New Grad Programs - Do they not tell you what shift you work?

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Is it common to go into a new grad program, with a contract, and not know what shift you will be working? Or is this a red flag?

On 10/19/2021 at 2:48 PM, AJcardiacRN said:

I am a little suspicious of these residency programs for this reason

I have been suspicious of them almost from the beginning because I feel I had an excellent orientation by experienced/expert-level nurses on the unit into which I was hired years back. I had about 6 weeks of training on day shift, then 6 weeks on night shift, which was the designated shift for the position I signed. It was a med-surg specialty floor so I also attended classes related to the speciality, which was part of the orientation. It was not called a "residency," as those either didn't exist for nurses or weren't widespread at the time. It was a plain old "orientation," and an excellent one.

Meanwhile, lately we have heard various things about the residencies--people being trained by novice nurses (hear this one a ton), people being taken off orientation early due to staffing needs, various other supposed educational perks such as monthly meeting with cohort, lunch-n-learn type things, process improvement project involvement (who wants to do that while trying to learn a new role??)--I'm just not at all convinced that the whole thing isn't more dog-and-pony show, which hospitals are very good at. Right out of the gate it basically isn't comparable to former generations' plain old orientation if there are no significantly experienced nurses to do the training. They basically are not truly investing in new nurses in my opinion. If they were, it is quite less likely that they would need to rely on contract obligations to force nurses to want to stay around for awhile.

8 minutes ago, YouCanCallMeFrank said:

I found out the week I started (from another new grad, mind you) that the residency program had been cancelled and my orientation would now be 12 weeks.

Frank,

Out of curiosity, did you have to sign a financially-obligated contract for this privilege?

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@YouCanCallMeFrank, RN

yikes! that set up is how the new grad program I was offered was set up; mine was a HCA hospital in Southern California- is yours the same too? I had thought about accepting and doing the training and wishing for the best for my day shift, but since HCA has a 2 year clause I was afraid I would end up owing the hospital more money than earned. 

I just accepted a contract tracer position that is temporary for now at a school district, and am filling out paperwork etc for my PH certificate since I am still applying else where. Definitely disheartened but not going to be discouraged. 

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Specializes in Medsurg/tele, IMC/PCU.

@JKL33 I am not under contract at all. That being said, I live/work in a smaller state with very few hospitals to choose from -- really only two healthcare systems in the entire state. The one I work for is supposed to be the "better" one, as we are the only magnet and level 1 trauma center in the state. My employer will not allow transfers between units/facilities unless the employee has worked a minimum of 6 months in their current position. It's also extremely difficult to obtain a job if you ever left a position on bad terms, despite the amount of time that has lapsed or the rationale behind the departure. Also--fun fact--nearly everyone on my unit has fewer than 3 years of experience. A rapid response was called on one of our patients, and it was my preceptor's first....

@newnursewhodiis It's not an HCA hospital, but it sounds similarly short sighted -- penny smart and pound foolish. Honestly, I would have really preferred the residency program, but it is what it is. There was another hospital nearby that deals with less acute patients, but was offering $2 more per hour and a "float residency", which allows all new grads to work on each unit. I would have really loved that, but unfortunately I was dazzled by my hospital's reputation for being the best. If only.

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@YouCanCallMeFrank, RN  wow... I am so sorry you have had such a rough start. Thank you for sharing your experience. Another reason why I am deciding not to move forward is because I know if I break my contract I might burn a bridge and I swear these huge umbrella giants for hospitals monopolize so much of the job market. You are nearing one year- so you are close- hopefully you can explore the alternate hospital in a floating nurse role

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@hopefulrn"I have a autoimmune condition I am working on regulating, so I am at a loss right now". 

You are not at a loss. Get a note from you PCP stating you need to be on first shift.

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@hopefulrn  yes, this is true I could, but I do not feel that it is necessary to do since California is an at will employer, and if they simply do not have the room/ need for a day shift I do not see how it would make a difference. They haven't asked why I have my preference, I have stated that there is simply no way I can work nights. Thank you for the idea though!

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@hopefulrnare staffing levels that good in California right now? I know that they are really struggling to fill positions in most areas of the country. If a RN by me threatened to quit, she/he would be moved to first shift straight away.

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@2BS Nurse I feel like California is a bit saturated, so when it comes to being a new grad- from what I have seen, you are expected to be grateful to be selected for a new grad program. I cannot speak for seasoned professionals. 

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Specializes in Dialysis.
On 10/21/2021 at 10:36 PM, JKL33 said:

I have been suspicious of them almost from the beginning because I feel I had an excellent orientation by experienced/expert-level nurses on the unit into which I was hired years back. I had about 6 weeks of training on day shift, then 6 weeks on night shift, which was the designated shift for the position I signed. It was a med-surg specialty floor so I also attended classes related to the speciality, which was part of the orientation. It was not called a "residency," as those either didn't exist for nurses or weren't widespread at the time. It was a plain old "orientation," and an excellent one

I think we had more hands on at clinicals + more clinical time. Current students in my area do 1 day a week of classes and 1 day a week of clinicals-and they are back in clinical areas at least, thank goodness. I remember going every semester 5 days a week, with 2-3 days of clinical, depending on semester, and staying all day for those. The other days of the week were classes and we were expected to be there at least a half day, if not the whole day for the classes. Today's students are seriously shortchanged. Like you, my classmates and I had a brief orientation and went on

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New grads used to have a waiting period to find out if they passed the NCLEX. They could start working and get oriented for 6 weeks or more before they were licensed and permitted to work alone. I'm guessing today's notification time is immediate. Not necessarily a good thing.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
On 10/26/2021 at 7:27 PM, 2BS Nurse said:

New grads used to have a waiting period to find out if they passed the NCLEX. They could start working and get oriented for 6 weeks or more before they were licensed and permitted to work alone. I'm guessing today's notification time is immediate. Not necessarily a good thing.

It's been years since that. NCLEX with short notification time has been going on for years. Pencil and paper stopped 20+ years ago, along with the long wait times. Up until covid, many hospitals continued to train new grads until licensure, many residency programs allowed start without licensure, but needed to be obtained in x timeframe. But because of the intensity of need for nurses at bedside, that's why I suspect it stopped

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