nurse externships

Aerolizing · Nov 22, 2001

Hi Brown Suga,

I was a nurse tech, not sure if that is the same thing as an extern but probably close. I was based on an ortho floor and got to have my elective floor (since no one in their right mind would ever want psych) sometimes.

I floated from floor to floor. I got to see everything but peds and ob which I requested not to have. I think it was what got me through nursing school. I got more experience and gained more knowledge and confidence by doing real nursing. They never mention how much urine you see in one day in nursing school. That always used to be the majority of my day. Pee cleanup, poop cleanup. I was a longstanding member of the poop patrol. I got to see a softball poop. Go-litely poop all over the bathroom wall, toilet, floor and patient. I got to see poop fill up a large metal bedpan and I mean fill. I saw bright red colostomy stool from a GI bleed who went into shock. I saw floaties that looked like worms in a catheter I emtied. All dinner table talk I know. Those days were fun. But I did get to learn time management which they don't teach you in nursing school. Try applying the same time management for two patients you have in school to the 65billion you have in real life. I got to observe anything I wanted to. I saw how nurses dealt with families when patients died. I got to learn neat little tricks like gingerale always goes with feeding tubes before meds, after meds and before and after feedings. I got to learn how to fill in patient acquity sheets. I learned when a 92 year old lady says she is giving birth, she is probably constipated. More poop talk. I learned to be floated in the middle of the shift with dignity. I even learned how to be assertive when a nurse tried to give me 14 patients when 7 was my limit. I learned when to admit I am wrong like when a hospital employee asked me about the lady in 405 and I told her she has been on the call bell every five minutes since I walked in the door and she is driving me crazy and then learned that the employee was here to see her gramma in room 405. You learn so much from actually doing it and where else will you have the resources of the other nurses. I tried to do as much as I could as a tech because I figured soon enough it would be my license I would be practicing under. That was a scary thought. Take the job. Even if you can only work once a week. I can't recommend it enough. I don't understand why more nursing students don't do it.

Good luck

Brown Suga · Nov 22, 2001

Aerolizing,

Thank you for responding to my post. I am currently working in a local hospital as a nursing assistant in extended care. I am starting to get burnout and looking for something new to try. I personally would like to see schools offer the students an hourly wage while attending clinicals. I feel if the schools did this most students won't have to work two jobs. I am referring to school and work outside of school. I belive by getting into the nurse extern I will be able to see new areas of nursing besides the time that will be spend in clinicals. I will also be able to make new contacts that will be helpful when it comes to graduation. Once again thank you.

janleb · Nov 22, 2001

recently I went to a student nurse convention at ohio state u. They have a externship program it is 16 weeks, you pick three areas in the hospital that you think you would be interested in. You spend four weeks in each area and the last four in the area you want to work for the duration. I graduate in June and already applied. I can't wait. J

essarge · Nov 26, 2001

I just called a hospital that offers a nurse extern program and there are two requirements and I meet both of them. 1) Must be enrolled in an accredited nursing program witht he ultimate goal of becoming a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse and 2) Complete at least one clinical rotation experience in preferably an acute care setting.

I'm hoping the nurse recruiter calls back soon. My main interest is in the ER and this just happens to be the hospital that I want to work at when I graduate.