Nurse residency programs--be aware!!

[LexiRN6]

Last year, I worked 6 months as a nurse resident at a large teaching hospital in Boston that I am not going to name (however it is currently #1 in the country, hint hint). At the time when I was applying for jobs, I was a new grad nurse after completing an accelerated BSN program through this hospital's school, so when I got the offer I thought it sounded like a great opportunity. They made it sound like a great resume booster and a good educational opportunity so I took it, despite the abysmal pay at $12.38/hr with benefits. They even said they would try to hire me at the end of the residency, which was scheduled to be some time in April 2016 (although no official end date was ever set).

I knew the pay would be tough to live off of, especially living right in the middle of downtown Boston. I was fortunate that I had some money saved because at the time I was 27, and nursing this was a second career and second degree for me. I was in the first wave of residents starting in June 2015, with more that were hired in September and December. Little did I know, they would eventually hire around 500 new grad RNs, making my chances of being hired at the end of the program smaller and smaller. Only about the first month of the program was spent on "education", and then we were set free to work on various units throughout the hospital. Before I knew it, I was doing the same amount of work (if not more) than other nurses, however getting paid 1/3 of what they were. Nursing aides were starting out with $15/hr pay. At first it was fine with me, but then it got old really fast. I mean, minimum wage in Massachusetts is $10/hr! I've worked retail jobs getting paid more than I was as a RN!

The hospital took advantage of new graduate nurses and is continuing to do so, without any guarantee of a full-time position at the end of the residency. The job was not only difficult on the monetary side, but after the first month there was no part of it I would consider to be a "residency" (other than the bad pay). It was so poorly organized for a hospital that is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I made the decision to leave the program early, and it was the best choice I could have made. I am now employed at another hospital, earning a real nurse's salary, with the opportunity for job growth and am MUCH happier.

Yes, I now have the basic RN skills and the big-name hospital on my resume, but I felt so taken advantage of during this time and never fully respected by most of my other colleagues. Many of them viewed us as "fake nurses" or that we were only there because we couldn't get jobs anywhere else.

My advice to new grads looking into residency programs--make sure you know what you're getting yourself into! Perhaps if I was younger and able to live with my parents this would have been a better opportunity. However, as nurses, we are the ones who keep patients alive, the ones that keep hospitals open 24/7 to help those in need, but this program made me feel as though I didn't matter to the hospital not just because of the pay, but because I did not feel respected as a REAL nurse.

And after writing this, I feel the need to name the hospital...Massachusetts General Hospital. I'm curious to hear of other people's experiences with residency programs...please share!

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

This is very true of the big-name hospitals. They will take advantage of you and pay you less than you'd make other places because you have the "blessing" of having their name on your resume. Duke in NC is like this, too - offered me a full $3/hr lower than anywhere else in the state, just because they're Duke.

Not all residency programs are that bad, though. The hospital I work for now full time, my PRN gig, and my first job all have residency programs - and they pay new grads fairly, at least $20/hr across the board. $20/hr for my residency was very reasonable... considering I lived in a rural area where I rented a 3 bed, 2 bath house with a garage for under $800 a month at the time. They didn't even come after me for the prorated value of the program when I left after a year instead of staying the two years I'd signed for, which was even better!

I would advise people just to do their homework on a residency before accepting. Low pay is a big nope, high value of the residency is a nope, and long contracts where they do actually come after people is a nope. I would not sign an agreement for more than two years or more than five thousand dollars.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Yup, correct.

At the present time, opening a medical residency means years of hard work. Opening a nursing one takes just as long as printing a few beautiful pictures and writing a generic sweet text about excellence this and dedication that.

I went through the same type of "residency" and still have a feeling that only one reason for its existence was attempt of the hospital (which was, and is, a classic "rotating door", in which most people come for just that proverbial one year of acute care experience) to select very certain new grads who somehow could be groomed into acceptance of continuous employment there. Only those people were offered employment, and not in the units of their preferences at that. The rest was discarded as trash.

For new grads, if you are not offered CLEAR terms of future employment at the end of your residency, then there is a pretty big fat chance you're lied at. Make a note.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

About 2 years ago, some of us were debating this very residency program at MGH. Given the cost of living and the responsibilities of a nurse (even a new grad), that wage is an insult, IMO.

Health care aides with no education make 19 an hour where I live. Some of us argued that new grads would not be guaranteed a position, as you have pointed out.

Very unfortunate for many new grads.

[OscarTheOwl]

I have never heard of anything like this. Its really sad, new nurses are desperate for work and will take what they can get. No way that's a livable hourly wage for someone who doesn't even know if they'll be offered full time employment.

In my neck of the woods, new grad residencies offer full RN pay plus benefits.

[BeachsideRN, ASN]

That's absolutely absurd. The few residencies I've looked at offered new grad pay, with a little raise upon completion of the program

[ComeTogether, LPN]

Get me in Mass Gen and I will pay THEM 13 bucks an hour!

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

So ideally you had the potential to receive your year of experience to be able to get another nursing job with that experience.

Other new grads can not find a job due to lack of experience.

And I would perhaps edit your naming of the facility. I think that I would be more concerned that there's a HUGE parent company involved, of which I would not want to be on a do not rehire list....

Very fortunate that you were there long enough to be able to list all of your various experiences in order to get another RN job. Regardless of the pay (and I have read other threads on here that some new grad programs/internships pay nothing) isn't the point of residencies to get the experience you need to move on?

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

That is why you read the contract before you sign it. I did a residency program at a big teaching hospital, but it was part of my orientation after being HIRED. No contingency there. I did have to sign a contract that I would have to stay 2 years, ,which was fine with me as I already live in the area. Many that were hired did not finish the 2 years and have to pay back whatever the money works out to be.

I heard of what this hosp was doing about a year ago. It is one of those things that you have to decide you want to take the risk with. I am curious of what the eligible for rehire status if is if you do the residency that does not guarantee a job. It is not like you got fired. It was an open-ended position.

Interesting model. They don't invest as much money in a new grad and it leaves them and "out". Win-win for them. Not so much for the nurse.

They changed the program where I work since I was hired because they were losing money. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity I did.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

That's horrible! I was in a nurse residency program in NYC and we were already hired to a job on a specific unit and paid a full nurse's salary from day one. No contract was required and there was no grace period before we "hopefully" got a job. The residency aspect was really just a structured orientation program with several group meetings throughout the year to check in with us and see how we were coping with being new nurses. What you're describing is indentured servitude.

[nurseletDZ]

Hey OP. Really despicable. I have a friend (who you may know, she graduated from your program last year, as did my bf) that was hired as a resident at another hospital in that network. She left really soon after starting. They were really mad and told her she was black-listed. I think I'm remembering that right.... :) Luckily the residency programs in the area I'm at now (Philly) are much different.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I seem to remember a discussion about this.

I wasn't hired for a position in a residency; I was hired for a position on the neuro/ENT surgical floor. Along with my regular new hire floor orientation and competitive new grad pay I had classes designed for the new grad to transition smoothly from school to independent practice. Never in the CFO's wildest dreams would I accept licensed RN work for borderline minimum wage. I also turned down the sign-on bonus because I couldn't guarantee living in the area for 2 yrs (my husband was in his MBA program and we'd decided if he got a good job out of state, we would move.)

I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting a position in a program with no guarantee of being hired after, or even a promise of hire after...nope, I want to get hired now. How does that look once the residency is up? "Why did you leave that first position after such a short time?" "Well, they didn't want to keep me."