ACE Program Onboarding Process

The Externship Program, which Cornerstone International College coined as Accelerated Clinical Experience (ACE) Program, presents employers with a unique opportunity to market their company and provide outreach to the community. The ACE Program is designed to be a short-term interaction to foster career education, shadowing, and mentoring and usually offers no pay.

The ACE Program is the next step after passing the board certification. Board certification is a requirement in order to be eligible to participate in the ACE Program.

We believe that relationships are essential to strategic partnerships. The more ways we find to connect businesses and organizations to great talent and superior resources, the better synergies we are able to foster within the community. These mutually beneficial relationships allow Cornerstone and its Academic Partners, such as hospitals, to achieve even greater success. 

The ACE Program Process is broken down into 5 sections:

1. ACE Program Orientation

2. Onboarding Process Requirements

3. Assessments

4. Drug / Background Screening

5. Placement Process

Please complete each step as shown in the ACE Program Lifecycle diagram.

The ACE Program Orientation is mandatory and is one of the requirements to be eligible to participate in the ACE Program. ORIENTATION is held 1-2 weeks after the board exam. Please note that the Program Coordinators only hold once every quarter or 4 ACE Program Orientation per year.

The Accelerated Clinical Experience (ACE) Program Policy and Procedure was established by the College Board of Directors to provide guidance to all ACE Participants who will be participating in the Clinical Training in a healthcare facility in which the college is affiliated and contracted with.  To have a rewarding and successful experience, the ACE Participants must abide by the regulations set forth by the college and the healthcare facility. Each facility has its own Policy and Procedure and therefore, such rules and regulations shall supplement and complement the college’s rules and regulations.

As part of the Onboarding Process, you need to prepare the relevant paperwork and information prior to your first day in the ACE Program. Start by entering and completing your basic information in the form fields below.

This part of the process is called transactional onboarding and focuses on completing all the necessary forms and documents so you can start your ACE Program.

Some of the forms / documentation you need to prepare are:

Please review, sign and submit to your assigned ACE Coordinator.

After you have reviewed and signed the documents, please upload the completed and signed documents here.

This part of the process is called transactional onboarding and focuses on completing all the necessary forms and documents so you can start your ACE Program.

Some of the forms / documentation you need to prepare are:

During the training period, your new employee should work closely with a supervisor or mentor. A supervisor ensures the new employee is oriented in the organization, policies, facilities and more. 

To ensure this process goes well, you should discuss the new employee's role with their supervisor. Discuss the goals you have set for the new hire and think of appropriate projects that would be beneficial for the training period. Note all of these in the appropriate form fields below.

(Source: managementhelp.org)

When preparing the workstation ensure it follows the comfort and health guidelines. Prepare the employee's workstation before they arrive to avoid any delays on their first day. Include items like:

• Furniture (desk, chair)
• Telephone
• Computer
• Desk supplies (business card, stapler, letterhead, paper, pens etc.)

If you really want to impress your new employee, add items like branded pens, backpack, t-shirt or mug on your employee's desk.

(Sources: expertsupervisor.com & commongoodcareers.org)

Before your employee arrives, it is important to prepare the necessary tools and ensure your new hire will be able to access them. Fill in (or add to) the form fields below as necessary.

Also consider details like (but not limited to):

• Keys to rooms they will need access to
• Company mobile phone

To make sure you provide your employee with all the necessary items, you can note down the steps you take each day and what tools you use. You can also make a checklist here on Process Street that you can also use in future when distributing tools to new employees ensuring you remember everything.

No self-respecting employee onboarding checklist would be complete without making sure that you create all the accounts required by the new employee. Fill in (or add to) the form fields below as necessary.

As shown above, create accounts on all social platforms your company uses. Your employee should have their own email and phone line. If your company uses apps like Slack or Trello you should create an account there as well.

You have discussed the job in more detail during the interview, but now it's time to give specific instructions on what you expect your employee to do. Upload a copy of this specific job description to the form field below.

If you would like a guideline for this document, see above for a detailed job description template.

Note the necessary qualifications, you can use this place to mention the required reading. You should also list your new employee's key responsibilities and a short description.

