Nurse Residency Program Questions and Answers

You will need a MT RN license before starting employment with Billings Clinic. See state license requirements for compact states and those not compact states, yet. Out of state nurses are encouraged to apply for a MT license at the time of their NCLEX if they live in another state. See compact state information for more details on compact licensure or refer questions about that to Human Resources (HR).

It is not required to have your NCLEX taken or scheduled during the application process. You will need a MT RN license prior to starting to work at Billings Clinic.

Contact Human Resources at (406) 238-2595 or careers@billingsclinic.org when you know your scheduled NCLEX test date so they can alert the Nurse Residency Program and the program can plan cohort start dates for your anticipated arrival.

When HR is notified by you, that you did not pass they contact the unit manager and the decision is made to hold or rescind the offer of employment. The decision to hold your position for another attempt at the NCLEX means you are responsible for keeping in contact with HR to let them know your next scheduled test date and those results so that we can plan for your start date and entry into the orientation here at Billings Clinic.

Contact Human Resources with your result, they will help you through the onboarding process including Pre-Employment Testing and the orientation scheduling process. If you have requested time off that will occur within the first six to eight weeks of employment please inform HR of this so we can work together to determine the appropriate start time to allow for your personal time off requests around our selected start dates. We want your onboarding to be as smooth a process as possible without interruptions in time on the unit and in residency sessions.

We accept applications year round. Please note deadlines for specific cohort startdates.

See our job listings and website for more details. In submitting your application you will need to have letters of recommendation, GPA, and answers to our questions ready to insert into the application. 

You are welcome to sign back into the system using your username/password and follow the progress of your application from there. If you need additional information or have concerns you can contact Human Resources at (406) 238-2595 or careers@billingsclinic.org.

HR will schedule you if you’ve been chosen to come in for an interview. After the interview you should hear back from HR within a week or two. When the position is closed you will be notified by HR.

The total process can take up to 2-6 weeks after the application acceptance date passes to allow for interview scheduling, Interviews, manager decisions, and notifying you.

After the interview you should hear back from HR within a week or two. You may also hear back if a unit peer interview is requested.

A couple of weeks after the application close date we will start scheduling interviews.

After the application deadline, all applications are reviewed and scored based on established criteria such as work, volunteer experience, leadership experience, and references. Once applications are reviewed, offers for interviews will be made.

Interviews are usually up to 30 minutes in length. Interviews are usually a panel interview style.

The number of residents hired for each cohort group is determined in collaboration with the leaders of those clinical areas and is based on the number of current staff vacancies.

Please mention these vacation requests to Human Resources prior to interviewing. The request may mean that you will be placed in the next cohort based on your needs for time off.

Please mention these vacation requests to Human Resources after interviewing and prior to scheduling your start date. The request may mean that you will be placed in a later orientation start date or the next cohort based on your needs for time off. We would prefer to work around your needs than disrupt your orientation. You are not eligible for paid leave during the orientation portion of your employment.

The Nurse Residency Program has cohort start dates at a minimum three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall. Start dates may vary based on organizational needs and the passing NCLEX status of our nurse graduates.

The Nurse Residency is for graduate nurses with less than 12 months of RN working experience, who have graduated from an accredited nursing program (ADN, BSN, Accelerated BSN, or MSN). Nurse residents must have graduated and passed the NCLEX to join us.

The total program is one year long. The nurse residency program is an extensive one year long commitment to monthly, 4 hour educational sessions.

Yes, nurses with less than a year of RN experience or those moving into acute care from other care settings are offered the opportunity to join the Nurse Residency Program upon hire to Billings Clinic.

The letter of interest should be freeform and include a short 2-3 sentence paragraph introducing you to our managers and then addresses the required six questions.

You are given 3 years from your start date to complete your BSN, enrolling into your BSN program right away is up to you. Full-time is considered 36-40 hours per week. Work is a full time commitment on top of family and other commitments the new graduate nurse might have in their first year.