First RN Job - just wondering if this is common?

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Hi guys, I'm a new RN and am a little frustrated with how long this whole process is to take.

I graduated in June, did a 9-week externship in the ED of a local hospital in June/July, was offered a job there in the ED in August, got certified in ACLS and PALS in August, took and passed NCLEX in September, and now they're saying it will be about a month before they can review my documents, call me in for the physical, do the background check and get me an offer letter.

I'm just curious if this is common place - for it to take so long? I was hoping I'd start orientation in October and be on the unit by February, but now it looks like November/March. Is it always such a slow process?

Any insight would be helpful - thanks in advance!

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I think that's strange. It's almost like they're making you hold on just in case they want you. It shouldn't take that long to push the paperwork through. I would say a month at most.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I don't think it's unusual - in my experience, all kinds of things unrelated to the applicant can delay hiring/start date. Is your position to be newly created? If so, the budget for the position may not be allotted until some future date. Or are you possibly replacing a current staff member who is leaving the job. The ED manager may have other projects going on as well that are taking up his/her time instead of focusing on filling the position.

One word of caution: if you do not have an offer letter -- you do not currently have a position. So while I hope that this works out for you with this particular department, I hope that you are continuing to pursue other opportunities as well.

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I don't think it's unusual - in my experience, all kinds of things unrelated to the applicant can delay hiring/start date. Is your position to be newly created? If so, the budget for the position may not be allotted until some future date. Or are you possibly replacing a current staff member who is leaving the job. The ED manager may have other projects going on as well that are taking up his/her time instead of focusing on filling the position.

One word of caution: if you do not have an offer letter -- you do not currently have a position. So while I hope that this works out for you with this particular department, I hope that you are continuing to pursue other opportunities as well.

That is a good warning. You would not be the first person a position is taken away from.

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A lot of times HR/management will have someone's start date coordinate with when the hospital's monthly general orientation date is, and they'll have a bunch of people(food service, CNA, nurses, coding staff, social workers, etc) start on that date. Its very possible that you just missed one, so they are pushing you back for the following month. (The same can be said for nursing specific orientation to learn the EMR and general nursing policies, etc, that they may do that every so often and start a bunch of people at the same time for it.) HR is notoriously slow.

But as the others said, its good to be cautious because you should at least have gotten an official offer...

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Just a simple thought re the delay - what if your references were very sloooow to respond to the facility request? It happens. as well as the other reasons that PP have suggested.

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Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

Yes, this can and does happen - it happened to me and someone I worked with. Our respective departments had to "create" GN positions and it doesn't happen overnight. Not sure if that is the case with you, but it doesn't sound completely out of the ordinary. I would keep your ears open for other opportunities, though.

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thanks all for the comments and ideas!

to be more specific, I got a verbal "welcome to the team" from two nurse recruiters and the ADN of the ED. the ADN actually told me she also hired so and so from my school, as well as two others from different schools and she's convinced that we're all going to make a "great group of RNs on the unit" - so everything is telling me I'm hired EXCEPT for the official offer letter. the nurse recruiter even spent about 30mins on the phone with me explaining all the benefits, salary, union details, etc. BUT, as I know, it all comes down to the offer letter which I haven't gotten so yeah, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.

The nurse recruiter told me the process is that HR has to review all my documents, do the background check and call me in for a physical and assuming everything is good, then they give me an offer letter, but in the past at other non nursing jobs, I've gotten an offer letter CONTINGENT upon my background check and drug test, meaning it's null and void if both are not spotless, so yeah, I find this a little odd and wanted to know if it was commonplace in nursing.

I am continuing to apply and (hopefully) interview at other places though - on one hand, the hospital that has kind of verbally hired me is a city hospital in a rough neighborhood and not necessarily my first choice of facilities, but on the other hand, they're placing me in the ED which is rare around here (usually you need at least 2 years experience) and I already have experience working there and love the team. The benefits are great and the salary isn't bad either, it's just the rough neighborhood and some of the patients.

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