This form can later be used as a guideline for employee evaluation. You can see if the goals you set have been made, responsibilities executed and your employee's skills are sufficient for the task.

Often a new employee will arrive during a busy working week. In this case welcoming the new hire is overlooked and they are not caught up to speed with the team or new role. To avoid this, you should clear your schedule and make the new employee the number one priority for the day.

You should introduce them to the team - talk about their role, tell them why you selected them - this will help the rest of the team remember them better. Notify your team in advance that the new employee is arriving so they can schedule some time to get to know them.

(Source: miningman.com)

Take your employee on a tour around the office. Let them know where all the important and common areas are. Make sure they know where to find:

• Kitchen
• Reception
• Bathroom
• Their workspace
• Support desk
• HR area
• Their mentor's office

There might be more areas such as the IT department, sales department and others more specific to your company. If you practice an open door system you can show the new employee where your office is and encourage them to visit you if they have any questions.

Send your introductory training material, or add the employee to your LMS and assign the relevant courses.

If you want your employees to perform well you need to let them know what you expect. Outline the general areas of knowledge and skills required to ensure your employee is successful in his/her job. Think about:

• What goods and services should the job produce?
• What impact should the work have on the organization?
• How do you expect the employee to act with clients, colleagues, and supervisors?
• What are the organizational values the employee must demonstrate?
• What are the processes, methods, or means the employee is expected to use?

(Source: hrweb.berkeley.edu)

Usually, this step is covered by the HR team. Have them contact your new employee to explain details such as:

• When s/he must arrive at the office
• Where s/he must park
• How s/he will access the building
• What your company’s dress code is

(Source: hrpulse.co.za)

To ensure your new employee has the opportunity to seek help and work productively, you should assign a mentor.

They will ensure the employee quickly learns about the job and has assistance throughout the process. 

It is important to find a good candidate for mentoring, you can check out these 15 characteristics of a successful mentor to ensure you find the right fit.

(Source: humanresources.about.com)

You should take your new employee out for lunch. If you have already introduced them to their mentor it might be a good idea to have lunch with both of them.

Avoid discussing work during this time, it should be purely about getting to know one another.

Once your new employee has settled in, got to know the team and feels comfortable in the workplace you should assign their first project.

This will ensure they learn the job hands on and feel valuable to the company, rather than doing menial tasks.

You have already explained the overall expectations, but now it's time to let your employee know the specifics. 

Refer to the job description and make a plan for your employee to follow; let them know exactly what they will be expected to do. If possible, notify them of any upcoming projects and predicted workflow.

Schedule a meeting with the employee and a member from the HR team to ensure all the forms are filled and correct. Record the date of the meeting in the form field below.

Use this time to let your employee know if there is any other paperwork for them to fill in including tax forms.

Ask a member from the HR team to explain everything to your employee and tell them about the specifics. Let the new employee know he/she is encouraged to ask any questions and can use this time to discuss any and all work related paperwork issues.

You should schedule meetings with the employee for the first month. Use this time to address any issues and concerns your employee might have. You should also spend the meetings offering some constructive criticism and advice on different tasks. 

A good way to schedule these meetings is by using Google Calendar. Add your employee to the event and make sure you are both ready for the meeting.

There are some long term goals your company is moving towards. You should let your employee know where s/he fits in the picture. 

Letting your employee know that he/she is involved in some long term goals will make them feel more secure and understand the mission they are working to achieve.

Now that you have decided where exactly your new employee fits in you should encourage them to further their knowledge in the field. Ask them to read books, articles and magazines about the appropriate themes.

Have your new employee interact with the team. If the team members interact with each other they will work together much better. Perhaps you can organize some out of work activities for the team to make sure they build good relationships and enjoy operating as a team.

Once the employee is settled in and feels more comfortable in the workplace it's time for you to review your onboarding process. Evaluate the steps that do and don't work for you.

Ask your employee for their opinion, perhaps create a survey and hear their thoughts to improve your onboarding process in the future.

Once you've got your results, create a new employee onboarding checklist here in Process Street to work through in the future.

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