New grads are expensive...really?

flyersfan88 · Oct 24, 2015

Between you and your preceptor, the hospital is basically paying two people to do one job. Considering how in the hospital's eyes, nurses don't make the hospital any money anyway.....I think you have your answer.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 24, 2015

Between you and your preceptor, the hospital is basically paying two people to do one job. Considering how in the hospital's eyes, nurses don't make the hospital any money anyway.....I think you have your answer.

But that isn't something exclusive to new grads. Very few facilities are going to just throw a nurse on a floor without some orientation.

Larry3373 · Oct 24, 2015

I work SICU with 3 years experience, 1 of which in the ICU. I still received 8 weeks orientation, not counting 1 week classroom orientation. I also get paid more than a new grad doing the same job.

flyersfan88 · Oct 24, 2015

But that isn't something exclusive to new grads. Very few facilities are going to just throw a nurse on a floor without some orientation.

Well I guess it's all subjective based on the facility. I wouldn't necessarily argue that 6 weeks for a new grad is expensive in and of itself, considering my facility gives 10 weeks on the floor plus 2 weeks classtime in your first 3 months, unless you're in critical care, which is 16 weeks plus classtime. But then you factor in the slower pace a new grad works, which will likely lead to them staying late, the "likelihood" of more mistakes, etc etc....

But I don't think it's difficult to see where a facility that is too cheap to properly train a new grad for more than 6 weeks would get off saying it's expensive. When hospitals are business and nurses are a financial drain.....

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2015

But that isn't something exclusive to new grads. Very few facilities are going to just throw a nurse on a floor without some orientation.

Five years ago I had almost accepted a med/surg oncology position at an outlying community hospital until the unit manager told me I'd be receiving one week of floor orientation and one week of classroom orientation.

I had never worked in an acute care hospital before. I declined the offer. My point is that not all hospitals offer generous orientation periods.

BiotoBSNtoFNP · Oct 24, 2015

But that isn't something exclusive to new grads. Very few facilities are going to just throw a nurse on a floor without some orientation.

My floor gives new grads 12 weeks orientation (including one week of hospital orientation).

Experienced nurses (greater than 6 mos experience) get the same 1 week hospital orientation and SIX shifts with a preceptor on the floor.

For my hospital, orientation (paying a preceptor and new employee) for new grads is four times more expensive than experienced nurses. Of course experienced nurses are earning more money per hour which would factor in. But overall, if we are looking at the cost of the preceptor, new grad orientation is significantly longer than non new grad.

xtine618 · Oct 24, 2015

In all the places I have worked, (and they've all been in the ICU), new grads get at least 12 weeks. Other new nurses ( but not new grads) get anywhere between 1 week and 6 weeks, depending on the facility and how much experience that nurse has. That's quite a difference between the two.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Oct 24, 2015

They are paying 2 nurses, one of which is at a higher pay grade, to do one job.

They are paying for a person specific to new grad orientation corporate education. Which means that person is not doing their "regular" duties during that time, or if specific to this, a position needed to be created.

The same can be said for a nurse educator who is certifying in ACLS, PALS or whatever it is that you are needing for certifications.

And the investment of once your contract is up, you are free to get another position, and have the experience to do so.

I have even experienced nurses who use all of this orientation/certifications/education whilst pursuing their NP. After which they move on.

And there are more than a few who will take "any job" for a year, get everything they need to meet their ultimate goal, then leave.

Which is all well within your rights to do. But that is a giant monetary and resource expense, to then have someone jump ship.

And then it all starts again.

Galendria · Oct 24, 2015

Like other posters have said, my hospital gives a bit longer orientation to new grads than experienced nurses (12 weeks vs. 8 weeks). However, I think the real reason (and its controversial) that hospitals think new grads are expensive is the perceived higher turnover rate that they have versus experienced nurses. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but I have seen more than a few new grads come to my floor, get 12 weeks of orientation, stick out the mandatory time to stay, and then transfer either to another floor or to travel nursing. I have a feeling that hospitals have that thought in mind when they say new grads are expensive to train :/

xxdiscoxxheaven · Oct 25, 2015

But that isn't exclusive to new grads right? Experienced nurses on my floor get a 12 week orientation as well

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Oct 25, 2015

The differences in orientation time I'm seeing for new grads vs experienced nurses in some places in interesting. Our local hospital system offers between 12-16 weeks of orientation for new grads and nurses with less than 1 year of experience depending on the unit. Experienced nurses get between 6-12 weeks depending on unit and what their level of experience is.

I can see where it could get expensive. A nurse I worked with left our facility to go to the hospital. She bragged up how great and thorough the classroom segment of the orientation was. Once she was on the floor she decided she hated it and left to come back to us. Now that was a waste of her wages for training that she never used. Of course she got to keep the ACLS/PALS certifications she received on the hospitals dime.