Graduate Nurse - Registered Nurse - Post-Licensure

Madison, Wisconsin

Participates in the Graduate Nurse Residency program while completing orientation. St. Mary's Hospital is hiring for its own floors, with no agency in between.

Posted Sep 12 · New grads welcomed

Shift and hours: Rotating
Unit and setting: Hospital
License: RN license

Do you qualify?

New grads: Welcomed, residency program Participates in the Graduate Nurse Residency program while completing orientation.

Your six-month RN application plan

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

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

What it pays

Tuition assistance: upfront tuition coverage through FlexPath Funded for eligible team members
Pay reviews: instant access to earned, unpaid base pay before payday Flexible Payment Options: instant access to earned, unpaid base pay before payday (fees may apply)fees may apply

Benefits

Benefitsone week of paid parental leave for newborns or newly adopted children (pro-rated based on FTE)Paid Parental Leave: one week of paid parental leave for newborns or newly adopted children (pro-rated based on FTE)
Benefitsupfront tuition coverage through FlexPath Funded for eligible team membersUpfront Tuition Coverage: upfront tuition coverage through FlexPath Funded for eligible team members
Paid Parental Leave: one week of paid parental leave for newborns or newly adopted children (pro-rated based on FTE)
Flexible Payment Options: instant access to earned, unpaid base pay before payday (fees may apply)
Upfront Tuition Coverage: upfront tuition coverage through FlexPath Funded for eligible team members

Posted pay in Wisconsin

The role and schedule

Day to day: participates in Graduate Nurse Residency program while completing orientation
Day to day: provides quality patient care and works with multidisciplinary team Provides quality care to patients and works with a multi-disciplinary team to ensure the highest level of patient satisfaction.
Day to day: assesses patient condition, sets goals, and prescribes nursing actions Assesses the patient's condition and nursing needs, sets goals, and prescribes appropriate nursing actions to meet those goals and the needs of the patient.
Day to day: reports and records observations and reactions accurately Reports pertinent observations and reactions regarding patients to the appropriate person and records those observations accurately and concisely.
Day to day: evaluates effectiveness of nursing interventions Demonstrates the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing interventions in accomplishing goals and intended patient care outcomes.
Day to day: participates in meetings, in-services, and quality improvement groups Actively participates in meetings, in-services, and quality and performance improvement groups.

Support on this unit

The posting does not state the assignment size, and nothing published names it for this unit.

Orientation: Residency program

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Your fit

Questions to ask

Can you walk me through base pay range and differentials?
What should I expect for weekly hours, weekend, holiday, call, and rotation?
What preceptor time and ongoing unit support are included?
How are patient load, floating, and staffing support handled day to day?

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Original listing

Posted on St. Mary's Hospital’s careers page.

Read full text

Participates in the Graduate Nurse Residency program while completing orientation. Provides quality care to patients and works with a multi-disciplinary team to ensure the highest level of patient satisfaction. Assesses the patient's condition and nursing needs, sets goals, and prescribes appropriate nursing actions to meet those goals and the needs of the patient.

Reports pertinent observations and reactions regarding patients to the appropriate person and records those observations accurately and concisely. Demonstrates the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing interventions in accomplishing goals and intended patient care outcomes. Actively participates in meetings, in-services, and quality and performance improvement groups.

What's around it?

In Madison, WI

Madison, WIFrom Census ACS 2024.

Living costs about 3% below the US average

Median rent: $1,413/mo
Household income: $78,050/yr, all local households, not nurse pay

Life in Madison, WI

NeighborhoodsRecent grads and young professionals on Reddit often look at East Washington Avenue and blocks right by the Capitol, plus East Side pockets that stay cheaper than the near-east even as they gentrify; Sun Prairie comes up as a cheaper bedroom-community commute. Extra Space’s 2026 roundup flags Hill Farms-University as the in-city budget option (median home $274,000, median rent $708), Marquette for historic charm and lakeside recreation ($298,833 / $1,186), Vilas near UW–Madison ($393,950 / $1,475), and Dudgeon-Monroe as a tree-lined mix of families and young pros with more than a mile and a half of Monroe Street shops ($423,567 / $1,287). Families are frequently pointed toward suburbs Verona, Middleton, and Waunakee.

Recent grads and young professionals on Reddit often look at East Washington Avenue and blocks right by the Capitol, plus East Side pockets that stay cheaper than the near-east even as they gentrify; Sun Prairie comes up as a cheaper bedroom-community commute. Extra Space’s 2026 roundup flags Hill Farms-University as the in-city budget option (median home $274,000, median rent $708), Marquette for historic charm and lakeside recreation ($298,833 / $1,186), Vilas near UW–Madison ($393,950 / $1,475), and Dudgeon-Monroe as a tree-lined mix of families and young pros with more than a mile and a half of Monroe Street shops ($423,567 / $1,287).

