Any Advice Gladly Received

(Bumped From Forums)
I will start by saying how refreshing your site is. I qualified as a mature (god that makes me sound realy old im 35) RMN March 2006 and due to the job shortages which we were told would improve I decided to take a year out and spend some quality time with my family who needed me at this time (my daughter is 10 and was having a few problems at school) admittedly I also felt really guilty as I had put myself first and put them on the back burner while I completed my studies. (who ever said woman can have it all was lieing,something has got to give)

I also contacted the NMC and it was confirmed that time out would be ok. Well for the past 6 months I have been trying to get a position in my area without any luck. Seeing as there isn’t any NHS jobs in my area I tried to join a number of agency’s but couldn’t as they wanted 6-12 months experience. Last week I spoke to a recruitment nurse who works for an agency and she said “one nurse to another that I was admirable and noble for taking a year out (what) however I haven’t done myself any favours” as the job shortages have worsened,and that she cant see me finding any employment in the near future as a nurse. She said that she and others will overlook me in favour of newer newly qualified nurses. I do understand this to a point but since when have you got to completely dedicate all of your life to nursing. That said I am extremely dedicated and fully committed and have also proven this by completing my studies and never being off sick however I do want a personal life as well which isn’t unreasonable, is it? I do understand I do need to be up to date and I haven’t any hands on clinical experience of late but I still read journals etc and speak with my friends who are nurses. At the moment I feel devastated and I know thats a strong word but I fully committed,changed my life style and sacrificed a lot in order to become a nurse. The only option I have left is to become a HCA which is what I was before I started my training. I feel that the last five years of my life has been a waste (I went to college full time for 2 years as well as working part time and then 3 years at uni) I was advised to apply for HCA positions which I am currently doing in order for me to keep up to date with my clinical skills. The thing is though the roles are completely different so I dont really see this as a great help. As the nurse pointed out she and others will still take on newer qualified nurses over me so how will it in fact help me in the long run if I am always going to be overlooked anyway due to my year off. Any advice will be glady received as I cant see a way out of this dreadful situation I now find myself in.