Best place to gain RN experience

[licorice14225112060]

I am an RN and would like to know the best place to gain some experience. Nursing homes want to make you a supervisor right away before you even have experience and give you 30 - 40 patients a shift and the hospitals don't want to take the time to train you. The orientation is good but once you get to the floor sometimes the nurses just avoid you and don't want to guide you through the steps. How does a new nurse navigate her way through? What should she brush up on as far as clinical skills. Alot of the hospitals have you take a medication and math test. How do you brush up on this. They will not even consider you for the job without taking this test.

[kidnrsjac8, ADN, BSN, LPN, RN]

hi! i'm new to an, but--certainly not to those feelings of being "new" on the job. after almost 20 years of formal nursing experience, i still recall, and will always remember those early days of trying to get into learning situations without getting in "too deep".

working in a smaller, community hospital gives you opportunities to do nursing in all areas and if you are like i was, i really wanted that. my love and passion will always be working with women and children--which was working in the newborn nursery and working my way up to becoming the manager of that small obstetrics department. when our area was slow, though, there were almost always needs for help elsewhere in the hospital.

you never know when having some experience in er, snf, med-surg or even icu, to add to your resume may someday make just the difference you need in your career! i loved it and miss it.

my "experiences" in life have resulted in so much more that could add value to my career, if the body and opportunity every come together again to pursue "more". one's life could hardly be more full than ours right now. :balloons: experience indeed!