I am a fairly new grad. I just graduated and passed the NCLEX in June. I have been applying to plenty of hospitals all across South Western Ontario and have not been able to find a hospital job. I noticed that a lot of home care agencies were looking for RN's and although I didn't want to do community nursing I figured that at least home care would allow me to use my skills. During my interview I asked about the orientation process and was told that I would have 2 days of in-class orientation and at least 6 days of training with a preceptor. I accepted the job but during my in-class orientation I was informed that I would only have 1 and a half days of in-class and 2 and a half days with a preceptor. I didn't learn much in the in-class orientation and it seemed very unorganized. I had the first day with my preceptor today and I am completely overwhelmed. I feel like after 1 or 2 more days with a preceptor I still won't be ready to care for patients on my own as I have no prior home care experience. I would be working as a visiting nurse with this agency and would have up to 10 patients per day. I am thinking about asking for more training days.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? And can they refuse to give me more training days?
I am a new RN with 1 year of experience. Looking to switch to home care in Ontario. Wondering how the orientation varies between different agencies and companies? At this point in my career I'd be willing to trade convenience and pay for learning opportunities and support.
From what I've heard and from my own experience, the orientation for nurses working in home care in Ontario is not very good. Most home care agencies have short orientations (1-3 days). The agencies are desperate for nurses and there is a high turnover of nurses. If you go over to the USA, their orientations for home care are much longer (around 3 months). But if home care is something you really want to do I say go for it!
NewGradRN114
28 Posts
From what I've heard and from my own experience, the orientation for nurses working in home care in Ontario is not very good. Most home care agencies have short orientations (1-3 days). The agencies are desperate for nurses and there is a high turnover of nurses. If you go over to the USA, their orientations for home care are much longer (around 3 months). But if home care is something you really want to do I say go for it!