Mayo Clinic 2018

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Hi everyone! I'll be graduating May of 2018 and got a job offer at Mayo Clinic, Rochester! I thought I would start a thread for all who are thinking of applying to Mayo Clinic and will be graduating in the spring or if you already got hired, you are welcome to share any thoughts on how to land a job there! Even though it is far away, I would like to start looking for potential roommates as well! :)

That is awesome! I don't graduate until next year and didn't even think you could apply that early. Congrats!

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Was anyone not offered a position? If that's the case, do they call or email or do you just not hear back after interview?

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I am a May grad starting at Mayo too! I'm moving from Illinois and start the last day of July. Are you still looking for a roomate or have you found a good way to go about finding one in the Rochester area?

Thanks!! I'm so excited!

Congrats!! Looks like we'll be in the same residency group! I'm moving from Iowa but I don't plan on living with a roommate. I know a couple others on here were interested, though! And I've had success in the past with finding roommates on craigslist.

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I work at Mayo and went through the nurse residency program. Let me know if you have questions about Mayo or Rochester!

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I work at Mayo and went through the nurse residency program. Let me know if you have questions about Mayo or Rochester!

Yes please I have lots of questions! I have an interview with them coming up soon (yay!) so will love to know about the new grad program and about Rochester from your perspective.

1st, about the new grad program

What is the program like? Are there classes w/ assignments, projects etc?

What is the training schedule like in relation to the work schedule?

Nursing at Mayo

Is it true that there are teams for various procedures including inserting foleys, rectal tubes etc? If so is there any concern that one might lose some nursing skills?

Do you have any idea what the turnover is for nursing staff?

About Rochester- I here from the grapevine that trained at Mayo (residents/fellows) that they found it too boring a city and it wasn't worth it to move there. That doesn't make much sense to me cos I think they obviously had more opportunities after training in a place like that. But the comment has gotten into my head and is making me a little nervous. From what I can tell the cost of living is very affordable (sweet!) and it's cold (but I'm from New England so I can handle the weather). Did you move from out of state for the job or are you from the area? Anything more you can tell me about the city and its social life will be much appreciated!

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Yes please I have lots of questions! I have an interview with them coming up soon (yay!) so will love to know about the new grad program and about Rochester from your perspective.

1st, about the new grad program

What is the program like? Are there classes w/ assignments, projects etc?

What is the training schedule like in relation to the work schedule?

Nursing at Mayo

Is it true that there are teams for various procedures including inserting foleys, rectal tubes etc? If so is there any concern that one might lose some nursing skills?

Do you have any idea what the turnover is for nursing staff?

About Rochester- I here from the grapevine that trained at Mayo (residents/fellows) that they found it too boring a city and it wasn't worth it to move there. That doesn't make much sense to me cos I think they obviously had more opportunities after training in a place like that. But the comment has gotten into my head and is making me a little nervous. From what I can tell the cost of living is very affordable (sweet!) and it's cold (but I'm from New England so I can handle the weather). Did you move from out of state for the job or are you from the area? Anything more you can tell me about the city and its social life will be much appreciated!

The new grad program will depend on your specialty. If you are doing critical care, it has it's own set of classes with assignments and 3 exams. There will be weeks where you will be in class 2-3 days all day, and then on your work unit for 2 shifts.

The nurse residency itself doesn't have assignments, aside from a research poster project that is due at the end of the residency. You can do it as a group though, so it wasn't too bad. The residency itself just meets like every 4-6 weeks for an 8 hour day, typically 7a-3pm. If I remember correctly, there were 8 total sessions. A lot of it has to do with just acclimating you to being a new nurse and dealing with the stressors that come with it. They have a lot of interesting speakers and group activities at the sessions as well. It's very engaging and you don't feel like you're just sitting in a class all day.

Regarding nursing at Mayo. Yes, it is true that there are teams for foleys and IV's and drawing labs. If you work in radiology or the ED, the nurses there do their own IV's. Personally, I don't feel like I'm "losing nursing skills". We teach laypeople how to do these things all the time, if you end up changing jobs down the road it's not really that difficult to pick up and learn quickly. Especially with getting time management down as a new grad, you'll be thankful to have a few task-y things that you don't have to worry about ;)

As far as turnover goes, it really depends on the unit. The unit I work on has 10+ nurses who have been there for 20-30+ years, and even more that have been there 10+, so I would say it's pretty low for the most part. Pretty much everyone I talk to says how spoiled we are at Mayo though, and can't imagine working anywhere else. Our staffing and resources available exceeds what most people would call a good work environment, so there is that, and they treat the staff really well. The physician culture at Mayo is unlike most other places as well. They are always polite and take your recommendations to heart.

About Rochester - I can definitely see that being a drawback. It wasn't for me, cause I enjoy being a homebody. If you're young and like to have fun I can see it being a little boring, but the Twin Cities is only 70ish miles away. I know a lot of nurses who just go the cities every weekend. Personally, i think working at Mayo is worth the tradeoff of being in a small town with no much to do in terms of night life. I did move from out of state, and I haven't regretted it for a second. You really can't beat the cost of living vs how well Mayo pays, either.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

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I work at Mayo and went through the nurse residency program. Let me know if you have questions about Mayo or Rochester!

Thank you so much for being willing to answer questions! I have a few! I recently accepted a job on a medical cardiac PCU, and I'd love to hear more about Mayo.

