Meeting the needs of the health system: a refresher course for registered nurses

To address the shortage of nurses experienced by a healthcare system, faculty from a baccalaureate nursing program collaborated with the affiliated healthcare system members to offer a refresher course to facilitate the return of inactive nurses to the workforce. The program included didactic content, simulated laboratory experiences, and precepted clinical experiences on the employing units. This article describes the scope of the program and focuses on recommendations for future course implementation, including implementing a systematic evaluation of each participant's knowledge base at the beginning of the course and an extended course time frame to allow for greater integration of content.