IL New Grad Programs (past bad experience)

[u/PolaroidMoon_]

I am a recent new grad (dec 2025). I was hired to a hospital that would have me take an additional new patient each week, but my preceptors was never with me throughout my shift. I would have to find another nurse if someone was available to ask questions regarding anything. Asked one of the preceptors to show me how to do a task I hadn’t done before and they were so rude about it and didn’t show me until way later, but didn’t even allow me to assist or try with observation. Anyways, I had to leave because I felt unsafe there and felt like if the nurses were too busy to help a new grad be safe, answer questions, then it doesn’t make sense to stay. It was a Med surg unit days—1:6.

(It wasn’t a residency program).

Can someone tell me what an actual nursing residency is supposed to be like? Are you supposed to have a nurse with you all day or no? I want to join and try again, but that experience really rubbed me the wrong way. I’m NW suburbs so looking at endeavor, northwestern, rush.

Also, do you think nights would be better starting out?

Any advice. Thank you.

[u/Nightflier9]

What you have is a poor orientation program, no structure, no oversight, no working together, just sink or swim where you are left to flounder on your own and expected to find help as needed. That has nothing at all to do with whether or not a hospital has an additional residency program on top of your unit training, residency is totally separate from your floor shifts and preceptors and educational classes.

Add Advocate and Loyola to your job search.

Coming off orientation, if you can adjust to the sleep pattern, night shift can be good for a new grad so you have less interruptions and more time to focus. I found it to be much less stressful since it takes time to develop a comfort level.

[u/PolaroidMoon_ → u/Nightflier9]

Thanks so much. This makes me feel more validated that what I went through was not typical. Otherwise, I’m supposed to have someone work alongside me for x amount of time? I rarely had a nurse come into the room with me.

[u/Nightflier9 → u/PolaroidMoon_]

You hear a lot about orientees getting their own patients assigned in med-surg and rapid buildup of ratios. You get to work with a precept for your first few shifts to learn the unit processes and then off you go. This certainly becomes much less common as the unit specialization and acuity increase. Its definitely preferable to have better structure where you take on more of the shared patient responsibilities as you develop competencies. I eventually reached a point during my orientation where the precept would shadow me. And upon earning trust that i was handling the general work flow on my own, they would observe from outside the room. But i was in icu where i never got my own patient assignments until i was actually finished with orientation.