keeping up on skills

[RNGraceNM]

So I have a question...where do I go and what do I do to practice my practical skills if I'm not using them in my day to day job?

I've been working community mental health (my first RN job) for about 8 months now. Tricky thing is it's alot more policy/management than I like (I am the first and only health care professional on the team). I am terrified that if I ever want a job somewhere else I won't have the relevant experience and will have lost the practical skills I had at the end of nursing school. I am in this situation in the first place because no one around here was hiring new grads a year ago. Is there some known route where I get that orientation that so many other new grads got when they went into the hospital?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

This situation is so common that I have often thought that this is probably an opportunity for a nurse entrepeneur -- 'skills labs' for nurses to practice/refresh their skills. But I have never heard of it happening outside of a formal refresher course.

Have you considered getting a PRN position at a hospital or LTAC? This would give you some hands-on practice.