Rejected from OR nurse residency

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Specializes in CTICU.

Hi there!

so I work on a surgical/tele floor and I have been working here for 3 months. I hate it and I really want to move into the OR. I applied for an OR nurse residency program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (VERY well-known hospital) in Chicago. I thought for sure I would at least get an interview and possibly the job since I am still a new grad and have 3 months of floor experience. I checked my application status today and it said that they are not considering me for the position. I was absolutely devastated and shocked, and now I am just really sad because the thought of getting this position has been what's getting me through the job I am at. Now that that's out of the question, I cannot fathom the thought of staying there longer than 6 months.

Do you think they rejected me because it looks bad that I want to leave my current job after 3 months? I cannot understand what else it could be. I ended up calling the nurse manager of the OR directly and leaving a message to see if there's anyway I can talk to her about it. There is no place in the city right now offering positions to new grads in the OR, so this is my only shot. I am so let down and it is making me want to switch to PRN status at my current job because I that is how much I dislike it.

Any advice or thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also, any advice on how to get into the OR with no OR experience?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

It's not uncommon for OR's to insist on experience. The word "residency" does not mean "new grad" in all cases. In this case, it just might mean "new to OR."

If no hospital in your large city is offering OR positions to new grads, you just may have to get more clinical experience before pursuing that dream further.

See what the OR Manager says, but don't be surprised if you are advised to try again once you get some solid experience.

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I just put in 2 applications for OR residencies and I'm not counting on it. I have been working in psych for several years and most "real nurses" think I'm too dumb and too clumsy to get trained for anything else. No matter how many rejections I get with or without interview I will try to get into the OR.

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It might come down to hospital policy. Many institutions have a certain number of months required to work in a position before you can transfer. My current hospital is 1 year.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Agree with Roxy. Most likely it is a facility policy issue based on how long you’ve worked. Mine is 12 months after completing orientation, so really more like 15 months. Manager discretion is allowed, but without a manager preapproving applications hit the auto reject pile.

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Specializes in CTICU.
22 hours ago, llg said:

It's not uncommon for OR's to insist on experience. The word "residency" does not mean "new grad" in all cases. In this case, it just might mean "new to OR."

If no hospital in your large city is offering OR positions to new grads, you just may have to get more clinical experience before pursuing that dream further.

See what the OR Manager says, but don't be surprised if you are advised to try again once you get some solid experience.

It says on the application “for the novice nurse with no experience or less than a year experience.” Idk if it just says that and they still pick the best qualified nurses with more experience. Thank you for your response. Makes me feel a bit better!

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Specializes in CTICU.
3 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

Agree with Roxy. Most likely it is a facility policy issue based on how long you’ve worked. Mine is 12 months after completing orientation, so really more like 15 months. Manager discretion is allowed, but without a manager preapproving applications hit the auto reject pile.

Is this the case even if I am applying to a different hospital?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
24 minutes ago, Reaz said:

Is this the case even if I am applying to a different hospital?

Is it within the same system? If so, it may. If not, it shouldn’t, but they may see leaving a job after 3 months as a proceed with caution flag.

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19 hours ago, Reaz said:

Is this the case even if I am applying to a different hospital?

Oops, I'm not sure why I assumed it was the same hospital system. It would not matter if it was a different one.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

OP: Were you auto rejected or rejected after some time? Either way, call the recruiter for the position and ask these questions. Typically, rejections occur because someone else was in line for the position. Even residencies rely on hiring managers. A hiring manager may already have a nurse applicant who works for the organization in some capacity that he/she was interested in hiring. In fact, sometimes positions are opened just because a manager had someone in mind to hire. This is very common in every field to include nursing. The only exceptions are union protected positions. Good luck!

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Specializes in CTICU.

I applied, they reviewed my application a month later, and they denied me as soon as they reviewed it. I noticed there’s a statement on the application that says “you must work for 2 years after orientation,” so I am thinking it’s a red flag that I’m trying to leave my first job after only 3 months and that I might possibly leave before the 2 year mark? Idk, but it’s geared towards new grads (as stated on the application) so I thought for sure I had a decent chance. Normally they review it and wait a couple weeks to tell you your status but I was straight up rejected right away ? oh well. I also left a message for the nurse manager, no call back. This is so classic for this hospital. They have such an amazing reputation and status that they think they can slack around when it comes to communication and HR because people will still do anything to work at this place. I have had nothing but problems with my experience with their HR and nurse managers and I know others that have had the same issues. However, I’m still one of those people that would do anything to work there ?

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Specializes in Dialysis.
5 hours ago, Reaz said:

I also left a message for the nurse manager, no call back. This is so classic for this hospital. They have such an amazing reputation and status that they think they can slack around when it comes to communication and HR because people will still do anything to work at this place. I have had nothing but problems with my experience with their HR and nurse managers and I know others that have had the same issues. However, I’m still one of those people that would do anything to work there ?

The manager has no requirement to call back everyone who may have applied and called. They usually don't even call back those who interviewed and weren't hired for the job. I'm a manager and most days, I don't have time to return calls to most folks that I don't know. HR in most hospitals select the most appropriate looking candidates, so in all reality, this manager may not know your name from Adam...most managers have days full of meetings (that are usually senseless, but required by higher ups), HR related concerns, scheduling of staff (and patients if a clinic situation), and staff concerns. My mom was an OR nursing manager for 40+ years. Watching her is what kept me out of OR. Sometimes internal staff get preference, unless you have ooodles of experience.

If you really want to work at that hospital and you don't already, you may need to apply to another dept that you do have experience with to get your foot in the door. Keep applying, and good luck!

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