New grad programs a new thing?

allnurses Guide · Jun 9, 2012

New grad programs are still pretty much the same as they always were, but used to be something that was nice but not required in order to find work as a new grad. Now it is the only way in for a hospital position in many parts of the country and there are fewer of them available due to massive expense and high turnover from new grads (who tend to leave after they get the golden one year of experience). In my area of the country it is pretty much the only way to get one's foot in the door for a hospital position. Too many new grads plus fewer openings for them means fierce competition (300-600 applications for every slot has been the average around here) and those slots usually go to those who have inside connections in the hospital, usually by having worked in the hospital during nursing school. Even that, however, is no guarantee anymore unfortunately. Other than having successfully networked with the hospital, having any experience as a patient care tech and having held leadership positions during school (such as class officer or SNA officer) seem to help as well, but less so than being on the inside.

Morainey, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2012

I can only think of one hospital around here that still has a new grad program. I think they sound wonderful for new nurses, but I believe they are expensive to run and thus got cut from budgets. In the past they would have a sort of cohort of new grads, who would work on the floors with preceptors but also sit for a certain amount of classroom time, is the fairy tale that I heard.

allnurses Guide · Jun 10, 2012

I can only think of one hospital around here that still has a new grad program. I think they sound wonderful for new nurses, but I believe they are expensive to run and thus got cut from budgets. In the past they would have a sort of cohort of new grads, who would work on the floors with preceptors but also sit for a certain amount of classroom time, is the fairy tale that I heard.

Here in DFW this is the only way into the hospitals for the most part. I had three weeks of classroom with exams that had to be passed prior to moving on to eight weeks of precepting on my floor. Getting into these programs seems heavily weighted toward who you know and whether you worked in the hospital in some capacity during school. Sadly though even these programs for many are no longer considered a "hire". You basically go through the program and if you are wanted or needed at the end of it the manager has the option to hire, but the job is not guaranteed at the end. It is called a "stipend" internship, meaning the individual gets a flat rate stipend per month with no benefits and no employment at the end unless the manager chooses. It is basically a working job interview.