Marshia Mizan
Externships for student nurses are an excellent way for them to see what a real nursing profession is like. They usually take place in the summer before senior year. They give you the chance to obtain clinical experience outside of the classroom and introduce nursing students to the working world before they graduate. As a nurse intern, your main responsibility is to shadow a nurse. Some fundamental responsibilities include taking vital signs, gathering specimens, helping the nurse with bedside skills, and completing clerical work.
This summer I will be working at the, University of Chicago New Hyde Park campus as a nurse extern for the Medical Surgical unit over a 10 week summer program. The process consisted of two interviews, a resume upload, 3 professional references, and answering a prompt question in essay format. The entire process took around 2 months, and I am currently filling out the onboarding documents. I would recommend starting your nurse externship search in October, since this is when applications begin to open up.
Although I have not started my externship I am extremely excited about the opportunity. Especially, because its located in a new city. While searching for hospitals to apply to I made sure to look for hospitals that had Magnet certification. Magnet hospitals are recognition programs operated by the American Nurses Credentialing Center that allows nurses to recognize nursing excellence in other nurses. It is considered the highest recognition for nursing excellence (Levine, 2023).
All things considered, I believe the nursing externship program is totally worth it, especially since it allows you to gain practical clinical experience before graduating and you get paid!
References:
Levine, N. (2023). Why You Should Consider Magnet Recognition in Your Care. Cedars Sinai. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/magnet-recognition-in-your-care.html#:~:text=Magnet%20hospitals%20are%20associated%20with,improved%20quality%20and%20patient%20safety.