do RN residency programs really make a difference?

nurse.sandi · Apr 30, 2011

HI. Never assume anything. But magnet hospitals have earned that status and are considered to treat nurses with more respect.

I am guilty of talking negative about being a RN, but there has been much joy in my career. It is not always bad. There are good days and bad days, just like every other career out there. I think nursing is what we make of it. We control our destination.

It took many years for me to learn everything I needed to know. This does not happen over night.

Good luck in your career.

GM2RN · Apr 30, 2011

No. But you shouldn't assume that they won't, either.

mariposabella · Apr 30, 2011

Oh cool I didn't know they had RN residency programs. Good luck in your residency program!

tyvin, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2011

I didn't know they had RN residency programs either; is it a residency program or a new grad program?

Jolie, BSN · Apr 30, 2011

I agree that magnet status and a residency program are no guarantee of "nice" co-workers, but I do strongly encourage new grads to seek out employment in a facility with a well-established orientation program specifically designed to meet the needs of new grads.

Beginning employment as a new RN is an incredibly stressful experience. Those who do so within a planned program are more likely to receive the educational, organizational, social and emotional support needed to succeed.

It's been awhile since I researched the issue, but I recall reading some time ago that new grads who embark on their careers in established orientation programs are more likely to stay with their first jobs for 1-2 years and remain in the nursing profession 5 years after graduation than those who don't.

Not all areas have nursing residency programs. If you don't have access to one, seek out employment on a unit with a well established staff (at least 1/2 of the nurses have worked on that unit for 2 years or more), and request a consistent 1:1 preceptor throughout your orientation time. These are issues to discuss at an interview.

Best of luck to you!

HGJ78 · Apr 30, 2011

I am in month 9 of a 12 month RN residency program. The program incooporates RNs from all over the hospital in different practice areas, the majority of us are May 2010 graduates so we are all very new with similar experience levels. The thing that I think has benefited me the most from the residency program is the monthly meetings. Every month we are scheduled to meet and we discuss the challenges we have faced as new grads in areas like communication, nurse practice, and patient care. The residency has really given me the opportunity to use get to know nurses from other areas in the hospital and see that my experience is not unique to the area that I work. Because of the residency I have never felt like I was just thrown out on my own without support.

There is good and bad with everything and there are times when I feel like the residency is like the last year of nursing school repeated. We have an EBP project that we are required to do as part of the residency and I have to say we are all kinda dreading yet another big project. There are also times when we have discussions/power point lectures that focus on communication and "overcoming workplace obstacles" that I think are too little too late since we are all working the floor in different areas most of the time we have encountered the situation long before the discussion telling us how to deal with the problem is brought up in the residency program. Overall, I take the good with the bad and I feel very fortunate to be a part of my RN residency program and I do feel like it has helped to set me up for success as a new RN. I still have a ton to learn but it has not been time wasted as far as I'm concerned.

CalidthreeN · Apr 30, 2011

I've found that simply because a program has the name of "nurse residency program" doesn't mean that it is much different than any other orientation process for a new grad at another facility. When I think of a residency program that is advertised as being a 1 year residency program, I think of a program where the new nurse works with a preceptor for a full year, but in actuality that is not the case. In a nurse residency program, the preceptor component still comprises 8-16 weeks, just like any other orientation process for a new nurse.

sistasoul · Apr 30, 2011

New grads that go through a residency program are much more confident and prepared. At my hospital they get 13 weeks of preceptorship on different units throughout the hospital. I received 3 weeks as a new grad and struggled A LOT my first year to year and a half. I was hired after working 5 months in a nursing home passing meds to the residents. Because I was not hired specifically into a new grad program I received as much training as an established nurse. I was hired March 2009 and was extremely thankful as it was hard for any new grad to be hired into a hospital at this time (still is) so I jumped at the opportunity.

Definitely try to get into a new grad program. I have never seen anyone be mean or disrespectful to a new grad on my unit while being preceptored. Most nurses do not "eat their young". My hospital has magnet status and does not put up with those types of behaviors from their nurses. I don't know if it is because we have magnet status or it is simply the mix of personalities we have at my hospital.

Best wishes

ckh23, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2011

Like others have said, there is no guarantee. There is also no guarantee that your preceptor will be "nice" to you either. However the residency program usually offers more support and resources to new grads that might not otherwise be available at other hospitals. At my hospital they meet once a month and also have an EBP research project to do. They also discuss problems they are having and other issues they want to talk about. They also go over their progression and where they still need improvement. I think these programs are very beneficial to new grads.

carrotstix · Apr 30, 2011

I dont think my BSN residency program has benefited me at all. The support of your unit and unit specific orientation is FAR more important.

gummibear · Apr 30, 2011

thanks all for ur input. i interviewed over the phone for the residency program, mind you, i graduated in may 2010 and applied for this residency position about a month after graduating and i never heard back until now, anyways, i must have done real well on the phone interview b/c the hospital has offered me a full time position and a spot onto the residency program. i am excited about the opportunity b/c at my current position at a snf i was given a week to orient on night shift and i am the only rn working on nights, so it has kind of been a learn as i go process... highly challenging when situations come up that i was never educated or showed what to do during my orientation week. i think just having the ability to work with other RNs so that i can bounce questiosn and ideas off of them. going down to visit the hospital soon to see if we are truly a good match and in the process of applying for the state's license. cant wait to make it official.