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The Nurse Residency is for graduate nurses who have graduated from an accredited and state-approved nursing program with either an Associate's Degree in Nursing (ASN or ADN), Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, or higher.
- Nurse Residents hired into the program without a BSN will be encouraged to attain a BSN within 3 years.
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The Nurse Residency Program lasts for one year. We ask that you commit to employment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for one additional year after completing the program.
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Upon application, if you possess less than six months of experience as an RN, you should apply to the Nurse Residency program.
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You must have completed all of the school requirements before the residency start date or you will not be eligible for the program.
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We strongly discourage residents from attending school during the year of the Nurse Residency. You are orienting to a new career and are required to work full-time during the first year. Full-time is considered between 32-40 hours per week depending on your specific department.
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As part of your application process, you will upload a recorded video interview. This interview will be reviewed and eligible candidates will be sent to our clinical leaders within one of your preferred departments. You will be contacted via email to schedule a department conversation with one or more of our clinical leaders. The scheduling of these department conversations will begin within 2 weeks after the application deadline. Candidates who are not offered an opportunity for a department conversation will be notified at that same time.
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After the application acceptance period ends, all applications are reviewed. Once applications are reviewed, they are sorted into track preferences and offers for department conversations are made.
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We generally interview 2-3 times the number of applicants that we plan to hire based on size of the department and staffing needs.
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The video interview will be reviewed by the clinical leaders. Those selected after review will complete one (or more) department conversations that will last up to 30 minutes. These will be virtual (Skype, Microsoft Teams, ZOOM, or phone).
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If you are unsure of the area or track that you are most interested in but want to start your nursing career at Vanderbilt, consider applying for the tracks that will be interviewing and hiring a larger number of nurse residents. For example: The Adult Acute Medicine, Surgical, Cardiology, Oncology, and Wilson County tracks have multiple units and will interview and hire a larger number of residents than single unit tracks. Additionally, highly specialized units (such as Burn, Psych, Neuro ICU, Adult and Pediatric Holding Room/PACU, Pediatric Operating Room, Pediatric ICU and Pediatric Cardiac ICU) require a larger pool of candidates to meet their needs.
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The number of residents hired for each track is determined in collaboration with the leaders of those clinical areas and is based on the number of departments in the track and the number of staff vacancies. Candidates who are recommended for hire but not offered positions (based on hiring numbers) are placed on a wait list.
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Candidates on the waitlist are highly qualified and have been recommended by the clinical leaders. In the time between the video interview, department conversation, and offers, some candidates make other decisions about employment and decline offers made by Vanderbilt. This opens up opportunities for those on the waitlist. Offers are frequently made to candidates on the waitlists.
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Yes. Nurse Residents are considered full-time employees and are eligible to receive benefits and paid time off
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You are not eligible for leave during the orientation portion of your employment.
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Most often, newly hired nurses are scheduled on the night shift. Depending on the staffing needs of the unit, there may be day shift opportunities available. The total hours worked each week will range from 32 – 40 hours per week. There will be some variation of numbers of hours per day and number of days per week during the first weeks. However, you will not work more than 40 hours a week during orientation and not more than 12 hours in one day. You are required to work full-time during the year of the Nurse Residency Program. In the VUAH, Children's Hospital, and Vanderbilt Wilson County, you will primarily work 12-hour shifts during orientation with the exception of designated days for classroom or simulated lab instruction. In VPH, shifts are generally 8 hours in length, while in VMG the shift is dependent on clinic hours.
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Nurse residents are required to be licensed prior to their start date. Residents that can provide official documentation of successful NCLEX results and pending application for TN RN licensure (or a state that is part of the enhanced nurse licensure compact) will be considered eligible to start. Residents who have not yet passed the NCLEX or applied for licensure (in TN or a state that is a part of the enhanced nurse licensure compact) may be considered for a later start date pending position availability.
For more information specific to licensure at VUMC watch this 15 minute video.
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Candidates who have not yet passed the NCLEX or applied for licensure (in TN or a state that is a part of the enhanced nurse licensure compact) may be considered for a later start date pending position availability & successful meeting of above requirements.
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The Nurse Residency Program has varying start dates each year, usually January, February, April, June, July, September, & October. Start dates may vary based on organizational needs.
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Click for the complete track listing with units.
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You are considered for the track you have indicated as your preference. If there is a track which has a need for additional candidates, you may receive an offer for a department conversation in a track other than your preference.
