Strategies to meet the needs of re-entry registered nurse students.

Registered nurses re-entering the education system bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their education and seek experiences that are stimulating, pertinent and non-repetitive of their basic nursing education and current practice. Such an educational program can be accomplished by combining three strategies: concept-oriented clinical courses, student-developed clinical learning contracts and preceptor clinical placements. This combination provides RNs opportunities to use the knowledge they bring to the classroom and knowledge gained in nursing courses to enhance their experiential backgrounds.