FAQ
Nursing job orientations can last anywhere from a couple weeks to 7 or 8 months. The length of a nursing job orientation depends on where you work. During an orientation, you will be assigned a preceptor or mentor to guide you through the process. Some programs assign you to only one preceptor/mentor, and others give you several. They will be responsible for teaching you directly, and guide you through the orientation process. The orientation will cover a lot of information in a short amount of time, so it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed. You will go over your job benefits, facility procedures, the computer system, incident reporting, and more. You may think that the length of your orientation is enough to learn all of this. For most new nurses, this is not the case. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources out there to help. You can use these websites and articles to get start:
- 50 Things New Nurses Need to Know About Orientation is a great resource at AllNurses written by an experienced RN.
- NurseTogether wrote a similar resource with 10 tips on being successful during a new nurse orientation.
- This article by a nurse at the Lippincott NursingCenter really showcases the struggles and feelings of a new nurse.
- Nursing resume
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- About the Author
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Meredith Scannell CNM, MSN, MPH, PhD-student has extensive experience in critical care nursing and women’s health. She is a certified nurse-midwife, earned a diploma in nursing in 1995 received a Master’s Degree in Public Health and became a Certified Nurse Midwife in 2006, earned a Master’s Degree in Nursing in 2008 and currently perusing a PhD. She has extensive background working in critical care areas internationally in Boston, London, UK and Melbourne, AU. As a certified nurse midwife she has worked and the North Shore birth center delivering babies in a home like setting and at Beverly hospital. She has extensive educational background including specialized legal training and preparation to prepare as expert testimony. She holds two Masters degrees: a Masters degree in Nursing from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and a Masters degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. She has presented as an expert panelist at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare.
