How was your Externship ?

[DaddyO]

Anything good / bad to share.

My experience was mostly pleasant. One thing though...I was told during the interview, that I would be guaranteed 24hrs / week....but that it should not be difficult to get more hours. The additional hours never happened. So I was making a lot less than i originally planned for.

Also, I wish I had an opportunity to experience one other floor just so I can compare and contrast the areas.

Just trying to help those that are looking to apply for an Externship later.

Please share your experience. Is there anything you can suggest to improve your Externship program ? What did you appreciate most about the program ?

[DaddyO]

Hi,

I would check Hospital Websites, Your School and just the Internet overall. Here is a list I found, but this is not a complete list of all available programs. I say the list is not complete because I know of two programs in the State of NJ that I do not see listed here.

click: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/nursing/externships.pdf

Not sure which program you are in (ADN, Diploma or BSN)...but there a program here in NJ that will only hire BSN candidates, Just a little FYI when you are ready to do your search.

Hope this was helpful.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Around these parts externships are not posted online. You pretty much have to call and ask, or know someone.

My externship is ongoing - I am hired PRN to work whatever I want all the way through school.

I am enjoying my externship a lot, but it consists a lot of just getting assigned as a patient tech or a sitter for the day. While these do help me get used to dealing with all kinds of patients and I see all kinds of intriguing stuff, it has not done a lot for helping me develop my nursing skills. Some of the nurses are great and teach when they are in the room with me, some avoid being in the room with me at all, much like clinicals. I have gotten to witness a lot of neat stuff, but really would have liked/would like to do more hands on nursing tasks. I am not above doing tech work - I love working with the patients. But it seems being an externship should be just as much about learning nursing as about filling in a hole on the floor. They dress us in the same color scrubs as the techs, so unless someone is looking at my badge, they don't realize I am a nurse extern. I do view the whole position as one big, long job interview. And the times I do get to do nursing things or shadow a nurse are just awesome. I am so grateful to have landed the externship (highly competitive) and would not for the world want to give up anything on or about it. I think I just had a different idea of what it would be or entail.

[llg, PhD, RN]

My externship is ongoing - I am hired PRN to work whatever I want all the way through school.

QUOTE]

Your post raises a VERY important issue about externships that anyone considering one needs to think about. There are different types of externship programs.

Some are designed as educational programs and some are designed as "cheap labor" for hospitals. The ones focused most on providing education tend to be limited to the summers -- or at least more structured in their schedules. That structure is needed to organize the education offered. The ones focused more on providing cheap labor for hospitals tend to be more flexible in the scheduling and run year-round. They tend to be primarily just "part-time jobs for nursing students."

And of course ... there are some that blend a little of both.

You and the OP seem to have gone to extern programs that were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Students looking for externships need to be aware of those differences as they seek the best fit for their needs -- or at least know what they are getting into as they choose an extern program.

Thanks for adding your perspective to this thread.

[DaddyO]

RN2BDFW

I did have one or two days where I was a NA/Tech and I appreciated this. Reasons being, is that I am in a PT Nursing program that meets in the evenings. I had very very little experience at doing Tech work. In the evening we did not do any bed changes, washing Pts and etc.

I needed to learn this because even as a RN, these things are necessary for me to know. If the tech that is assigned to me is behind, I have no qualms on changing a Pt's bed or even washing if time allows. Unfortunately, I did see some nurses that will not do and will save this for the tech for whatever reason. No disrespect intended for saying this...I am just big on Team Work and I am never able doing anything.

But at my hospital, Student Externs are allowed to do a little more than the NA/Techs (Dressing Changes, d/c IV, D/c Drains and Foleys). So yea....I had to help with bed pans and wash a Pt or two....but I was able to do a little more which helped the Primary Nurse more.

Lastly, Student Externs wore different scrubs. Nurses wore White, Techs = Burgundy (or some printed burgundy combo...so had fancy scrubs) . Students wear Burgundy Tops with White Bottoms.

Thanks to llg, you and everyone else that has shared their experience/information thus far.

[RhodyGirl, RN]

I am in a very unique externship program, and want to share my experience so other nursing students can learn about it. This is a great thread-- thanks for starting it!

Ok, to start: I am starting my senior year of a BSN program in the fall (Aug 30th). Last spring, I started thinking about externships and getting my foot in the door somewhere (anywhere!). So, I started searching hospital websites and seeing what they had to offer. I applied to 3 large hospitals in April that all required med/surg 1 to be completed. Received a call back to interview with two of the hospitals, who both ultimately offered me a job which I had to decline due to my acceptance into a great program elsewhere.

Since I am an officer on my school's Student Nurses Association, I also became aware of the VALOR program at my local VA hospital. VALOR stands for VA Learning Opportunity Residency, and is open to nursing students and pharmacy students. It is very competitive and requires: a letter of recommendation from the Dean of Nursing at your school, enrollment in a BSN program (approaching senior year), four references from clinical instructors, 3.0 GPA and above, no less than a solid B in any nursing course, etc.

I applied to the VALOR program and ended up getting called for an interview. There were 19 applicants, and 8 of us were interviewed separately by a panel of nurses, nurse educators, etc. After this, 4 of us were called back for a second interview in front of another panel. Two of us were picked from the second interview and offered the job.

The program is 40 hours per week for 10 weeks in the summer, and then part time (1 or 2 shifts) during the school year until graduation. I am being paid 80% of a new grad RN salary, and am paired up with a preceptor. I'm on a general med/surg unit, and the other VALOR student is on a telemetry unit. I've learned: computerized charting, bar code med administration, IV starts, blood draws, blood transfusions, PICC line care, foley placement, etc, etc. I have also been to radiology to see PICC line placement, and will be floating to other areas of the hospital to get more experiences. I'll be going to ICU for a day, OR, ED, spend a day with the wound care nurse, infection control nurse, etc. I also attend classes; I've been to a wound care course, an ostomy care course, took a class about lateral violence in nursing, and lots of other stuff! The other VALOR student and I are also required to collaborate on a project for our units and present it to the nurse managers and other staff at the end of the month. We are given full use of the hospital's library and resources to complete the project, and get paid time off the floor to work on it.

It's really amazing. The vets are a tough population to work with, but for the most part are very grateful for everything you do for them. I feel like this program is miles above the rest in terms of learning how to utilize your time in patient care and learning valuable clinical skills. Also, if RN positions are available upon graduation, the VALOR's are given preference for these positions, and starting salary is 2 steps higher than a regular new grad BSN (equates to about an extra $5000/year). It was a real pain with all of the interviewing, paperwork, background checks, etc. to get into the VA system, but well worth it.

If anyone has questions about the program, please feel free to ask!