Unpaid Internship

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So I applied to a hospital position and got an email back asking if I was interested in doing a new grad internship that was unpaid. They said I'd be doing 3-12 hour shifts for 8 weeks (or more) in the unit of my choosing and all I could think was are they serious??? Did I bust my butt through nursing school to work for free? As much as I love the profession, this sounds unethical and not safe. My non-nursing friends said that the experience might be good for me and I might be able to make connections and get a real job there afterwards. But I have a weird feeling about it.

Any thoughts on this? Has anyone else gone through this?

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So I applied to a hospital position and got an email back asking if I was interested in doing a new grad internship that was unpaid. They said I'd be doing 3-12 hour shifts for 8 weeks (or more) in the unit of my choosing and all I could think was are they serious??? Did I bust my butt through nursing school to work for free? As much as I love the profession, this sounds unethical and not safe. My non-nursing friends said that the experience might be good for me and I might be able to make connections and get a real job there afterwards. But I have a weird feeling about it.

Any thoughts on this? Has anyone else gone through this?

There is some strong opposition to the idea ...just search "unpaid internship" and you'll get plenty of opinions.

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There is some strong opposition to the idea ...just search "unpaid internship" and you'll get plenty of opinions.

The thread seems a bit old. I was wondering if anyone was going through this now.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Run away from this. No way are you spending two months working for free. And what about liability? You're not an employee.

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Most employers wouldn't let you walk onto the ward for free just so they could open themselves, and you in the bargain, to the liability. No, no, no.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

This violates federal labor law, you may wish to report this hospital to your state department of labor.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

Your (weird) feeling is right; your friends are wrong. The hospital is just trying to rope you into providing unpaid labour. The minute people start getting sucked in by this, they've undermined decades of collective bargaining and hard-won rights. No, you didn't bust your butt in school so you could work for free.

It will not lead to a paid position; after your unpaid stint is up they'll either generously offer to extend it (and milk more free labour) or dump you for the next person who'll work for free. There will be no question of wrongful dismissal since they didn't actually hire you or even agree to.

Please tell these people what they can do with their "internship" and keep on applying to reputable employers. Good luck.

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