Poll: How long is your orientation?

[jessi1106]

Hi,

I started working as a GN last week. I had 5 full days of central nurse orientation (covered benefits, union, computer system, infection control, blood product administration, incident reporting, hospital proceedures, etc) . This week it is 3 days of med-surge orientation. Next, 5 weeks of unit orientation with a preceptor.

I am hoping that this will adequately prepare me.

Just wondering if this is the hospital standard?

[TraumaGirl1018]

Just started 4 days ago (three and a half days in classroom, half of a day in unit) in an ICU. Our orientation is 12 weeks long, and our educator said there's always the option of extending....which, at this point, Im feeling like I might take them up on that option!!

[Lilnurse0803, RN]

I started working at my hospital on May 14th and received two and a half days of network orientation (general employee information, i.e. payroll, HR policies and procedures, and benefits) and 2 weeks of intensive classroom training specific to nurses, courtesy of the hospital nursing department. Once we were cleared from the nursing department orientation, then my clinical orientation began. Intertwined in my clinical orientation, I received a full day IV therapy/Peripheral Venous cannulation course, EKG Interpretation course, Online Medical Management and Documentation, and a 2 day Breastfeeding Class.

I was hired to work on the Labor and Delivery unit, however, I am currently cross training for 5 weeks (ends the w/o July 2nd) on the Antepartum/Postpartum/GYN/Well Baby Nursery side of the floor. I am working 5 days a week from 7:30am to 4:00pm. After this part of my orientation is done, I will begin my orientation in L&D that can span about 4 months. This training will consist of OB Triage, L&D, Recovery, and OB OR (C-Sections, etc.). I will then start shadowing my preceptor's schedule which will be 3, 12 hour shifts.

[norseman]

I have just started working on a busy med-surg floor in Sweden. Standard orientation is four-five weeks here. Can I ask you something? In this country you become a nurse (RN) after three years studies which mainly qualifies you as a med-surg nurse. Then, if you want to work in an ICU, with anesthesia, psych etc, you are required to take another year in school to specialize (although some hospitals will hire an experienced nurse and orient him/her "on site").

My question is, in the US, have I understood it correctly that you dont have set programs/classes in school that you must take in order to be qualified tp work as an ICU-nurse, psych, operation, etc, and instead you have longer orientation at the ward/field you want to work in, up to six months?

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

My question is, in the US, have I understood it correctly that you dont have set programs/classes in school that you must take in order to be qualified tp work as an ICU-nurse, psych, operation, etc, and instead you have longer orientation at the ward/field you want to work in, up to six months?

Correct... You graduate from your 2 or 4 year program as a "generalist" registered nurse. Undergraduate nursing classes almost always cover OR, ER, ICU along with everything else (depends on the degree/program) When you graduate, the options are endless. While hospitals prefer RNs with experience in those more specialized fields, most hospitals offer extended/specialized orientations, some up to 6-9 months to gain experience/confidence. Nurses are needed in every specialty field...You can obtain national certifications after a few years in your particular area, but they are rarely required, usually only make you more marketable..... I hope this answers your question!

[1studentnurse]

I just started as a rehab nurse 6/18. Our orientation is 3 months, with an option to extend it (often folks add 2-4 wks.) I will be orienting to all three rehab units, so I may actually ask for the extra time, so I can spend it orienting on the units I will have to float to later. I will be a D/E nurse, so after August 1 (when my hubby finishes a business commitment) I will orient on evenings, so I know what they do in the evenings (so far, I've only worked days).

Rehab does not float nurses until after they have been in place for three months following orientation. This is very important, too, because you could end up somewhere unlike your regular unit (like L&D or ICU).

That was the main reason why I chose rehab in my hospital, since we do not float throughout our host hospital (we're a hospital within a hospital--separate corporate unit of the multi-state hospital system).

[hikernurse]

Our orientation (level III NICU) has a step-by-step program that actually lasts a couple of years. The first stage lasts 4-5 months and includes class time each week, plus working with a preceptor.

There's a lot to learn, but I like knowing I don't have to know it all within a month or two :).

[medchick]

I am working on a busy level III NICU. I had 12 weeks of formal unit orientation, 2 days of hospital orientation, 2 days of nursing orientation. I will still have a resource person available to me for the next couple of months so I am never on my own for a while.

[icuwant2rn]

I had 1 week of class room orientation, followed by 12 weeks of preceptorship with a coulpe of extra 1 day classes tossed in. This was for a med/surg floor. ICU, ER, etc. get longer orientations.

[pinktwink6]

I am working on a pediatric med/surg floor and my orientation consists of 1 day of hospital-based orientation, then 1 1/2 days of nursing specific orientation, and then 6-8 weeks of orientation on the floor. So far I am on week 2 and it is going well!

[DCJ3]

I was hired for a postpartum/antepartum/well baby nursery unit and my orientation is 6 months long. The two first weeks are classes that the hospital makes every newly hired nurse take (ie. restraint policy, IV mgt, wound care, etc). We are now in week 3 of the orientation and we are doing the 1st of 3 unit-related classes and the rest of the days on the floor with our preceptors. We will be with our preceptors for 12 weeks on days and then move on to having about 2 patients by ourselves on nights (the shift I'll work) with a mentor that is to be a resource person to us.

The grads hired for the delivery room and NICU do the same thing except that their orientation with a preceptor is 16 weeks long and they have to take dysrhythmia classes.

[mitchsmom]

I had a week of hospital orientation (4 days of caring & sharing about the hospital and 1 useful IV/ports/pumps, etc. day) followed by 12 weeks of precepted LDRP orientation (no further classroom except NRP and fetal monitoring classes).

[edisongirl25]

:lol2:At the hospital where I work as a GN, the "orientation" period is tailored to each individual's needs. We had one week of mandatory hospital orientation, and then we are sent to the nurse residency unit for however long we need to feel confident.