Residency or Staff Nurse Position?

[Halex]

Hello! I am approaching the end of nursing school, and I have been looking at different options on what to do afterwards. I was wondering if anyone could give me their take on applying for a nurse residency after graduation or attempting to gain a staff nurse position at a hospital. If anyone can supply any information on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[NewOncNurseRN, BSN, RN]

Most places only offer new grads a residency position, not a staff nurse. The residency programs include not only longer times with a preceptor than a traditional staff nurse role, but also additional classes and experiences. It’s definitely been a good learning experience and very valuable training.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Don't get too hung up on terminology. Some hospitals do not use the word "residency" to designate their orientation for new grads who take staff nurse position -- but those hospital still provide similar orientation programs.

My children's hospital is one such hospital. A new grad would apply for a "staff nurse position" and then be given an orientation that includes a lot of the "extra" experiences that "residency programs" are known for. An experienced pediatric nurse could apply for the same staff nurse position and be scheduled for an orientation that was more suitable for her specific needs as an experienced pediatric nurse. Still other nurses may have experience in nursing, but not peds: she would have different needs than either of the other two orientees. We tailor the orientation to the individual -- and call the all "orientation."

Bottom line: Do your research about a specific hospital, position, and orientation program before you decide whether or not a specific job is right for you. As a new grad, you might choose a hospital with a formal residency program -- but you also might choose a hospital that offers the same type of orientation, but uses a different word.

[Halex]

4 hours ago, llg said:

Don't get too hung up on terminology. Some hospitals do not use the word "residency" to designate their orientation for new grads who take staff nurse position -- but those hospital still provide similar orientation programs.

My children's hospital is one such hospital. A new grad would apply for a "staff nurse position" and then be given an orientation that includes a lot of the "extra" experiences that "residency programs" are known for. An experienced pediatric nurse could apply for the same staff nurse position and be scheduled for an orientation that was more suitable for her specific needs as an experienced pediatric nurse. Still other nurses may have experience in nursing, but not peds: she would have different needs than either of the other two orientees. We tailor the orientation to the individual -- and call the all "orientation."

Bottom line: Do your research about a specific hospital, position, and orientation program before you decide whether or not a specific job is right for you. As a new grad, you might choose a hospital with a formal residency program -- but you also might choose a hospital that offers the same type of orientation, but uses a different word.

Thank you for explaining. I have noticed at the hospital I am currently interning at that it is the same thing. The new grad nurses are considered orientees for a couple of months before they begin to work on their own as staff nurse. I was just looking for clarification because I have noticed that there were nurse residency positions and regular staff nursing position available, so I wanted to know if there was a difference between the two.

[Halex]

18 hours ago, NewOncNurseRN said:

Most places only offer new grads a residency position, not a staff nurse. The residency programs include not only longer times with a preceptor than a traditional staff nurse role, but also additional classes and experiences. It’s definitely been a good learning experience and very valuable training.

Thank you for your explanation

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Yeah, it really just depends on where you live, to be honest. Where I live, the terms "Residency" and "Internship" are used interchangeably for new grad nurse programs and the term "Fellowship" is used for programs that take an experienced nurse and get them up and running in a new specialty (ie: going from adults to pediatrics or med-surg to L&D or ER). The term "direct to floor" is used for any new grads that get hired into a position directly without an internships/residency. They generally are given a preceptor and orient for six to eight weeks. However, where I live (DFW) this is exceptionally rare and new grads are generally ONLY hired into the residency programs, which include classroom learning, simulation learning and being on the floor with a preceptor with a planned curriculum intended to take the new grad from novice to advanced beginner per Brenner's model. These take place two to three times a year with most starting in January/Feb (targeting December grads) and June/July (Targeting May grads) with occasional Fall starts as needed based on hospital staffing levels. They are usually a four to six month program, depending on the specialty. Some are as long as a year.

It is my opinion per the EBP I have studied that new grads fare MUCH better when placed in a residency program rather than hired directly to the floor. If you have that option you should pursue it hard.