1. What unit(s) did you work on?

2. What was relocating like? Did you rent or buy a house? My wife and I are looking into buying a house. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the housing market. We will be moving from Montana with a 3 week old baby!

3. What shifts did you work? My shifts are 72 hours ppp, 8 hour shifts (days and evenings).

4. How often do you get low-censused? Do you get sent home if there aren't enough patients, or do you float to other floors?

It's so good to hear that you've had a good experience. It's hard to relocate and uproot yourself! I think the experience at Mayo will make it worthwhile, but it's stressful to have so much change!

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Thank you so much for being willing to answer questions! I have a few! I recently accepted a job on a medical cardiac PCU, and I'd love to hear more about Mayo.

1. What unit(s) did you work on?

2. What was relocating like? Did you rent or buy a house? My wife and I are looking into buying a house. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the housing market. We will be moving from Montana with a 3 week old baby!

3. What shifts did you work? My shifts are 72 hours ppp, 8 hour shifts (days and evenings).

4. How often do you get low-censused? Do you get sent home if there aren't enough patients, or do you float to other floors?

It's so good to hear that you've had a good experience. It's hard to relocate and uproot yourself! I think the experience at Mayo will make it worthwhile, but it's stressful to have so much change!

#4) I was told in my interview that they do not cancel people. If you are low-censused on your floor, they will float you to another unit. You will always get your 72 hours in, they do not cancel or send people home. That's what I was told at least. Which I think is good!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The new grad program will depend on your specialty. If you are doing critical care, it has it's own set of classes with assignments and 3 exams. There will be weeks where you will be in class 2-3 days all day, and then on your work unit for 2 shifts.

The nurse residency itself doesn't have assignments, aside from a research poster project that is due at the end of the residency. You can do it as a group though, so it wasn't too bad. The residency itself just meets like every 4-6 weeks for an 8 hour day, typically 7a-3pm. If I remember correctly, there were 8 total sessions. A lot of it has to do with just acclimating you to being a new nurse and dealing with the stressors that come with it. They have a lot of interesting speakers and group activities at the sessions as well. It's very engaging and you don't feel like you're just sitting in a class all day.

Regarding nursing at Mayo. Yes, it is true that there are teams for foleys and IV's and drawing labs. If you work in radiology or the ED, the nurses there do their own IV's. Personally, I don't feel like I'm "losing nursing skills". We teach laypeople how to do these things all the time, if you end up changing jobs down the road it's not really that difficult to pick up and learn quickly. Especially with getting time management down as a new grad, you'll be thankful to have a few task-y things that you don't have to worry about ;)

As far as turnover goes, it really depends on the unit. The unit I work on has 10+ nurses who have been there for 20-30+ years, and even more that have been there 10+, so I would say it's pretty low for the most part. Pretty much everyone I talk to says how spoiled we are at Mayo though, and can't imagine working anywhere else. Our staffing and resources available exceeds what most people would call a good work environment, so there is that, and they treat the staff really well. The physician culture at Mayo is unlike most other places as well. They are always polite and take your recommendations to heart.

About Rochester - I can definitely see that being a drawback. It wasn't for me, cause I enjoy being a homebody. If you're young and like to have fun I can see it being a little boring, but the Twin Cities is only 70ish miles away. I know a lot of nurses who just go the cities every weekend. Personally, i think working at Mayo is worth the tradeoff of being in a small town with no much to do in terms of night life. I did move from out of state, and I haven't regretted it for a second. You really can't beat the cost of living vs how well Mayo pays, either.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for sharing!! This was very helpful. You've given me an idea of what to expect. I'm not a night crawler so I feel a little better in regards to that too.

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I work at Mayo and went through the nurse residency program. Let me know if you have questions about Mayo or Rochester!

I also have a question if you don't mind! I was wondering what to expect at the POPA/HR appointment. They mentioned a physical and a dexterity test or something? I've had to pass a physical abilities exam for a previous healthcare job and it was pretty difficult! It included lifting and pulling things, sit ups, etc. Does Mayo require anything like this?

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That's awesome! Thank you!

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@ andy: I work in one of the ICU's at SMH. We rented a house, it can be tough to buy here - the houses go pretty fast, but it's not impossible. I work 12s, but I know people who do 8s day/evening and days are 7am-330pm and evenings are 3pm-1130pm. My unit doesn't get low census very often, typically we are full and are the ones getting floats from lower census units. I think I have floated twice in the 20 months or so that I have been working here.

#4) I was told in my interview that they do not cancel people. If you are low-censused on your floor, they will float you to another unit. You will always get your 72 hours in, they do not cancel or send people home. That's what I was told at least. Which I think is good!

That is not entirely true. You can get what is called an EA or excused absence, where you basically get your scheduled shift off and you can use PTO so you're still paid. Mayo staffs by acuity in 8 hour increments so if your unit has a surplus of nurses and there isn't a need for a float, the managers definitely want the charge's to send people home. Typically though, that is correct, you will float to other units you are qualified for. For example, if you don't work ICU you won't ever get floated to an ICU, but if you are ICU you can either be floated to another ICU or even general care floors. You won't ever float to the ED, Peds, NICU, Psych, or other speciality areas like PACU or the OR etc. If you do end up floating you usually get a pretty easy assignment as they know it isn't necessarily your area.

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