Memorial Hermann is planning on unpaid GN intersnship

[RNQueen]

Below is the email that I received from Memorial Hermann last week, what is your take about it?

Dear New Graduate Nurse,

Memorial Hermann is considering creating a RN Training Program targeted to new graduates who wish to gain invaluable hospital experience. This program would last anywhere from two to six months and would be offered in a variety of specialty areas throughout our system. While the Training Program would be unpaid, participants would be well positioned to be considered for employment at Memorial Hermann upon completion of the program.

We value your opinion and ask that you please take a minute to share your initial impression of such a program by hitting reply and indicating your thoughts below:

____Yes, I think such a program is a good idea.

____No, I do not think such a program is a good idea.

Comments:

Sincerely,

[cabanaboy]

I'm not totally against this. It depends on the situtation. Six months sounds a little long, but with the job market and the economy the way they are, I would be willing to try out the hospital, and the hospital try out me for awhile. Especially if I got the chance to go to a specialty department that I'm interested in. I would be making more progress towards my goals than I am right now as an unemployed new grad!

And, when the pendulum swings back and the demand for new nurses is greater, these types of programs will quickly go by the wayside because they won't be able to attract anyone.

BTW, unpaid internships aren't rare. They occur in many other industries as well.

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

Hospitals doing their best to keep nursing unprofessional...

[vivianchi2000RN]

seriously though, unpaid internship in the field of nursing can be very risky to the patients and the nurse. If volunteering as an RN carries huge liabilty concern, working for free as an RN would too bcos to me, its almost basically the same thing. like someone stated, its not like other jobs like engineering or accounting, this is nursing you hold a license which requires you to perform and uphold your profession to the best of your ability. Sad to say, when you are not getting paid at a job especially a tedious and highly demanding job like nursing, chances are you might not take it serious, you wouldnt want to show up.

what they need to do is limit the number of new grads which they are taking or reduce the pay scale of the new grads this will cut cost and new grads will get paid and everyone will be happy.

[Ms.RN]

If I have a better chance of getting into the internship, yeah I'll do it. Arent interships more competitive to get into nowdays? I'm about to move to tx and i'm worried about not being able to find a job. Internship should count as experience right?

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

I know we went from hiring upwards of 15 GNs each season to about 5 on my unit.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

If I have a better chance of getting into the internship, yeah I'll do it.

Please do not stoop to the level of rendering your services for free. No other group of educated professionals would work for free, so neither should nurses.

[krstxn]

I worked for free during clinical rotations in nursing school. Now I want to get PAID.

[schroeders_piano, RN]

Many professionals in other fields complete unpaid interships in order to gain experience or to get their foot in the door. Personally, I think this could be a good option for some new grads who are having a hard time finding employment or even new grads that might want to brush up or improve upon their nursing skills.

[sbyramRN]

Many professionals in other fields complete unpaid interships in order to gain experience or to get their foot in the door. Personally, I think this could be a good option for some new grads who are having a hard time finding employment or even new grads that might want to brush up or improve upon their nursing skills.

Please name the profession....they might work for free while still in school, but they DO NOT work for free after obtaining a degree. Nurses obtain a LICENSE. Why would they work for free? I think Memorial Hermann is insulting. I would never work for them. They aren't even that great....why would they think a nurse would want to work there for free??

[RNQueen]

how exactly are these gn's supposed to pay their bills for 6 months? and then, not to even be guaranteed employment at the end of all this?

supervisor before taking boards? how long did she wait to take boards? this sounds somewhat unusual. i wonder what type of facility this is...ltc, hh, hospital?

ltcf, and she was confirmed only after passing the board exam. but at least the fact that they gave her the position right out of school says something.

in another facility last year a bew rn got the don position just a few months after licensure. granted, she had been with the facility for a long time before then.

but to get back on topic, why would anyone take unpaid labor when there are other, sometimes better, opportunities?

[RNQueen]

I don't know of any profession that won't pay you something after you have the license to practice. The liability on their part will just be too great and the money they pay you makes you a lot liable too. It is easy to work unpaid while in school because you're still a student, your school instructor is mostly around, your school has a contract with the hospital, and you're NOT licensed. Everything is stacked against you working autonomously. But not as a licensed RN ladies! Stand up for your profession!

People get jobs even without an application on file! It's NETWORKING. Great work ethics, good demeanor, and networking. There are nursing jobs out there. Knowing the value of your profession is part nursing and in my opinion, if you think nursing is getting to the point of licensed RNs working for free for a while - even for Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins - you probably shouldn't be a nurse in the first place.

[Thangbom321]

If I have a better chance of getting into the internship, yeah I'll do it. Arent interships more competitive to get into nowdays? I'm about to move to tx and i'm worried about not being able to find a job. Internship should count as experience right?

Not to be rude or anything of that kind, but why would a person enter a "unpaid internship" to gain experience when you can do volunteer work? Not only is it experience, but karma. You will feel and others will see your contribution to society. I would defiantly volunteer and gain experience/insight at a job or career over "unpaid internship" unless they somehow do away with volunteer work due to overstaffed unpaid RNs.

YzGyz