Lutheran Hospital of Indiana

Trauma Center · Fort Wayne, IN

Before you choose a unit

Scheduling

Neuro/Trauma ICU runs 12-hour day shifts (5a-5p) with every 4th weekend rotation and no call; Cardiac ICU operates 12-hour night shifts (5p-5a).

Lutheran Hospital of Indiana · employer research

Sources

As of date unknownSource: indeed.com

Ask the unit manager

How often is overtime required? Who covers a short shift? Can I meet my preceptor or shadow the team?

Prepare for a manager conversation

Your six-month RN application plan

Start about six months before graduation. Some programs open earlier; use each employer’s application dates.

Graduation month

6 months before
Shortlist units
Check application windows. Gather clinical experience, references and your expected graduation date.
Find residencies
4–6 months before
Apply as windows open
Apply before graduation when the program allows it. Keep the cohort date and license deadline with each application.
Explore new grad jobs
2–3 months before
Meet the unit manager
Ask about overtime, a shadow shift, preceptor continuity and the schedule after orientation.
Prepare your questions
Around graduation
Confirm your start
Coordinate NCLEX, the required license and your start date. Get relocation and repayment terms in writing.
Plan your license

Why start this early?

Advocate describes a 6–9 month application runway for several regional RN programs. These milestones are a planning guide, not deadlines for every employer. See program calendars.

On the floor

What the day-to-day looks like

Setting: Trauma Center
Shifts hiring now: Days 1 · Nights 1

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision begin the first month after hire, with sign-on bonuses on some RN openings including Cardiac ICU.

What stands out

Experienced nurses
You'd be walking into a Level 2 Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center with distinct Cardiac and Neuro/Trauma ICUs, so the acuity is specialized rather than general.
Sources
As of date unknownSource: indeed.com
Experienced nurses
Neuro/Trauma ICU is a 5a-5p day shift with every fourth weekend and no call, which is a schedule you can actually plan a life around.
Sources
As of date unknownSource: indeed.com
Moving here
Medical, dental, and vision coverage start the first month after hire, so a move doesn't leave you with a coverage gap.

More about working here

Experienced nurses
A sign-on bonus is attached to the RN Cardiac ICU role, which runs 12-hour nights from 5p to 5a.
Sources
As of date unknownSource: indeed.com

Published pay and benefits

Sign-on bonus

Sign-on bonus offered for RN Cardiac ICU

As of date unknown

Sources

Source: indeed.com

The city

Living in Fort Wayne, IN

Fort Wayne pairs major regional health networks with an easygoing rhythm along three converging rivers. A cost of living about 7% below the national average stretches your paycheck, while off-shifts invite kayak launches at Promenade Park and strolls through historic West Central. It’s high-impact nursing paired with genuine Midwest breathing room.

Browse roles in Fort Wayne

Map showing the location of Fort Wayne, IN — Fort Wayne, IN on the map · © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap· Open the live map

Metro price level · Fort Wayne area: 7% below the national average; BEA index 92.6 (100 = national)
Median gross rent: $999/mo; rent and tenant-paid utilities
Median household income: $61,422/yr; all local households, not nurse pay

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · 2024 metro Regional Price Parities · Census ACS 2024

Who they are

Lutheran Hospital of Indiana is an acute care hospital with Level 2 Trauma and Comprehensive Stroke Center designations, and it splits critical care into Cardiac and Neuro/Trauma ICUs.

Trauma Center · Fort Wayne
Hiring days & nights
Sign-on bonus · 1 role

Working here

Culture and working life

Themes from public reviews

Summaries of published reviews, with the original sources.

Staffing and morale concerns: Reviews on employer review platforms describe ongoing difficulties with understaffing and low employee morale.; Sources
As of date unknownSource: facebook.com

What to weigh

Reviews on employer review sites describe ongoing understaffing and low morale — worth asking directly about unit-level staffing on the day you interview.

Sources

As of date unknownSource: facebook.com

The reality check

Before you decide

Quick facts

Relationship: Direct employer
Roles last seen active: Sep 18, 2026

Ask Mira about Lutheran Hospital of Indiana

Weighing a first job here?

The license clock and the job hunt run at once, and new-grad windows do the deciding. Residency commitments carry fine print worth reading before you sign.

See your windows →Residency fine print