of about 40 hours. This will look great on your nursing resume.

Keep Contacting Hospitals!

Although you may have spent months or even years applying for jobs, only to meet rejection, with the turning of the economic tide come new opportunities. Online nurse forums are full of posts from the last 12 months, where people have landed jobs at hospitals offering special time allocation during orientation that's designed for you to practice your skills. Keep your eye out for such openings!

Internships

If the number of medical facilities within your area is limited and you've already exhausted your options on places to apply, the next option is to find an internship. If you've got a nursing career spanning 20 years this may be a bit of a kick in the teeth, however you need to look at this as a stepping stone back into the work force. An internship will give you key experience while providing the opportunity to network and sniff out possible openings - and if you've got all the experience in the world, you'll have no trouble standing out and impressing your seniors. Some internships even offer special RN re-entry programs - something to look out for. See here Medical surgical nursing refresher course https://dignitycollegeofhealthcare.com/nurse-refresher-course

Volunteer Work

With the future of nursing shifting to outpatient services, perhaps it's worth considering which specific field of care you'd like to pursue in the future, then finding some volunteer work that will give you relevant experience. If your job options are already limited-to-none, then spending a few hours a week volunteering won't be too much of a sacrifice. This will, however, help keep your nursing skills fresh and give you valuable experience that'll help with your future job goals. This will also help keep you in the loop with nurses that may be able to point out upcoming job opportunities.