how much orientation did you receive as a new grad?

Nurses New Nurse

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I keep reading these posts about new grads being dumped on a floor with little to no orientation.

How much did you get?

Mine was a week with another nurse, after that I was on my own with 5 med/surg pt's with no CNA on the floor. It was tough and totally unfair, but I thankfully survived.

Specializes in TCU.

I've been at my job exactly ONE year as a new grad, and I received exactly THREE days + ONE day with the admissions nurse (with an admit who refused to be admitted, so basically I did nothing). Three days on the floor as a new grad on a CRAZY busy TCU with way too many high acuity Pt's (LOTS of geri-psych)!! My floor also is primary care: we pass Rx, do Tx, and all charting: comp & paper, we are also required do many of our Pt ADLs (toileting, ambulating, etc) and our average Pt load for any given day is 6 (occasionally 5 or 7). Often times along with many of our other duties we have admits and discharges to do. To give you an idea how bad things are, we've lost 9 RN's in less than three months!! I can not wait to get the heck out of that place!! I will be moving to Tucson AZ Jan 1st, and have begun applying for jobs out there, but I've injured my left rotator cuff rushing in the AM while transferring, and I've got to get it healed before I move (my first EVER workman's comp injury, even while I was a CNA I never lost anything more than a day out on a sore back)!!

BTW~I am hoping to snag a position at a Carondelet hospital (SM, or SJ ideally), as they have a RN to BSN, BSN to MSN programs, and I would love to get a position and plant my feet there for a good long time.

RIP Robert John, my sweet boy! I miss your beautiful soul!

1/28/83 ~ 11/17/10

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Specializes in Nurse Educator, Culturally Sensitive Nsg.

"~I am hoping to snag a position at a Carondelet hospital (SM, or SJ ideally), as they have a RN to BSN, BSN to MSN programs, and I would love to get a position and plant my feet there for a good long time." Try for St J's over St M's... speaking from experience... "

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Specializes in TCU.
"~I am hoping to snag a position at a Carondelet hospital (SM, or SJ ideally), as they have a RN to BSN, BSN to MSN programs, and I would love to get a position and plant my feet there for a good long time." Try for St J's over St M's... speaking from experience... "

Could you elaborate Rainey? I have been applying, and haven't heard anything back, but plan on calling w/in the week to follow up on submitted resumes since my shoulder is feeling better. TIA!! ;)

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Specializes in Nurse Educator, Culturally Sensitive Nsg.

Never worked at either, but having been a pt at one, and having friends working at both, St Joe's is more respected... St Mary's is in a much rougher part of town, and is STRAPPED. St Joe's has a better rep, and some great resources, esp if you have any mother/baby interest... Personally, I spent 28 hours in the St M's ED w/ a ruptured Appi. before it was a "Oh, You need sx!" really? St J's seems to be a better learning experience, anectdotally.

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A little off topic.....

Is it common for some hospitals to have one nurse on a unit orient 2-3 nurses? Cause I was told I would be "sharing" a preceptor with two other newbies. How is that gonna work? Would us newbies have to split that preceptor's patient load?

Hi aikz....

I think since you're all graduates, they feel they can do that. But if you are off to do a procedure (vs just getting vitals, or giving meds that you're comfortable with) that you're not comfortable with, you still have someone 'assigned' to you :) Not sure about the patient load- I'd think that they'd start off with the same load, but towards the end they might add more, depending on how you all are doing and feeling about things (you'll be really surprised at how fast you start to feel comfortable with things once you do them a few times :up:).

When I moved back to my hometown and started at a hospital here, there were 2 weeks of classroom (REALLY boring, especially since I was the only RN in the bunch). Then 6 weeks of scheduled precepting....OY. It was horribly long (granted I was going in with 17 years of experience)....and my poor preceptor, who was really nice, was bored. She helped others, and was always around for questions about paperwork, where things were, etc... but once you get the basics of the shift down, you'll feel a lot more comfortable than seems possible right now :)

Hang in there ! ;)

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Specializes in Mother Baby & pre-hospital EMS.

As a new grad, I got 17 weeks of orientation (average at the facility for nurses was 12 weeks).

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Specializes in TCU.
Never worked at either, but having been a pt at one, and having friends working at both, St Joe's is more respected... St Mary's is in a much rougher part of town, and is STRAPPED. St Joe's has a better rep, and some great resources, esp if you have any mother/baby interest... Personally, I spent 28 hours in the St M's ED w/ a ruptured Appi. before it was a "Oh, You need sx!" really? St J's seems to be a better learning experience, anectdotally.

Thanks! I'll push for St J's, but wouldn't mind St M's to get my foot in the door w/Carondelet. St Marys wouldn't be bad as eventually I plan on getting MSN then DNP specializing in Global/Community Health, and working at St M's would be right up my alley (working w/the disadvantaged). I've been thinking a lot since my oldest son died last November that I may become something like a missionary or work w/an organization like DWB, and live abroad in developing countries where I may feel like I am doing the most good (once I get my Doctorate).

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During orientation are you there full time? Are they ever flexible about when you can come such as days or nights? I am in the process of starting to look for a job so I was curious of how the orientation process works.

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Specializes in TCU.
During orientation are you there full time? Are they ever flexible about when you can come such as days or nights? I am in the process of starting to look for a job so I was curious of how the orientation process works.

I am full time (well 64 h/ppp), and no, not flexible. I had 2 orientation days on the floor @noc, 1 orientation day on the floor @days, and 1 orientation day with Admit nurse (which was there regularly from 1300-2100, but we only have admit nurse when we have more than 3 admits per shift due to medicare cut backs). Every facility is different re: orientation.

Good Luck

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

6 weeks.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
During orientation are you there full time? Are they ever flexible about when you can come such as days or nights? I am in the process of starting to look for a job so I was curious of how the orientation process works.

At my facility they were very flexible...I just spoke with my manager about which nights I wanted to work and she scheduled me accordingly.

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Specializes in LTC, geriatric, renal.

I got a job in a LTC unit and as a new grad only had 6 shifts shadowing another nurse. I didn't feel like it was enough. It doesn't help that its a prn job and so I'm not as comfortable without having designated hours every week.

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