Heaven27

I'll be applying to the program in 2025 for the 2026 start date. They have an in-person and online option. I came to this post to see if there were any reviews of the program , but so far there are not any. I'm especially interested in how clinical placements are arranged, the quality of the lecture content, and preparedness for the field. I already met with a admission counselor; however, they only know general information.

It was awhile ago that I applied, but I was fairly high ranking at 19,18,17,16 depending on the application. It didn't take long for me to get a response but I think I heard back no later than 2 months. This was during a time where all hospitals were desperately looking for nurses ,New graduates especially, since Covid-19 pandemic was still going on and many nurses were not returning to bedside. Presently, hiring for acute care facilities have returned to pre pandemic demands or are on hiring freezes. At the county they are required to post a Clinical Nurse I position for, but they may actually be looking for a nurse with experience who meets criteria for Clinical Nurse II or III. This can make getting in much harder. If they don't see enough Clinical Nurse I with experience, they often go to administration and file claims to then open an official posting for Clinical Nurse II and III. If you have no acute care nursing experience at all, its important to apply to the "Training Program" that is designed to hire nurses with little to no experience in the specialty area. If you apply to the Clinical Nurse I position they are mostly seeking someone with 9months to 1 year in the specialty area who won't need a whole lot of training on the floor.

I also want to share I went to O'Connor and trained in a program with both O'Connor and SVMC nurses together. The newer cohorts had a different experience than I did when I began in Nov 2021. O'Connor changes their way of doing things often, while SVMC does not and is more similar to what I mentioned in my posting earlier. Only things is at SVMC you train on the floor 5 days a week ( 8 hour shifts) for the full length of the training program regardless of your code status. Their ED folks may have an exception because they work 12 hour shifts sometimes. I think a few other units such as their PCU might also be transitioning the length of their shifts. . At O'Connor and St Louis you do 12 hour shift and your schedule is usually 3 days a week on the floor. Both hospital may training you to do tele-monitoring as well if you request.

Hello, The New Grad Training Program/Specialty Training program is comprised of various clinical nurses. You may have Clinical Nurse I-IVs in the same cohort. Additionally, there will be various coded nurses. Coded staff are either full-time or Part-Time benefited nurse. Non-coded nurses receive no benefits and are required to work several shifts a month with one weekend. The training you receive is the same regardless of your code or clinical nurse status. O'Connor and St Louis offer mostly Coded Positions where as at Santa Clara Valley Medical 98% of their training programs seek Extra Help Nurses. With that being said, SCVMC is well known for their strong training programs and have experienced coordinators teaching the classes additionally if you plan to work in a Trauma/Critical Care setting they get the trauma patients, more complex patients, and have more ICU specialties. Lastly, their hospital is very large and you'll get to learn how to function as a RN within a very large and expanding facility. Coded staff: Full-Time/Part-Time Regularly Staffed Can join the RNPA nurses union and hospital committees Health Insurance Paid Sick Leave/ Paid Vacation / Paid Educational Leave/ Family Leave Pension Ect Non-Coded Staff: Per Diem/Extra Help Per Diem have no benefits, In Mid-Feb 2023 they will be making 20% more pay than coded nurses Extra Help have no benefits, and make significantly less than coded nurses who are in the same clinical ladder as them I think like 10% less So within each cohort you may have staff who say the have been hired as ( Extra Help Clinical Nurse I which is a non-benefited position and some who are Coded. I personally think the extra-help positions are still worth accepting because the training here is good and is more traditional. I've been in another Residency where they don't teach your anything, but the county will teach you and go over the skills you need. Each hospital has different training requirements , but in general they are 5 days a week (40) hours The weeks alternate between Didatic in-person training and being assigned to a preceptor Preceptor ( primary and secondary as a back up). How well this is Enforced depends on the unit. I was mostly with my primary 80% of the time but my secondary was never the same person I was assigned to. Sometimes the preceptors are experienced and sometimes it is their first time ever precepting. Some are very good at teaching others just show you how to be successful and how to function on the unit only, but don't have really good "Teaching skills" but thats universal among all preceptors The hospitals may vary but Usually you training only on Day shift and once your 10-13 weeks approaches you will be given a few days to orient to the assigned shift you were hired for. Extra Help can usually work any shift I believe. The acuity of the patients you get will vary from charge nurse to charge nurse. Some will totally take into account that you are a new nurse and will be cognizant of the patients you get ,and they may want you to see various patients to gain certain experience . Others will assign you like every other nurse but will encourage you to do your best and just ask for help if you need it from your peers or resource nurses. Why, because their are rules around nurses getting their patients back if they had those patients the day before so they may not always be able to give you patients based on your clinical readiness. This is why doing your best in the training program is so important. It's important that you know how to look up videos on YouTube , read Uptodate, and look up their policies. Extra Help nurses are a special case because many, eventually, will want a benefited and regular position. While Extra Help RNs ,in theory should get priority being hired for a coded clinical nurse position, compared to external candidates, the reality is Extra Help Nurses and Per Diem nurses are considered to be external hires and not internal hires. Never the less, most extra help go ,eventually, get hired with a code, but it can take time and it depends on your specialty also. Inpatient positions may take less time to get than an ambulatory setting RN. Also the hospital will matter, again SVMC doesn't hire many Coded Clinical Nurse I's , so this can make it harder to get a coded position their .

