Where to start?

Med surg is where most new grads start no matter what their career ambitions are. It is a good place to start. You will get exposed to a wide variety of procedures and skills as a med surg nurse.. From there you can keep your eyes and ears open for what positions are available in other areas of your hospital.

If the hospital offers a float pool position that is even better. You will find out about all areas of nursing as a float.

The hospital I did clinicals at usually assigned about 4 patients to a nurse. I've heard the one I'm applying at usually assigns 6-8. What is usually a good patient to nurse ratio?

At my hospital we usually get assigned 5 to 6 patients, which is pretty difficult as a new grad myself. But it's definitely manageable, and makes you really appreciate a night when the census is low and you have 4.

The hospital I did clinicals at usually assigned about 4 patients to a nurse. I've heard the one I'm applying at usually assigns 6-8. What is usually a good patient to nurse ratio?

Was this for night shift though? An assignment of 6-8 pts is pretty typical for nights on a med-surg unit although 5-6 is more desirable. 4-5 pts is typical for days.