To intern or not to intern

Nursing Students General Students

Published

My apologies in advance for this long post.

So I received my CNA certification recently and was working with the school where I received my certification to get an internship. The initial internship was with a hospital that is 15 mins from me and I felt was perfect because I would get to have contacts/network with a hospital. I thought this was good since I start my first semester of nursing school next month it would in some way, shape, or form help in the long run with my nursing career. (I can't help but already think about employment for when I'm done with school.) However, today after almost 4 weeks of waiting for my background check to clear and get the ball rolling, I was informed that the hospital has no space or supervision for interns at the moment.

Now I'm being offered another opportunity to intern at a LTC facility 45mins to an hour away, where I did my clinicals at. I was trying to avoid this place because I didn't really like a lot of what I saw going on there while at clinicals. I preferred the hospital also because I believed that experience would expose me to a lot more learning. Am I wrong with this assumption?

So this internship is unpaid and six weeks long. I start school in seven weeks. My question is how helpful will this experience be to either my nursing school experience or resume. Should I do it or should I just enjoy my summer and last seven weeks of freedom before the nursing school nightmare??

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I say you should definitely do it! Especially, if you want to get you foot in the door for future employment and be able to work in your specialty of your choosing as quickly as you can. So just because it's at a LTC facility and is an unpaid internship doesn't matter. Employers likes commitment on your part because gives them the assurance that they will probabaly not waste any time or valuable resources on you. Dedication, networking, experiences, etc is all the key to employment.

I know for me I'm actually volunteering at my local hospital, participating at a community service event for free immunization screenings, and also a service food bank for the homeless for the next 4 months. Plus, I will be going for my CNA license next summer and will still continue to volunteer at any hospital that I can.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I say you should definitely do it! Especially, if you want to get you foot in the door for future employment and be able to work in your specialty of your choosing as quickly as you can. So just because it's at a LTC facility and is an unpaid internship doesn't matter. Employers likes commitment on your part because gives them the assurance that they will probabaly not waste any time or valuable resources on you. Dedication, networking, experiences, etc is all the key to employment.

I know for me I'm actually volunteering at my local hospital, participating at a community service event for free immunization screenings, and also a service food bank for the homeless for the next 4 months. Plus, I will be going for my CNA license next summer and will still continue to volunteer at any hospital that I can.

Yes, being able to secure a job quickly after graduation is important to me right now.

My initial reason for getting the certification over two months ago was to try and land a job during the summer then maybe work weekend once school started, but the fact that it wasn't possible was the reason I was wondering if I should even still use my certification at this point. I don't have anything to lose, I just don't want to be regretting after if I feel I didn't really gain too much from it.

Thank you for your advice and good luck to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think you should if you are truly able to commit to the internship. Before begining the program, make sure you find out what it entails and task that your are required to provide

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment