Once a job candidate accepts a new position within a healthcare organization, they must complete onboarding and orientation. Understanding the key components of onboarding vs. orientation will help your organization successfully usher nurses (and other healthcare workers) through these introductory phases. While these terms are often used interchangeably to describe an employee's integration into a facility, each process is unique and describes a different set of tasks.
At a basic level, orientation takes place first and introduces company goals and policies, whereas onboarding is completed at the unit level and is clinical in nature. Successfully implementing these two processes within your hiring practice can help you improve staff retention, engagement, and satisfaction. In this article, we'll cover the differences between onboarding and orientation in more depth, and provide an overview and best practices for each phase. Then, we'll review the types of tasks that are often completed during each step to help you streamline your healthcare hiring efforts.
What Is Nurse Orientation?
During orientation, nurses are welcomed into their new workplace for the first time. While they might not meet with their clinical manager or clinical colleagues, they often collaborate with human resources representatives to complete essential paperwork and review the company's employee code of conduct. The healthcare orientation process usually takes place in an office or classroom setting and is completed over one or two days.
Why Are Healthcare Orientations Important?
Developing a well-structured nurse orientation is essential to long-term organizational success. Not only can it promote high-quality care, but when executed appropriately, orientation can also:
- Improve regulatory compliance.
- Boost healthcare staff engagement and retention.
- Enhance employee satisfaction.
What Are Some Healthcare Orientation Best Practices?
Curious about how to develop orientation processes that are helpful and meaningful to new employees? Facility leaders looking to enhance their organization's hiring policies can follow these three best practices.
1. Set Clear Expectations
Healthcare employees who are relatively new to the workforce, such as newly graduated nurses, may be wondering: What is an orientation for a job? This is especially true in the healthcare industry, which uses the term in a specific way that may be slightly different from other industries. As early as possible, express your facility's specific timeline and goals for orientation. For example, you could provide a handout with a schedule of activities and deadlines.
2. Verify Employee Credentials
Fraudulent practice can place your patients at risk. During orientation, be sure to verify each clinician's license, certifications, and educational transcripts to ensure your patients receive the professional care they deserve.
3. Provide Clarity on the Healthcare Chain of Command
New employees will be curious about your organization's hierarchy and who they should ask for help. Provide contact details for clinical managers, HR representatives, and facility executives and explain the role and scope of each team member. This can help establish trust between new clinicians and their leaders.
What Is Nurse Onboarding?
Onboarding processes introduce new nurses (or other healthcare staff) to their clinical unit or department. During onboarding, they meet with their manager to learn about their duties and responsibilities as the newest member of the healthcare team. During this stage, healthcare employees often participate in a walk-through of the clinical unit and are introduced to other members of staff. The onboarding process takes place in the patient care setting and is completed over weeks to months, depending on the clinician's confidence and level of experience.
Why Are Healthcare Onboarding Programs Important?
Nurse onboarding is the final stage of the hiring process. After the clinician has completed their clinical competency check-offs and has received hands-on training for facility-specific devices, machines, and supplies, they're ready to begin providing patient care as a fully trained employee. Healthcare organizations that develop well-structured onboarding programs can:
- Enhance employee productivity.
- Boost employee confidence.
- Reduce clinical errors and improve health outcomes.
What Are Some Healthcare Onboarding Best Practices?
The main goal of healthcare employee onboarding is to help clinicians and caregivers feel prepared and confident to provide high-quality patient care. Here are three strategies that can help you optimize your facility's onboarding processes.
1. Develop a Standardized Onboarding Checklist
After an employee accepts a job offer, provide them with a healthcare onboarding checklist that outlines tasks to be completed along with scheduled dates for each training or seminar. These checklists can empower new hires to take charge of their own professional practice and provide clarity on the steps ahead.
Developing a thorough checklist will also help the staff members who are working to integrate new hires into the unit. Nurse educators and preceptors may wonder, Is onboarding the same as training? A comprehensive list that details non-training onboarding tasks (such as getting to know the unit's case managers), can provide the bigger-picture view.
2. Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Each new healthcare employee will have a different level of experience and preferred learning style. While it can be helpful to have a checklist outlining the skills and rules that need to be reviewed, administrators should allow flexibility during the onboarding process. This ensures that each clinician and patient care provider learns in the style and rate that's best for them.
For example, if a new graduate nurse needs additional practice initiating IV drip medications, allow extra time during onboarding to help them develop the skills required. Other nurses who have experience administering IV medications may prefer spending their time reviewing scheduling policies or rules for delegation. Adapting your onboarding schedule to meet the needs of each new employee ensures everyone gets the information they need.
3. Provide and Receive Healthcare Employee Feedback
During the onboarding period, unit managers and preceptors should provide feedback on how a clinician is performing on the unit. Does a new nurse need to focus on improving their time management skills? Should they spend time reading up on new or unfamiliar procedures? Most employees appreciate receiving feedback during orientation and like to know that they're meeting facility expectations.
Additionally, it can be helpful for administrators to receive feedback on how a new employee believes their orientation is going. Results from employee surveys can help administrators improve the orientation process in the future.
Employee Orientation vs. Onboarding: What Are the Key Differences?
Now that we've covered each phase, you may be looking for more ways to tell the difference between onboarding and orientation tasks. In the table below, we review important distinctions between employee onboarding vs. orientation in the healthcare setting.
| Orientation | Onboarding |
|---|---|
| Completed at the facility or system levelMore of an HR focusTakes place in an office or classroom setting | Completed at the unit levelMore of a clinical focusTakes place in the patient care setting |
When considering onboarding vs. orientation, it's crucial to remember that both stages are essential to successful hiring, as each complements the other.
Are Orientation and Onboarding Ever Combined?
Some organizations may find it appropriate to fit all induction tasks into one session. For example, small outpatient settings may create clinical orientation programs to quickly get new nurses acquainted with simple patient-care workflows. However, in most settings this can leave employees feeling confused and unprepared. Healthcare facilities that have distinct orientation and onboarding programs are able to provide a comprehensive introduction to their facility and clinical team.
What Are Some Examples of Orientation and Onboarding Tasks?
Even after learning about key differences between employee onboarding vs. orientation, you may be looking to define the types of tasks completed during each stage. In the table below, we list examples of the types of tasks that are completed during onboarding vs. orientation to give you a better sense of how to plan and schedule your induction sessions.
| Orientation | Onboarding |
|---|---|
| Review and sign HR paperwork, including:Employment contract formsAttendance policiesBenefits enrollmentDirect deposit initiationParking pass enrollmentFamiliarize employees with the organization’s mission, vision, values, andcompany culture.Review employee uniform policy and ensure the new hire is prepared for the first day on the job. | Complete clinical competencies like:Glucometer calibration trainingMedication administration check-offIV blood draw processesEHR documentation trainingProper use of the unit’s PPEExpound on duties and responsibilities of the job, along with any unit-specific scheduling requirements and PTO processes.Complete team building activities and introduce the new hire to their clinical preceptor. |
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