Hello, For the most part, the questions asked were follow-up questions to things I said about myself , interest, and experiences. I was asked questions about what makes a good nurse, how do I know I provided good bedside care and quality, what are ways I ensure safety of the patient, and my why progressive care vs other critical care areas No situational, but I am already a nurse in the inpatient setting, so I think they had a good feeling that I would do well in that area. It is only 30 minutes.

Also, I did get the reference form to get signed after the interview.

I was offered a position. It looks like the manager said staff self schedule themselves and weekends are not required. I'm still deciding on if I should take the position. It is very difficult to understand their benefit package posted on the website.

Okay. So it totally depends then.

Each facility seems to have a different hiring process. I was invited to two one as "Extra-Help Clinical Nurse I @ SCVMC" and "Clinical Nurse I @ Oconnor" SCVMC is an onsite interview while O'connor's is via online interview Also SCVMC requires 2 references to be filled out and emailed to them from preference of a manager prior to the interview whereas Oconnor did not. It is safe to assume that only hiring managers or manager aids will be present for each separate facility

Okay. Great. So happy for you. I also got an interview and the title was " Clinical Nurse I" but extra help wasn't the on the headline. So this is so confusing. I hope you love it. I think training is the main thing. The thing about Kaiser is they don't really have PCU units. They mixed their medical surgical and TCU units so everything is called "Med-Tele".

Also how did you like their training? Was it sufficient for you? Did you feel you had a good classes taught be well trained educators and floor training from decent preceptors?

I was able to get all my questions answered. After careful consideration, I will be declining my interview with SCVMC. I was ranked at the 87% percentile. 28 (Rank)/100. I received an invite about 1month later I think. I applied to their Clinical RN I - Progressive Care Unit : when I got the invite the position said " Extra Help Clinical RN " . After speaking with the managers, I learned that this role has 3 steps. 1st 12 weeks includes didatic/training 2nd 12 weeks work fulltime ( independently) to incorporate what all you learned 3rd: Your job classification is downgraded to the lowest job classification there is after Per Diem. Only requirement is to work 4 shifts a month which is not official. You must confirm that you can actually come in to work the same day. So No benefits, no real pay, and getting upgraded to a benefited employee ( staff nurse II) can be a bit tricky it seems since you have to apply to a whole entire new position to be eligible. It is very possible that some people don't experience these issues of not getting paid enough or taking a long time to get a staff II position I'm actually already a Staff Nurse II at Kaiser Permentente. I just completed their training program. I applied to SCVMC because of training in their PCU, but the program sounds awful after training. At least the extra help job. I was somewhat happy about extra help since I already have a job, but their fulltime schedule conflicts with my 12 hour night position. Wish they were more flexible considering its possible that you are not garunteed hours after training. Also I don't think you get full benefits since you are extra help.

Did you ever find out? I recently applied and was offered an interview but have not idea what to expect. Also, I applied for Clinical RN I , but they sent me back an acceptance for Clinical RN I "Extra Help" . I'm wondering how this differs from per diem or regular positions.

I'm so glad to hear this Michelle! CONGRATS. Yes, if you are waitlisted, you really never know especially with Covid-19. Also there is uncertainty about the program being online and some students may pass on the offer and wait it out. Also some students will take opportunities from other places.