Holy cow! Now i'm confused!

This is basically a follow-up thread. As many of you know I recieved the job offer today at a local hospital. Really happy and excited about it. Especially since I graduated Dec 2010. Make a long story short, I call and tell a friend (that I graduated with) about it and she says, "WOW! I'm surprised they will put you through an internship part-time." (I accepted a part time position). During the interview I was told I will be with a preceptor for 3months, and a skills list will be provided to complete before I am on my own. So my friend says, "Well, the hospital I work for gave us 2 weeks of review before we even touched the floor..... The internship is a year long." Now I am freaking out. Am I getting shortchanged because of previous LPN experience?

I don't even see any openings for New Grad internships, ANYWHERE. I finally get a job, and now I'm like WHAT THE H-E-(chopstick)(chopstick)!!!

Any insight is welcomed. What is your personal experience? Last edit by sirI on Aug 12, '11
This could just be different training programs from different hospitals. Your friends hospital training program doesn't appear to be the usual that I see from different hospitals. The time you were offered sounds more in line with the norm.Could it also be that your friend works in a specialty like ER or ICU that requires the extra training? I am also curious if your friend had to sign a contract with the hospital for working "x" amount of years in exchange for the training.

can't compare one program to another....that would be an apples to oranges thing!

3 months sounds about right for a nurse with experience. However, if you are doing an internship, it SHOULD be for an entire year. That being said, I don't know of an internship program offered for part-timers. Did they write you a different contract or something? Did they expressly state that you would definitely be in the intern program? I am confused as well. Aren't you expecting an email from HR soon? They will likely have all of this written out. Keep us posted.

Quote from canesdukegirl3 months sounds about right for a nurse with experience. However, if you are doing an internship, it SHOULD be for an entire year. That being said, I don't know of an internship program offered for part-timers. Did they write you a different contract or something? Did they expressly state that you would definitely be in the intern program? I am confused as well. Aren't you expecting an email from HR soon? They will likely have all of this written out. Keep us posted.

Don't let your friend steal your excitement/joy at receiving a long waited for job. ASK if you are only in 3 months due to your experience as an LPN (doesn't really sound too far off the mark). Some places call any entry level training program an internship, regardless of the time. Specialty areas SHOULD be longer. However, in today's economy, hospital education departments (which often are the ones financially responsible for the new hire until they are ready to work independently) may have had to cut back on those length of times. Best to you & congratulations!

I'm confused....sounds like you're getting a 3 month orientation? That's pretty good in my neck of the woods. As an LPN on an acute care inpatient unit, I got 10 shifts, and as an RN transfer into the ED I got 17 shifts.

Near me it's 3 months for a new grad. I don't know of anything longer.If you are experienced it's more like a week or maybe two and this is on your own, but you can ask questions and someone will be checking that you did everything correctly, etc., then you are totally on your own.

Just think positive! You might be with a small group of NGs. You will be so far ahead of them that it will put you at ease somewhat I think. I bet you will do just fine!

Quote from ~*Stargazer*~I'm confused....sounds like you're getting a 3 month orientation? That's pretty good in my neck of the woods. As an LPN on an acute care inpatient unit, I got 10 shifts, and as an RN transfer into the ED I got 17 shifts.

OK, Snow. Let's regroup. So it looks like you are not in the intern program. You were hired as a new employee and have 3 months of orientation time. Thankfully, you have experience as an LPN and can easily catch on. You already know the flow of hospitals, work ethic, organizational skills, documentation requirements, medications, and prioritization skills. You got this in the bag, baby!Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise for you. You may have been really bored in the internship program, because you already know so much. Don't see this as 'short changing' you...but rather see this as the next logical phase of learning.I think that this opportunity is perfect for you. How excited are you going to be when you get your badge and see RN after your name?!?!?Relish in this victory. It IS a victory for you. I am so happy for you!

If you have a choice an internship or residency program is preferred because it gives you more time and attention to get used to the real bedside nursing and learn more. Training programs are different based on hospitals budget and nursing climate. I misread what you said so they are offering you 3 month training program vs a year for another friend. Well a year would seem awfully long unless she was specializing in ICU first. But 3 months sounds fair, I think I was only on orientation 2 months at the most back in the day! Though could have used longer, plus some of the preceptors I had weren't interested in helping and just didn't want to be bothered. Some of the older staff would get annoyed when you asked for help, why don't you know what to do. Really! Give me a break!

There are different training programs for different hospitals. Often times they will short cut you because of your experience. I got hired at a floor that had 12 week orientation, but because of my experience i was given 8 weeks. My manager made it clear to me this is does NOT mean i will only be given 8 weeks, it is just a plan. if my preceptor or myself feel like i needed more time, then they would have given me more time. They just find that people with more experience are ready to be on there own around 8 weeks.Our hospital doesn't do training before, with the exception of nursing orientaiton days, but as new grads we are put into a nurse residency program. So this program we practice our skills and get together with other nurse residents during the time we work. We meet twice a month, we get more education and hands on skills during our first year. So some places will do this BEFORE going on the floor, some do it during the time your on the floor and some don't do it all. It just varies between hospitals.