How Long is your New Grad Orientation at your facility?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. How Long is your New Grad Orientation at your facility?

    • 109
      Less than one month
    • 210
      Up to two months
    • 195
      Up to four months
    • 107
      Up to six months
    • 37
      Greater than 6 months

658 members have participated

How Long is your New Grad Orientation at your facility? Please answer the poll and post a reply to share more specifics. Thanks

Specializes in NICU, ICU, Case Management.

the orientation process in the hospital i just left varied from unit to unit depending on staffing needs. in the critical care areas (sicu, micu, nicu, tele, er) there was a combination of classroom & bedside orientation. in the classroom, they were taught how to read rhythm strips, critical care meds, some a&p and acls. the orientation program was designed to last 4 months, and up to 6 months for those who needed a little extra time. however....several factors changed this: if an experienced nurse felt she/he did not need the entire length of orientation, they could opt to come off bedside orientation - they had to continue to attend the classroom portion and get signed off on any skills they had not yet completed. also, staffing issues, especially on the renal & tele floors dictated the length of orientation. i saw many new grads taken off orientation too early just to fill a shortage on that shift.:nono:

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I have just accepted a position in a Federal Medical Center with a new grad. orientation of up to 6 months. I am under the impression that if you are deemed ready to be on your own you don not have to go the full six months.

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Forgive me for saying, but long orientation programs just SEEMS like a way to keep average pay levels down for the same work you will get AFTER orientation.

A long orientation program does not mean you are trained any more, except by experience alone. You are just getting paid less for doing the same exact job. Tell the company that you'd like to see the customer have the same discount charged to them, as your training pay %. And watch their reaction (they can screw you, but...).

Long orientation equals lower pay. This is common in the trucking industry as well. Better or higher paying companies will have short orientation programs.

And anyway, EVERY thing is negotiable.

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Long orientation equals lower pay.

Not where I work. You don't get a different pay scale for being on orientation vs. off.

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Not where I work. You don't get a different pay scale for being on orientation vs. off.

Great, you work for a good company. Some companies would rather 'churn' lower wage newbies until they find low esteem diamonds who want to work for almost free. Its really hard to compare how each company formulates their profitability schemes: but ultimately, the drivers of profit (RNs) must pay for non-value-add indirect overhead labor who makes all the decisions.

Can you see the conflict of interest for the success of the organizational objectives here? Indirects may get fatter and fatter (overstaffed AND overpaid) in greedy companies, when the success rests with its profit drivers: the RN's!

Orientation is just another possible fudge factor to needle the workers pay level, whether uniformly (bad) or individually (may be good but also subjective in many cases) :trout:

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Specializes in SICU.
Forgive me for saying, but long orientation programs just SEEMS like a way to keep average pay levels down for the same work you will get AFTER orientation.

A long orientation program does not mean you are trained any more, except by experience alone. You are just getting paid less for doing the same exact job. Tell the company that you'd like to see the customer have the same discount charged to them, as your training pay %. And watch their reaction (they can screw you, but...).

Long orientation equals lower pay. This is common in the trucking industry as well. Better or higher paying companies will have short orientation programs.

And anyway, EVERY thing is negotiable.

Your not a nurse yet. When you finish nursing school and pass the nclex then you can take a job with no orientation as see how long you last in this profession. ALL the hospitals that I interviewed at had a set pay rate for new grads that was the same on or off orientation for that first year. Nursing is NOT the trucking industry.:trout:

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Our grad program is for a whole year. We have 3 rotations through different areas (generally a medical ward, surgical ward and a mental health ward). at the begining of each roation we have 1 week working with our preceptors and then we are on our own but with more support if we need it. It was a good program

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I went from working as a CNA at a rehab hospital to an LPN in a long term care facility pretty much overnight. My orientation at the long term care facility was approximately 24 hours!

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Specializes in Postpartum, Antepartum, Psych., SDS, OR.

Orientation is 6 weeks for a new Grad. Not long enough!!!

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i am don at a ltc facility.. our orientation is 30 days.. however.. we have kept new nurses on longer then that.. also.. while they may be off of orientation.. they always have their mentor near them and we don't expect them to know everything for as much as a year..!!

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Specializes in Tele.

6 weeks is the average here in south florida

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Specializes in Physician office, Hosp, Nursing Home.

I had 4 weeks which included: 2 days general orientation that all employees get, 1 day reading Policy and Procedures manuals, and one day on the computer. Which really gave me 16 actual days on the floor. (M/S) I was paired up with a different nurse every day. Some good some bad. Some that didn't want to be bothered training a "newbie." It sucked. Every nurse had her own system, and I tried to take the best that each nurse had to offer, but it was difficult because I was so green and didn't really know how to budget my time efficiently. I was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork. I had no idea nurses had to put in admission orders, put the chart together, write out med req forms, write out our kardex's. Nursing school stress the dreaded care plan, but that is nothing compared to being my own wc. We also had to do the dismissal forms and instructions etc.We only get a ward clerk on first or second shift if the census warrants it. Midnights never have a wc and its about 50-50 if we get a cna. I work in a small hospital and its all about $$$$. Needless to say the staff is burned out. I used to come home crying. I've been at this job 9 months and sticking it out because I want the med/surge experience to get my feet wet. I need to develop my skills etc. Also I figure orientation for a brand new nurse is hard and stressful everywhere.

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