I am a new grad RN who accepted a position at a large hospital. When I interviewed, they really played up how well they were going to train me (14 weeks total) and outlined how it would go. However, I am now in Week 6 of my "training" and have barely been shown how to do anything, have had to figure out everything on my own, and when I ask questions, people are not very helpful. No one is supervising me at all, and the "Clinical instructors" are too busy to spend much time with me. No one is even reviewing my EMR notes or anything. I have not gotten any feedback on my performance at all (and frankly no one would even know it seems). I am taking care of 3 "easy" patients at a time at this point, and each week it is supposed to progress by 1 additional patient until I reach 6 patients. Then I will begin a new phase of "training" on the floor they actually hired me for- At this point I feel like it's going to be another situation where I am winging it.
I try very hard to ask questions and to advocate for myself, but this gets very exhausting on top of learning the EMR, etc, and I can't yet do anything fast as I am a new RN without the advanced time management skills. I am concerned that I will drown when this "orientation" is over and I have to care for at least 7 complicated patients with even less support.
My question is...
Is this normal in a hospital setting?
Is training usually this bad?
Because this is really crazy. I have been bringing this to the attention of the those in charge of training new hires, but they say they cannot help me due to short staffing. I will try to keep advocating for myself and perhaps bring this to a higher level of management if need be, but I just wanted to see what insight other nurses may have. I know it is hard for new nurses but the lack of training and supervision is surprising to me.
When I became an RN I started on a tele/CV step-down/neuro (stroke) unit. My orientation was with one preceptor (and she was amazing, always gave me good feedback on what I did good and what I needed to improve on). I was frequently tossed between unit orientation and classes so my actual amount of weeks on the unit was limited. Then I went to nights and had a preceptor who quit, then was tossed to all different ones.
Fast forward to now, I’m in my last week of orientation in ICU at a different hospital. 6 weeks of orientation total (the first week all classes) then 2 weeks of day shift where I had 4 different preceptors, and then nights. My night preceptor is a seasoned nurse but is not good at teaching/explaining what is in her head. All the other preceptors were taken. As mentioned above, it’s about surviving orientation.
Definitely not normal,nor the same everywhere,I always had a full load from the beginning,but with a partner.Some offered 4 weeks but and some classroom time,but they cheated you out of a full experience ,they were short,you became staff or charge person.It is much better today,the preceptors are better trained,they review the checklist carefully ,and each item of competency is checked off.The time frame is much longer,there is more forgiveness if you can not keep up .The EMR is reviewed before you sign your note.So I must say in my neck of the woods ,orientation has gotten much better.Hospital do differ even here though.
No, I don't believe your current situation is "normal". But I am speaking from my own personal experience during the GN Residency program I completed at my current place of employment. Our simulation training and 7 weeks on the floor with our preceptor(s) well-prepared us for our transition from GN to RN. But similar to your situation, with the exception of the number of weeks, the GN Residency program expectation was to be able to handle a full patient load (5 - 6) by the end of week 7. We are encouraged to ask questions, even after finishing our residency. Our assistant nurse managers as well as the nurses we work alongside of on the floor are always available to answer questions. Also we get quarterly feedback on our peformance from our nurse manager and our assistant nurse manager.
I was very fortunate that when I started my first job on a medsurg/tele unit, I had 1 great LPN and several great RNs who were patient, encouraged questions, understood I was brand new, and helped me through my orientation. They said 12 weeks and I ended up with 9. I've since learned that if administration can shorten that orientation, they will. Others are right. If you're doing something wrong, you'll hear about it. Keep doing what you're doing. What's troubling is how are they magnet if they are shorting orientation? Are other new hires going through this? I thought magnet meant the culture was better. Maybe I misunderstood the magnet designation.
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RN_atlast
16 Posts
If not normal, similar to my experiences.
When I became an RN I started on a tele/CV step-down/neuro (stroke) unit. My orientation was with one preceptor (and she was amazing, always gave me good feedback on what I did good and what I needed to improve on). I was frequently tossed between unit orientation and classes so my actual amount of weeks on the unit was limited. Then I went to nights and had a preceptor who quit, then was tossed to all different ones.
Fast forward to now, I’m in my last week of orientation in ICU at a different hospital. 6 weeks of orientation total (the first week all classes) then 2 weeks of day shift where I had 4 different preceptors, and then nights. My night preceptor is a seasoned nurse but is not good at teaching/explaining what is in her head. All the other preceptors were taken. As mentioned above, it’s about surviving orientation.