[kmcnelly]

I'm (almost) a nursing student (start in 3 weeks). I hear a lot about orientation after you graduate, and many orientations are btw 8 and 12 weeks. What is orientation? Is that having another nurse with you showing you the ropes? That just seems like a LONG time! It is probably very, very helpful, I'm just curious. Thanks!!

[tcdtx]

8-12 weeks sounds more like an internship, which is recommended and usually the only way to get into a specialty area. I went right into working on my Bachelor's degree after my Associate's RN, so I didn't have time for a preceptorship. I went to work for a hospital, that once I went through hospital-wide orientation, I was assigned to work with an experienced nurse. They told me I could orient with her for about 6 weeks, then they'd re-evaluate my needs. I only orientated with her for 3 weeks, and I was ready to go to the floor. The nurse who orientated me was wonderful. She started with giving me one patient, and built me up to 6 patients as my comfort and confidence increased. Good luck!

[Tweety]

It really flies by and that first day you're on your own after 12 weeks of orientation you're going to feel like you're not ready. There is so much to do, so much to learn, time management skills and critical thinking takes a while.

[danggirl]

Congrats on joining our ranks! Orientation is a time basically when you can see how your education actually fits into the real world and then learn the things they never teach you in nursing school! No seriously, 6-12 weeks is a fairly standard time for orientation. You'll probably start out assigned to one nurse as your preceptor who will hopefully tailor your orientation to your strengths and weaknesses. It is a great time to ask as many questions as possible, view as many individual styles as possible and most importantly develop your own personal style of providing care and managing your time. Good luck to you!