Residency Program or Not?

I will be graduating with my BSN in December and I'm wondering what people think of the nursing residency programs. I have a specific area that I want to work in, and the residency programs seem like they would be a great foundation to start my career. However many of them seem to only allow you to apply to a general area and then they place you where they have openings after the program is done. So I may not get the area I want to work in. Given the job market, do you think I'm better off applying for the residency programs or trying to find open positions in the area I want? I'm planning on applying at as many places as I can, since I have to have a job lined up before I graduate. I've seen several places that don't let you apply for multiple positions, so I am assuming I can only do one or the other and not both. Any thoughts on this?

I'm a bit surprised that nobody has answered you yet, so here's my input:

I went through a new grad residency program, and it was great. You start as a total newbie, with only the basics of time management skills and "real world" nursing. At the end of my 6 week residency program, I felt much more capable of handling stuff (while still at a newbie level of abilities).

From what I've read online, residency programs tend to be more structured than your run of the mill "Welcome to our unit, new grad - you'll be working with Marsha today, John tomorrow, and whoever we can stick you with the day after. Yes, I know we promised you 2 months of one-on-one support/training, but you've been doing SUCH a great job on your first week, we're confident that you can handle 17 patients all by yourself starting next Monday."

It sounds like you're concerned {WARNING - that sounds a lot like therapeutic communication, doesn't it?!} about not being able to find a job in the area in which you want to work. It is VERY likely that you'll have the same problem as a new grad applying everywhere - you may not be able to start in the unit you want, unless you want to work med/surg.

By going through the residency program, you're given a mix of lecture & real world training on how to do things the right way. By starting out doing things properly, there's a better chance you'll do them that way during your every day nursing practice than if you were just "thrown to the wolves", and were trying to figure things out for yourself. Good residency programs assign you to a preceptor, plus there's close daily monitoring & feedback of how you're doing. There's also usually a separate person supervising 8-10 new grad residents, just checking in with them on a daily basis to see how things are going.

One other benefit of doing the residency program - it gives you 6-8 weeks of time in your hospital to make contacts & really CHECK OUT the unit where you're thinking of working. Unless you've already got great connections inside the hospital, it may be difficult to get a feel for the unit, its employees, and the patients served just by talking to the unit manager. In the residency program, you can ask other nurses on your unit about your prospective unit of hire. Float pool nurses are a great information resource - ask them about the units in which you're interested (hint: if a unit treats float nurses like excrement, there's a good chance you'll get the same treatment as a newbie).

During your residency program, see if you can shadow a nurse for a shift on the units you're thinking about. I did this, and it reassured me that I was making the right choice.

If at the end of your residency, there are no openings on your preferred unit, see if you can work in the float pool until an opening comes up. Depending on the hospital, there may be no "1 year before switching units" restriction on float pool members. This can give you a good bit of freedom in positioning yourself to get the job you want.

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you so much for your reply. It is really great information! I never thought about the fact that it would give me an opportunity to get to know the different units before actually being hired by one. That is a definite benefit to doing a residency:)

Thank you so much for your reply. It is really great information! I never thought about the fact that it would give me an opportunity to get to know the different units before actually being hired by one. That is a definite benefit to doing a residency:)

You're quite welcome!

While doing your residency (after at least a few weeks), if you CAN shadow in your favorite departments, that may also give you some "face time" with the dept managers. The person with whom you shadow will also likely give some feedback to the manager - think of it as a pre-interview on both your part and the department's part.

If you have a specific path you'd like to take, (OR, L&D, Med/Surg) the best thing to do is to apply for these programs. It's nearly impossible to get a job as a new grad without doing one of these internships especially in a specialty unit. Not only that but like someone said, it'll be more structured, as they've probably worked with a lot of new grads over the years and have received lots of feedback as to what works and what doesn't where as a unit-specific orientation is more of a "do it yourself".

Is the residency program free to enroll?

You don't enroll, it's a job, so you have to apply and be hired for it.