What Qualifies as "Experience" for employers?

mcknis · Nov 4, 2009

Contact the HR department at the facility you are looking at. They would be your best bet as to find out how much experience one needs for a certain position.

RNperdiem, RN · Nov 6, 2009

How much your orientation will cost out of their unit budget.

Three weeks or six or eight?

How many unit specific skills can you already perform.

MedSurgeMess · Nov 7, 2009

Many places look at how much time you have worked on a unit in a hospital or setting like the position you are applying for. I am on an interview panel for hiring in my facility, and unfortunately, many new grads list their clinical hours as experience. If an employer states that they want experience, they want someone who has the listed number of years taking care of multiple patients without the direct supervision of an instructor or preceptor. In some cases now LPN experience doesn't count because some facilities want RN experience because they are different roles. Like an above poster stated, call the facility in question and ask, it's the only way to know exactly.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 8, 2009

i agree with the others ... ask the facility. however, i am willing to bet that prn jobs are not going to remove the new grad title. in fact when i got my new job i was grilled by several people on the floor about my work experience as a rn. they want to hear that you worked full time in the hospital setting (or ltc) for more then 1 year in order to be treated like a nurse that is no longer a new grad.

in fact, hr may accept 6 months to 2 years of full-time experience in an acute care setting or 1-3 years full-time outpatient. prn as a new grad may not appeal as nursing work experience for most recruiters and hiring managers at this time. however, i do not think you should preclude it from a resume (something is better then nothing).