Student Nurse Summer Opportunities in Tucson, AZ

[ccarr]

I am new to this website and am not sure if I am posting this in the correct area so, please forgive me if I am not. I am wanting to move to Tucson, AZ this summer from out of state. The area I live in doesn't have the best summer opportunities for nursing students and I would like to be able to be in a hospital or office setting. I have looked at several of the hospital websites and none mention anything about externships for the summer. Does anyone have any advice as to where I should be looking? I have absolutely fallen in love with Pediatrics and am very interested in working in a Pediatric Hospital or office for the summer. Do you know if Pediatric offices hire nursing students for the summer? I do not have my CNA because our nursing program didn't require that for admission. I am starting my senior year of my BSN in the Fall. If anyone could point me in the right direction or give me any recommendations as to where to look possibly. Thank you!

[liairis]

I also live in Tucson and completed an externship at The University of Arizona Medical Center- University Campus last summer. I would absolutely recommend this hospital! They have a great nurse to patient ratio, are magnet status, and offer an 8 week paid summer externship. They typically hire externs in general pediatrics, as well as the PICU, NICU and peds hematology/oncology. The only requirement is that you will have completed 3 semesters of nursing school by the time the externship starts. The applications generally open in March or April, but I would recommend calling nurse recruitment to get a better idea of the exact dates. They updated the website and I couldn't find externship info, so I would just call the operator at 520-694-0111 and ask for nurse recruitment. They are usually great about getting back to you.

I think it is so smart that you are thinking of looking for a summer position...it is extremely beneficial, and you will feel like 4th semester is a breeze after your externship! Also, many of my classmates (myself included) were offered RN positions on the floor where they were externs. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

[ccarr]

Thank you so much for all that information! I will definitely be calling them. I am just concerned that coming from out of state they won't want to hire me and most places require a CNA which I don't have. This was all very helpful and makes me feel better about hopefully finding a job out there.