LostnNakedNursing

Thanks again everybody. I have one last question. Am I justified in declining this job offer? Outside this board, I'm feeling a "new grad entitlement" passive feeling from people (counselors)

Wow, a lot of responses. Thank you everybody. Today I did have a phone conversation with the nursing director and one of the nurses on the unit today. Here's what I found out: so there are always two nurses on the floor with one CNA and one MD. The nurse told me that the cases are usually not acute although there are a lot of times where a patient has to be transferred out. At any given time, there could be no patients or back to back patients. The nurse told me their craziest day was with 30 patients in one shift and it was just the two nurses! Overall, the nursing director said that the introduction but as for formal training, I will not receive it. I will just be one of the two nurses and I will learn from whoever I'm working with. When thinking about it, taking this job would be risky especially because my learning will be based on the other nurse. If it's busy then I'm on my own and learning by fire. Also, the ability to teach comes with experience and a plan; how will I know the other nurse will actually build my foundation. I need structure in order to learn. The nursing director did say this was a stepping stone job and that they hire new grads so they can get experience. He wasn't expecting me to stay for more then two years. I never did get a full answer of how the previous nurses where trained though. In the job description, it said I will receive x amount of training. I have been thinking long and hard about it and I decided not to accept the position.

Thanks for your response! You brought up everything I'm concerned about. The nursing did say it wasn't in their budget to train me as they usually do but I'm thinking why are you hiring a fresh out of school new grad if that's the case. I'm still thinking about it but I don't think it's worth the risk.

I don't think I'm going to be assigned to another nurse. From my understanding, there are always two nurses on the floor with one CNA and the ED doctor and I will be one of the two nurses. They were vague on how exactly will I be learning from the other nurse. The impression I received was "go out there and learn as much as you can"

Thanks for your response. I'm considering an ED job at a rural hospital which will not have an orientation program and I'm trying to decided if I should take it or not. I didn't know if it was a common trend for rural hospitals not putting their nurses through orientation or if it was just my prospective hospital in general.

I think I should say yes because I need the job but I think I'm also putting myself at risk as well as my patients. What if a ambulance brings 4 or 5 trauma cases back to back and it's just the other nurse and me? I won't know where anything is at and I would be expected to fulfill all these tasks from the get-go. At least with orientation, I could work with someone who will show me how they do things, instead of learning by error. At the same time, I won't know where anything is nor do I even know how to document. It's quite a big jump but I'm also thinking, maybe I need that.

Greetings rural nurses! I feel like this is a dumb question but do rural hospitals have an orientation program for their new nurses? Or is it common for rural areas to just have their nursing start on the floor without any orientation to the floor?

Greetings! I been reading through these forums and I'm wondering if you can help me decide if I want to accept a job or not in the Emergency Department. I'm a new grad who is about to start at a 6-bed Emergency Department hospital with around 10 other beds for observation and acute care. I'm starting in two weeks but today, I received a phone call about my schedule and they said they are no longer going to do a orientation or a training program and they wanted to just have me start on the floor with the other nurse. The nursing director reassured me and said that I will learn from the other nurse but I don't know how I feel starting in a emergency room without any previous nursing experience and without an orientation to the unit. Do you think I should dive in or am I putting myself (and patients) at risk?