Getting back into the clinical game

[cdthorste]

I'm a fairly new nurse- about three years' experience. But all my work experience has been non-clinical: in home health and research. I currently work in private duty pediatrics. Any advice about how to get a job in a hospital would be much appreciated. Relocation is no problem at all. I can pick up and move anywhere in the U.S. What hospitals would be most likely to train an experienced nurse?

[TiredKitten]

You don't say if you are BSN or ADN. That being said, if you are willing to move to Arkansas, the hospitals here are desperate to hire RNs. With over 700,000 people in the Little Rock metro area, and several mega hospitals with 500-600 beds, plus a ton of smaller hospitals and specialty hospitals between the city and bedroom communities, it's not hard to find a job. I graduated two years ago and most of us had job offers before taking NCLEX. Arkansas Children's Hospital with its 359 beds is one of the largest in the US, is about the only one requiring BSN at graduation. But, if you have 12 months of any RN experience, they wave the BSN requirement at hire but do require you to get it within so many years. With peds experience, they would snap you up.

Fort Smith hospitals in the Arkansas Oklahoma border is also hiring with doing a massive expansion this year.

And don't worry about training of you decide to check any out . I've work in a psych hospital for almost two years, with no med surge experience. The 3 big hospitals I have talked to so far all said I'd get a shorter (most were 6-8 weeks) orientation/residency since I only have psych experience.