Beginning Your Nursing Career at Meridian Health

Orientation Process
Meridian Health welcomes new graduate nurses to our team. New graduate nurses enter our system through a 6-step orientation process to help students transition to staff nurse.

1. Traditions: Meridian Orientation, 1-day classroom



2. Beginnings: Hospital-specific Orientation, 1-day classroom



3. System-Wide Nursing: 3-days classroom, includes presentations on patient privacy, infection control, medication administration competency testing, risk management, professional development expectations, and patient safety.



4. Campus-specific Orientation: 3-4 days classroom, including 1-day computer training, includes instruction of clinical components such as venipuncture, blood glucose monitoring, obtaining ECG tracings and central line dressing changes. General policies and procedures are reviewed and several self-study packets are distributed and reviewed.



5. Preceptorship: 8-12 weeks, with extensions made on a case-by-case basis. Didactic and skills lab components are scheduled throughout. Checklists for general nursing and unit-specific competencies are completed. New nurses receive continuous feedback from their preceptors via the daily coaching form.



6. New Nurse Network classes: a series of six classes designed for the new nurse to transition from student nurse to practicing professional nurse. Along with these classes, New Nurse Transition Network Meetings are held monthly and are designed to address unique challenges in the professional work environment. A Journal Club will be incorporated to the monthly meeting and one NJSNA contact hour is offered each meeting.

Interested in a Specialty Area of Practice?
Nurses interested in specialty areas of practice complete 6-9 months on the medical/surgical/telemetry units and then apply for positions in ICU or the Emergency Room. They then return to a preceptorship on the specific unit, and attend core classes as appropriate.

Orientation for Experienced Nurses
Experienced nurses complete the same steps as the new graduate, with the exception of the new graduate network classes. The length of orientation depends on the experience of the nurse and the type of unit.