I recently graduated nursing school in Florida and moved to North Carolina and accepted a job on a Telemetry unit. I started orientation at the beginning of February and everything has been going great. The other day the scheduling coordinator e-mailed me and said that she was putting me on the schedule to work on my own at the end of March. This will only give me two months of orientation which I do NOT feel is enough time. It is a smaller hospital and they do not have any type of orientation program. The hospital I worked at in Florida had a 4 month training program that included mostly floor training but also had different modules that had to be completed that went over the different body systems and different procedures. So I guess I was expecting some type of "official" program. Everyone on the floor has been more than helpful and are always there to answer questions if my preceptor isnt available. I guess my biggest question is how long should a New Grad be allowed for orientation? I am going to talk with her in person and tell her that I dont feel comfortable being on my own after only 2 months. I need her to understand that I want to protect the patients, my license and the hospital. Im just not sure how much time I should ask for because I have heard people say they have had anywhere from 4 months to a year for their NG training. Thanks for any responses.
Cody