Do they have orientation programs for night shift?

[changeofpaceRN]

I WANT to work nights.. anyone have an orientation during the night shift or is it always during the day? I'll have a real hard time doing an orientation during the day until I can switch to nights because of my husband's schedule and the fact we have a new baby!

[nurse_drumm]

Hay there fellow night-shifter!! I'm not sure if anyone does orientation on the night shift, I can only speak for my own facility, and we do not. The actual orientation is done during the day, and the new staff member, if they are a new grad, will actually work the day shift under a preceptor in our new Internship Program for around 6-8 weeks, then go to their perspective shifts for another few weeks. If you're a "seasoned" nurse, you'd do the day shift orientation stuff, then go to night shift and work with a preceptor for a few weeks until you're comfortable. At that point you'd get your own assignment of patients, but a lighter "load" from the other staff, until you're comfortable in taking a full assignment.

I hope you can find what you're looking for.... there really is NOT enough of this stuff targeted toward the night shift worker..... it's an ongoing problem with our facility to be honest. *Sighhhhh*

[KristiePDX]

I had a three month orientation. 6 weeks on days, and 6 weeks on nights. I felt that I had a long enough orientation.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

My 1st job was 3-4 weeks days, 3-4 weeks nights. You had to do the day thing because we had classes.

My job now is 6-8 weeks days, 6-8 weeks nights and then 12+ weeks 11a-11p (but that is the shift I want....so I'm good with that).

[dansamy]

My co-graduates who were hired by the same facility for nights had to attend daytime nursing orientation week and afterwards went to night shift to work with a preceptor. It was just the one week of day time class for everyone. (M-f, 8a-5p kind of thing)

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

we do orientation on nights -- you'd still have to go to the classes during the day time and work a few day shifts to get the experience of admitting, transferring, etc. but you can ask for and get a preceptor on permanent nights.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

You'll have daytime orientation anywhere you go, no matter what. There are general orientations scheduled for new employees, classes for nurses, daytime seminars as well as preceptorship that occurs during the day initially. You do need the daytime orientation just to get familiar with those routines and skills as well (ie: most routine dressing changes occur during the day, so you get familiar with your hospital's protocols then--and you can do them when necessary at night without the questions that will invariably arise during the day).

I hired as a night person and like you had a tough time working out a daytime orientation schedule, but it was non-negotiable. There was a minimum of five weeks on days, also non-negotiable. After that, could do days longer if needed. I did have orientation on nights as well, but that's because, frankly, it's a different JOB at night. We do different things, in a different way, with different procedures. So you need orientation on both: days to know what your facility expects of you and what needs to be done, and nights to acclimate to the specifics of your "home" shift.

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

I was hired as rotating, ut as it turned out, the majority of my orientation became nights. I think I did four or five weeks of days total in my 6 month orientation. I preferred it that way though. We did have classes for 3 1/2 months that were in the daytime and I was required to attend them. I really like the night shift. I find it hard to be awake for the day shift.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Almost all orientations for nurses hired to work nights includes some of that time spent on dayshift. Perhaps you can arrange it with the manager that you need to work nights immediately upon hire without orientation to days. Please discuss this prior to getting hired. However, there usually is some hospital orientation, computer classes and such that is always day time. So I think you're going to have to allow for some daytime shifts at first.

Good luck!

[brandnewjerseyrn]

I work night shift, My orientation was 12 weeks long. 4 weeks were on night shift and the rest were on day shift. I'm glad I got mostly the day shift orientation experience because I really learned a lot, patients are always going for tests and procedures and we have patient rounds during the day as well as many more admissions and discharges then we see during night shift. My night shift coworkers are often asking me questions about discharges since we so rarely discharge patients in the middle of the night!

[caliotter3]

My first job was a night shift job, and I oriented on days for one week before going to my shift at night. That one week was quite an eye opener as far as giving me an introduction to the way things are done. However, the nurses on day shift did not particularly go out of their way to try to teach me everything. They said I would get the nitty gritty of nights from the night crew.

[gradRN2007, BSN, RN]

I start my 6 month orientation 7p-7a (t,w,th) on the 24th, I am the 2nd person to orientate at night. I was told i will be on days for a few weeks probably at the end of orientation to see the different aspects that you don't see on nights. thats okay with my, as a new grad i feel the nights will be a better pace to learn everything where i will be working in the cardiac stepdown unit. can't wait, good luck but at least you know night time orientatiion is out there somewhere