Gerard
With the rollout of more and more vaccines everyday and with things are starting to look more and more positive, there are many job opportunities out there for nursing students. Whether you are looking for a job, an internship/externship, or just a place to volunteer, there are many opportunities for you in the Binghamton area.
First, I think it is important to mention volunteer opportunities. With the pandemic, many in-hospital volunteer opportunities were shut down but, are finally beginning to open up. New opportunities to volunteer have also begun. Many COVID testing sites and Vaccine Clinics are open to volunteers to help keep people safe and to administer the vaccine to as many people as possible. These volunteer opportunities are great experiences to get some in-person experience and to really make a difference in the community. Volunteering in a local hospital is a great way to help out and really get a feel for what it is like helping out in a hospital.
Other popular job opportunities for nursing students are Nurse's aides position's. These positions have a variety of job titles such as Patient Care Technicians (PCT's). Some of these job opportunities require a CNA title or Nursing Assistant Certificate but many do not. CNA positions allow for a larger role in the hospital. On the other hand, unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) is a role similar to working as a PCT, but unlike a CNA, does not require any previous certification. In the Binghamton area, Our Lady of Lourdes and UHS both hire Patient care technicians which does not require a license. This is a great way to build patient communication skills and many various clinical skills. Working as an Aide is a great way to learn hands on and to increase in your clinical confidence. With many courses online, this is a great experience for all nursing students who wish they had some more in-person hospital time. Orientation and training can be done during the semester or even during the summer for those who live off campus or have housing in the Binghamton area. Many of these jobs have per diem positions which allow for flexibility which helps with school. This is a great way for freshman and sophomores to get some hospital experience before starting clinicals. Juniors and seniors should also consider this as a way to build on clinical skills and to improve their patient interaction! Patient interaction is something many students lack before the start of clinical so any type of job can help! Working in certain hospitals may even help with building connections to possibly work at that hospital later on as an RN!
Internships and Externships are usually completed by Junior year nursing students in the summer going into their Senior year. These are usually completed closer to home but there are also opportunities in the Binghamton area for those who may have housing in Binghamton for the summer. These opportunities allow students to build on their clinical skills and shadow a nurse to further develop clinical competency. Plenty of recognized hospitals have internship and externship positions such as Upstate Medical Center, Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center, NYU, Northwell Health, and Garnet Health are just some of the hospitals that BU students apply too! Students can also apply to areas in other states! The Mayo Clinical and even St. Jude Children's research hospital also offer Nurse extern programs to nursing students. Keep an eye out for many of these applications during the end of your Junior fall semester and throughout winter break. Many of these applications are only open for a limited amount of time and are very competitive!
Having an updated resume is very important while in school here. Juniors and Seniors should constantly be updating their resumes after each clinical experience! Freshman and sophomores should look to update their resume with any new experience or research projects! Having a complete resume on-hand is important when applying to any job or externship/internship. One resources here at Binghamton University is our Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development! The Fleishman Center offers VMock which is a free online resume review platform. The Fleishman Center also offers Virtual resume help with specifically for Nursing Students! Use of the Fleishman Center's resources is highly recommended for all BU students to use! The Nursing Student Association (NSA) club also hosts many Career Building sessions that help students with resumes, creating Linked-In accounts and many other various Career sessions!
Getting involved with Nursing early on in your college experience is a great way to further see your passion for nursing. During your prerequisite coursework although your classes are not specifically nursing courses they are still very important. That being said, the best feeling is starting your core Nursing coursework Junior year and being confident that Nursing was the right choice for you!
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