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Discussion

Tell me about your orientation

Hi fellow psych nurses. I work as a charge nurse in an acute psych hospital. We are an extremely busy, fast-paced hospital. I believe that our orientation program (if you can call it that) is lacking. New employees have a week in the classroom going over mostly compliance issues, CPI training and then 3-5 shifts orienting on the units with another nurse. The hospital has hired many brand new nurses recently. I don't think this is nearly enough training. For those of you in similar environments, what is your orientation like? Thanks.

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    • Featured Replies

    I thought my orientation was too long. One week at the corporate office going over compliance issues, one full day of CPI, and three weeks of orienting on the floor.

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    My first orientation as a new RN was at a private geropsych facility. We did CPI and had an orientation class. I had 3 or 4 shifts orienting with the charge nurse. My position there was charge nurse for one hallway. Definitely not long enough.

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    • Guides

    We currently have an 8 week orientation 1 week classroom, and 1 week each for the units (adolescent, addictions, acute Adult (Male female and mixed gender units. Admissions and crises. It works pretty well. I am one of the Master Trainers for my facility and I also mentor new nurses for their first 6 mos to a year.

    Hppy

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    • Author

    8 weeks sounds more like it. Hppy, does your facility pay you to be a master trainer/mentor and are those hours outside of your hours on the floor (if you're still on the floor?) Thanks,

    Jenny

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    • Guides
    2 hours ago, JennyPARN said:

    8 weeks sounds more like it. Hppy, does your facility pay you to be a master trainer/mentor and are those hours outside of your hours on the floor (if you're still on the floor?) Thanks,

    Jenny

    Yes I am still on the floor. I get an extra $2.00/hr when I am training (Hardly worth it) but I have been with the facility a long time. Currently considering leaving the floor and taking a supervisor position. We adopted the 8 week training due to the high attrition rate of or New grad hires.

    Hppy

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    • Author

    Thanks Hppy. When I'm training I get a straight $26 for the shift. Also hardly worth it. I am pushing for and working on a better and longer orientation. We also have a lot of new grad hires. My fear is that my company's staffing model is just that - have the long-time employees train the new ones for very little $, they get their experience and move on then we have to train more nurses. It's short-sighted and puts the responsibility of training all on nurses. It saves them money probably but certainly is not focused on retention.

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    • Experts

    I began working at Wrongway Regional Medical Center on Monday, March 10, 2003. I had three shifts of orientation classes and two shifts on the adult psych unit before I worked the weekend on that unit as the sole RN with an LPN and a Tech.

    I had 20 years of nursing under my belt but hadn't worked as a hospital RN for 10 years.

    I received one more shift of orientation on the other adult psych unit but was never orientated on the child, adolescent or geriatric psych units. The administrator of the psych division apologized for me being thrown in on the units where I was never oriented, but never did anything about it.

    I didn't complain but have used my shoddy orientation experience with administration when I've been called on the carpet for not meeting all their namby pamby protocols.

    RNs, LPNs and Techs now get 6 weeks of orientation.

    Richard Bach wrote "Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years".

    That same philosophy holds true with jobs: When you've worked at a profession for decades, you will be able to know who can do the job in the first few minutes of working with them and who won't be able to do the job even if they get years of orientation.

    Besides, being a psych nurse ain't rocket science.

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    Is your hospital one of the Aurora Behavioral Health hospitals by any chance? I was a traveler at one and had one day of redundant classroom instruction with new hires but had 2 shifts of orientation on the floor.

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    Ours is about 8 weeks on our eating disorder units. I believe it is the same on the other units. If you are a float you spend several days on each unit to get signed off in meds, milieu, and charge. You are also expected to spend a week with the mental health workers.

    Mental health workers get a month. The first 2 weeks are classroom.

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