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

MY ORIENTATION WAS 6 WEEKS. 4 WKS IN THE CLASSROOM AND THE INSTRUCTOR LEFT US PRETTY MUCH ON OUR OWN,THEN WE WENT TO THE FLOOR-I WAS SHIFTED AROUND 4 DIFFERENT PRECEPTORS AND THE NURSE I SPENT THE MOST TIME WITH, WAS THE WORST NURSE ON THE UNIT. THANK GOD, THINGS ARE CHANGING FOR THE BETTER THE NEW GRADS WILL STAY WITH THE SAME PRECEPTOR FOR WEEKS WITH THE MOST QUAILFIED,TRAINED NURSE ON THE UNIT. I FEEL CHEATED, BUT AT LEAST THE NEW NURSES WILL BENEFIT. I AM ON A MED SURG UNIT AND THE TRAINING FOR THE IV INSERTION WAS 2 DAYS AND I ONLY DID ONE STICK AND THEY:trout: REFUSED TO GIVE ME ANYMORE TIME, I REFUSED TO SIGN THE FORM THAT I WAS CERTIFIED. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHER I CAN FIND A GOOD IV CLASS?

Specializes in NICU.

12-14 weeks on the unit with a preceptor, including 8 weeks of didactics.

RN516 ... I am not sure how each hospital works, the one I work for has IV courses for LPN or RN. I was already certified (LPN), but I could go as a refresher. You should check into it just as a refresher, even. I will say though, it seems like switching preceptors is the norm. I was lucky and had the same one throughout. It seems to be a huge complaint though, with new nurses. Consistency is the key, yet if your preceptor stinks, you may be better off switching around a little. Good luck!

Specializes in ortho/neuro/general surgery.

Usually 6 weeks but I managed to get 8 weeks as a new grad, plus 3 days of learning the charting, etc. I had 5 weeks on my med-surg floor on days and then 3 weeks on nights. I probably would have asked for more orientation but the nurse that I had been stuck with for several days in a row is a lazy, naggy, good-fer-nuttin' PITA so after 4 days with her I begged to be on my own.

What really irritates me, still, is that I was on my own roughly 3 months when the more senior nurses on my floor, with a h$%& of a lot more knowledge and experience than me, made ME orientate another new grad for several days in a row. Thank goodness she's an excellent nurse despite that, but still.... Didn't seem safe to me at all.

Specializes in Pediatric ED;previous- adult Ortho/Neuro.

I am a new grad, we start with about 4 days hospital orientation, 3 days of learning the computer charting system, then 18 shifts with a preceptor. It went quick, I have been on my own a few weeks now, and sometimes feel like I know nothing and ask a million questions.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

12 weeks for brand new grads, longer if necessary.

12 weeks.

In our ER for new grads or for those coming from non ER backgrounds we do 40 shifts with a preceptor on the floor, plus 6 weeks (one day a week each) of a regional training class and an our facility specific class to didaticley review things.

Wow! That is awesome... I would love for that to be true here in Florida... The ER in some of the hospitals here in SW FL (I'm talking specifically Bradenton/Sarasota/Tampa area), the ER new nurse orientation is SEVERELY less than that... :-( If I'm wrong, someone from this area let me know and I'll be applying!

Sounds like any new nurse would excell after an orientation like yours. Congrats!!!

Specializes in Medical/Oncology, Family Practice.

New grad orientation is a max of 6 months. We spent about 2 weeks in the classroom at the beginning. Most of us are completing orientation after 4.5-5 months. We have a preceptor we work with the majority of the time, once we are well on our own, we have a resource person on the staff to go to in case we have problems or questions. Our current orientation program was set up with a grant that the hospital is no longer receiving.

I have heard rumors, however, that the next group of new grads will have 4 months.

Currently we keep new grads on orientation for 6-8 weeks or longer if needed but we are putting together a new grad unit where they will start on this unit and stay as long as they need to do this. Has anyone else used this concept of an orientation new grad unit?

Thanks Toni

Specializes in nicu.

I am still on orientation for the NICU and I think it's great. 2 weeks of hospital orientation (i.e., going over benefits, learning the computer system, instilling hospital pride, etc., which didn't need 2 weeks but I did get paid :) ) 1 week of NICU classroom time. 5 weeks in level 2 NICU internship. Another 1 week of NICU classroom time. 5 weeks in level 3 NICU internship. 12 weeks of level 3 NICU orientation. Which totals to be about 6 months. I am also the only intern who has had the same preceptor for the entire time I have been on the floor. She is great and really knows my strengths and weaknesses and I learn a lot from her. I feel lucky to have a great orientation program so that at least the first half of my first year in nursing isn't so bad. I just hope I learn enough by the end of this year so that I can work comfortably without a preceptor. :)

I work in a very small rural hospital 11 acute beds with a 3 bed ER. My orientation to the floor was suppose to be 6 weeks but ended up only being 1 week (almost) but I was working with one other nurse that I could go to with any problems or concerns I wasn't much help to her when she had patients in the ER. Even though I think it made think more on my own and made me learn faster You know how it is in nursing baptism by fire.

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