Off Cycle Hires

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I was just curious as to how many people out there work at facilities that have off-cycle hires. This means you come in as a new employee during an off week, meaning it isn't the regular hospital orientation. If so, do you bring in people every week, every other week? If you do have off cycle hires what is the process for them? Do they start on the floor and then come back for hospital orientation during the normal time? What about contract employees?

Any details are helpful as I navigate this with my new job.

Tait

[loriangel14, RN]

I started and then had orientation day about 6 weeks later.This how they usually do it.

[APRN., DNP, RN, APRN, NP]

In my facility, the date of hire is irrelevant. No one is allowed to work without going through new hire orientation first.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I work at a small specialty hospital (less than 100 beds) where new employees are hired at all times of the year. If necessary, new nursing staff will receive an on-the-floor orientation, then return several weeks or months later for the hospital orientation after they've been working on their own for a while.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Thanks for the responses. The issue we are having, I work in education, is we do a one week (+ more if you count the endless CBL assignments people need to do) orientation each month. In addition to that we were doing a scheduled "off cycle" orientation plus then having the new hire come back for the next monthly orientation. Now it seems we get new hires every single week along with contract employees. This means we are basically orienting every week a group of 1-12 new employees, plus regular orientation, which lately has been 40-70 people, then on top of that doing all the tracking for mandatory CBLs plus education checklists, plus orientation checklists for the floors. So in the end we feel more like an Orientation Department than an Education Department.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

We hire and orient any time. Really just depends on the experience of the nurse. Every newly hired nurse takes a bunch of tests, then it depends on whether they did well or not. If they need more help, they get it. Some come in ready to run. General hospital orientation is normally just a few days, then they go to dayshift to the department in which they plan to work. If a nurse needs more help on the computer, we will put them with a unit secretary for a couple days.

[firstinfamily, RN]

I was just a new hire. Had a shadow shift on the floor I applied for, then general hospital orientation started about 2 weeks after I was hired. I was not to work on the floor until going through general orientation. Now I am still on orientation and buddied up with another nurse. I like this system because I can do certain things alone, and get the help I need while still doing the job that is expected. The computer seems to be the major issue. Funny how the patients stay the same but technology keeps changing. Orientation is going good, but I am a little anxious to get out on my own!!! I think this is a good process as if I would need more orientation I can request this. I will say with general hospital orientation we had a computer day that introduced us to the programs etc. But, until one is actually working and applying the program it really does not make much sense. I would suggest if you need to eliminate a day, that having someone in front of a class just clicking and pointing to the various programs and what they do is pretty much a waste of time. Let the orientees have a computer day actually on their floor so they can see how to apply what they are seeing with the patient with the program they have to use. It just makes more sense!!!