Residency Program or Not?

I will be graduating with my BSN in December and I'm wondering what people think of the nursing residency programs. I have a specific area that I want to work in, and the residency programs seem like they would be a great foundation to start my career. However many of them seem to only allow you to apply to a general area and then they place you where they have openings after the program is done. So I may not get the area I want to work in. Given the job market, do you think I'm better off applying for the residency programs or trying to find open positions in the area I want? I'm planning on applying at as many places as I can, since I have to have a job lined up before I graduate. I've seen several places that don't let you apply for multiple positions, so I am assuming I can only do one or the other and not both. Any thoughts on this?
Quote from AnnaiyaI will be graduating with my BSN in December and I'm wondering what people think of the nursing residency programs. I have a specific area that I want to work in, and the residency programs seem like they would be a great foundation to start my career. However many of them seem to only allow you to apply to a general area and then they place you where they have openings after the program is done. So I may not get the area I want to work in. Given the job market, do you think I'm better off applying for the residency programs or trying to find open positions in the area I want? I'm planning on applying at as many places as I can, since I have to have a job lined up before I graduate. I've seen several places that don't let you apply for multiple positions, so I am assuming I can only do one or the other and not both. Any thoughts on this?
Thank you so much for your reply. It is really great information! I never thought about the fact that it would give me an opportunity to get to know the different units before actually being hired by one. That is a definite benefit to doing a residency
Quote from AnnaiyaThank you so much for your reply. It is really great information! I never thought about the fact that it would give me an opportunity to get to know the different units before actually being hired by one. That is a definite benefit to doing a residency
If you have a specific path you'd like to take, (OR, L&D, Med/Surg) the best thing to do is to apply for these programs. It's nearly impossible to get a job as a new grad without doing one of these internships especially in a specialty unit. Not only that but like someone said, it'll be more structured, as they've probably worked with a lot of new grads over the years and have received lots of feedback as to what works and what doesn't where as a unit-specific orientation is more of a "do it yourself".
Is the residency program free to enroll?
You don't enroll, it's a job, so you have to apply and be hired for it.