YNHHS News Releases

Released January 28, 2002

Yale New Haven Health Announces New Session of its RN Refresher Program

As part of an intensive campaign to fill nursing slots, the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) is continuing its RN Refresher Program for nurses who have left hospital care and want to return to it.

The Department of Labor predicts nearly 800,000 more nurses will be needed by 2008 in Connecticut and throughout the country. About 85 percent of the more than 2.5 million licensed RNs are currently working in hospitals. The other 15 percent includes nurses who may have taken time off to raise families or test their skills in such nonclinical areas as administration or research.

While hospitals are enticing nurses with such perks as flexible hours and sign-on bonuses, many RNs see the hospital as the most basic and essential area of nursing, but they are intimidated by such changes as sicker patients, higher turnover and more complex technology and use of medicine.

One nurse who wanted to return to the field is Maria Maiaroto, RN, a nurse with a master’s education, three specialties and 30 years of nursing behind her. She decided to overcome her fear of new technology and is driving from Killingworth to Bridgeport three days a week to take the YNHHS RN Refresher Program.

“You are scared when you first come back because you’ve been out of it for so long,” she said. “But experienced nurses have the foundation. The Refresher Program is preparing me very well for going back on the floor. The familiarities come back quickly.”

The nine-week RN Refresher Program at YNHHS covers accurate nursing assessments and treatments, IV therapy and nutritional support concepts and the role of the nurse in clinical pathways, among other things. Students obtain Basic Life Support certification and learn about opportunities in today’s job market. Certificates with Nursing Contact Hours are awarded upon course completion. While the classroom portion of the program is held at Bridgeport Hospital, students may conduct their clinical training at Bridgeport, Greenwich or Yale-New Haven hospitals.

Tuition is $1,500. Any nurse who completes the program and goes on to work at one of the three YNHHS hospitals may be eligible to receive sign-on bonuses and reimbursement of their RN Refresher Program tuition.

The next session will run from March 25 to May 2 with classes at Bridgeport Hospital from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Prospective students should make an appointment to register at least two weeks before the new session begins. For more information, contact Karen Burrows at Bridgeport Hospital, 203-384-4725; Anne Swallow at Greenwich Hospital, 203-863-3238; or Victoria Dahl Vickers at Yale-New Haven Hospital, 203-688-1046.

To interview a nurse who is enrolled in the program, contact Karen Burrows at 203-384-4725.