Families are frequently pointed toward suburbs Verona, Middleton, and Waunakee.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: reddit.com Source 2: extraspace.com Source 3: facebook.com

Getting aroundU.S. News puts the typical Madison commute at about 18.31 minutes. Metro Transit’s Rapid Route A BRT runs east-west from the Sun Prairie Park and Ride to Junction Road with 15-minute weekday service until 8:00 p.m. and 15-minute Saturday service until 7:00 p.m.; Routes B and F also board along that corridor, so a home near a BRT station can feel closer than the map suggests. Redfin scores transit 35/100 and flags limited, inconsistent buses especially in the suburbs, so most nurses will still want a car. The west side holds about 33,000 residents and more than 23,000 jobs concentrated around University Research Park; UW Hospital and Clinics is the named major healthcare hub. Hospital parking and shift-specific routes are not covered in these sources.

U.S. News puts the typical Madison commute at about 18.31 minutes. Metro Transit’s Rapid Route A BRT runs east-west from the Sun Prairie Park and Ride to Junction Road with 15-minute weekday service until 8:00 p.m. and 15-minute Saturday service until 7:00 p.m.; Routes B and F also board along that corridor, so a home near a BRT station can feel closer than the map suggests.

Redfin scores transit 35/100 and flags limited, inconsistent buses especially in the suburbs, so most nurses will still want a car. The west side holds about 33,000 residents and more than 23,000 jobs concentrated around University Research Park; UW Hospital and Clinics is the named major healthcare hub.

Hospital parking and shift-specific routes are not covered in these sources.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: realestate.usnews.com Source 2: susansuttonhomes.com Source 3: redfin.com Source 4: apartmentguide.com

OutdoorsMadison sits between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona among five area lakes, with 307 parks, a free Henry Vilas Zoo, and more than 200 miles of biking and hiking trails including the Capital City State Trail. Named greenspaces include Olbrich Park and Hillington Green Park in Dudgeon-Monroe; residents kayak, fish, boat, and paddleboard the lakes, and state parks sit within about an hour’s drive. Winters shut down much of this, but summers turn the lakes, beer gardens, and trail network into daily life rather than weekend trips.

Madison sits between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona among five area lakes, with 307 parks, a free Henry Vilas Zoo, and more than 200 miles of biking and hiking trails including the Capital City State Trail. Named greenspaces include Olbrich Park and Hillington Green Park in Dudgeon-Monroe; residents kayak, fish, boat, and paddleboard the lakes, and state parks sit within about an hour’s drive.

Winters shut down much of this, but summers turn the lakes, beer gardens, and trail network into daily life rather than weekend trips.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: visitmadison.com Source 2: redfin.com Source 3: youtube.com Source 4: apartmentguide.com Source 5: extraspace.com

Others hiring in Madison, WI

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Moving for this role?

Living in Madison

Madison is a mid-size capital and Big Ten town squeezed between Lakes Mendota and Monona, with 307 parks, 200-plus miles of trails, a free Henry Vilas Zoo, and the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Capitol Square. Nurses get UW Hospital and Clinics plus west-side jobs at University Research Park; typical commute is about 18 minutes, but Rapid Route A is the only frequent BRT spine and Transit Score is 35, so most still drive. Young professionals land on the East Side, East Wash, and near the Capitol; Hill Farms-University is the budget in-city option, Dudgeon-Monroe and Vilas cost more near Monroe Street and campus. Food is a genuine draw—The Old Fashioned, Graze, State Street Brats, Olbrich Biergarten, and a thick brewery circuit. Locals are blunt about tradeoffs: winters can run November through March, listings hit about $486k in 2026, diversity is limited, and this is not a big city. If you bike, boat, and can handle a long winter, daily quality of life is the pitch.

AI area guide

Sources

As of 2026Source 1: visitmadison.com Source 2: realestate.usnews.com Source 3: susansuttonhomes.com Source 4: extraspace.com Source 5: redfin.com Source 6: concoursehotel.com Source 7: youtube.com Source 8: thehonestlocal.com

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Shortlist units

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Meet the unit manager

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What it pays

Benefits

The role and schedule

Support on this unit

Ask Mira

Your fit

Questions to ask

Original listing

What's around it?

Madison, WIiFrom Census ACS 2024.

Life in Madison, WI

Moving for this role?

Nurses on this role

Nurses on this role

Life in Madison, WI

Moving for this role?

Nurses on this role

Madison, WIFrom Census ACS 2024.