Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Helped One Parent Return to Nursing
Transcript
- Lucas: Maria Hernandez had been a registered nurse for almost eight years before she took what she thought was a short break to stay home with her two kids. Six years later, when she wanted to go back, she told me she felt like she didn't even speak the language anymore. Luna: Six years is a long time in healthcare. I can imagine electronic health records alone would have changed everything. Lucas: Exactly. When she left, a lot of the documentation was still on paper charts. By 2022, the clinic she'd worked at had gone fully digital. Protocols for everything from triage to medication administration had shifted. She said the first time she walked into a hospital to shadow a friend, she froze looking at the computer terminal. Luna: So how did she bridge that gap without starting over from scratch? Lucas: She did something really smart. Instead of immediately applying for jobs, she enrolled in a nursing refresher course at her local community college. Three months, mostly online, for about seven hundred and fifty dollars. She also tacked on a telehealth certification — that was another two hundred — because she noticed that virtual visits had become a permanent fixture in her area. Luna: That's a total of under a thousand dollars and maybe four months. Compare that to the cost of a full degree program or even a year of retraining. Lucas: Right. And the refresher course wasn't just about clinical skills. It covered the new EHR software, the latest infection control protocols, and even a module on communication during telehealth visits. She told me the first week was humbling — she'd forgotten how to calculate drip rates without a cheat sheet — but by the end, she felt ready to step back into a clinical setting. Luna: I think there's a lesson here that goes beyond nursing. A lot of people with career gaps assume they need to go back to school for two years. But for licensed or certified professions, there are often targeted refresher programs designed exactly for this. Lucas: Exactly. Maria didn't need to relearn how to be a nurse. She needed to update her knowledge base. That's a much smaller lift. And the telehealth cert turned out to be a differentiator — when she started applying, she found that many clinics wanted someone comfortable with both in-person and virtual care. Luna: But I imagine the confidence gap was still huge. You can study for a test, but walking back onto a unit is a different kind of pressure. Lucas: That's where her second smart move came in. Before she submitted any formal applications, she reached out to three former colleagues for informational interviews. She wasn't asking for a job — she was asking how they'd adapted to the changes. One of them, a nurse manager, offered to let her shadow for two shifts. No pay, no commitment, just observe and ask questions. Luna: That's a low-stakes way to rebuild confidence. You're not being evaluated — you're a fly on the wall. Lucas: And after those two shadow shifts, Maria said something clicked. The protocols were different, but the core of the job — the patient interaction, the critical thinking — it was still her. She applied for a part-time position at a suburban clinic affiliated with the same hospital network. The nurse manager remembered her from the shadow shifts and gave her the nod. Luna: So the informational interview and shadowing essentially became her interview. That's a much better audition than a thirty-minute sit-down. Lucas: And here's the interesting part — the clinic was actually worried that a returning nurse might be slower or less confident. Maria told me she was up to speed on their software within two weeks. The refresher course had covered the exact platform they used. Luna: You know, we talk a lot on this show about how career gaps can build skills like patience and perspective. But I think there's something specifically valuable about returning to a regulated profession. The structure of licensure and continuing education actually helps you return because there's a clear path. Lucas: That's a really good point. In a field like nursing, you have to maintain your license with continuing education credits anyway. So the system expects professionals to update their skills. A career gap is just a longer break between updates. The path is still there. Luna: I'm curious about the impostor syndrome. Maria spent six years at home — did she feel like she'd lost her identity as a nurse? Lucas: She admitted that the first month back was brutal. She had a moment in her first week where a patient's family member asked a medication question, and she froze. She had to say 'let me check with the pharmacist.' She said she went home that night wondering if she'd made a mistake. Luna: But she stayed. Lucas: She stayed. And she told me the turning point was about six weeks in, when a regular patient came in with a chronic condition she'd seen many times before. She recognized the pattern before any test results came back. The doctor confirmed her intuition. That moment — she said — that's when she felt like a nurse again. Luna: I love that. It wasn't the technical skill that came back last. It was the clinical judgment. That's the thing you can't learn from a refresher course. Lucas: And it's the thing that employers should be looking for. Maria's story is a great example of how a career gap doesn't erase your core competence. You might need to update your tools, but your expertise is still there. Luna: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, I'll just say — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what keeps this ad-free. So thanks if you're one of them. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small group making this possible. Appreciate it. So back to Maria — she's now working three days a week, and she told me she's happier than she was before the gap. She feels like she's a better nurse because she's not burned out. The break reset her. Luna: That's the silver lining. A career gap doesn't have to be a liability. For Maria, it was a strategic pause. Lucas: And she's proof that with a targeted investment in education — a few hundred dollars, a few months — and a smart networking approach, you can return to a demanding field and thrive. Luna: What advice would she give to someone considering the same path? Lucas: She said three things. First, find a refresher program — don't try to teach yourself everything. Second, do at least one shadow shift before applying anywhere. And third, be honest about the gap in your interview. Say 'I took time to raise my kids, and I've spent the last three months updating my skills.' That shows intention, not hiding. Luna: That's solid. I think a lot of people feel like they need to apologize for a gap. But Maria reframed it as a planned career break with a re-entry strategy. Lucas: Exactly. She didn't just fall into the gap and then scramble back. She made a decision, and she made a plan. That's the difference between a career gap that hurts you and one that becomes a story of resilience. Luna: Well, I think we can all take something from that. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And thanks for listening.