Unpaid Internships

[Intern67]

I think this post applies to both the General and Students categories.

I was just "awarded" an upaid Summer Nursing Internship with a very large health organization. Organizations in my state have either cut Nurse Internship programs altogether or they shifted them to unpaid. They used to offer about $13 an hour. Not huge money by any means, but it can make a big difference to a student trying to pay the mortgage.

I accepted the position because it will help my career, but I resent having to take such an unprofessional position in order to improve my professional status. In addition to being a calling for individuals who gain great satisfaction from helping others, Nursing is a profession. It is a job and how we make our living.

Of course, Nurse Internship Programs are not cost-free to run, even when companies don't pay interns a pittance of a wage. I realize the corporations are making an investment in training the next generation of nurses, but they gain from those investments. I would wager that Nurse Internship programs across the country have netted extremely valuable and loyal employees.

The interview was a bit difficult for me as the two Nurse Recruiters in a beautiful, art-filled marble and glass walled office building described the organization's multi-billion dollar network of hospitals and clinics and the staggeringly large number of beds and advanced services available. I had a hard time looking at those two pumps-and-pearls nurses, floor work far behind them, with a straight face as I feigned delight at their "impressive network."

It's not that I mind putting effort or resources in to get some reward. In order to qualify for this position, I spent tens of thousands of dollars in schooling and years of my life working as a low paid CNA in a woefully understaffed for-profit Nursing Home. Additionally, I have volunteered hundreds of hours of my time in various capacities. Some of this time (50 hours) fulfills a required "Service Learning" aspect of my education, but the rest was because I gained great satisfaction from helping others.

I made the efforts, I got the 4.0 GPA, and I put hard time in with underserved populations in challenging healthcare positions. And what do I get in return? A chance at "preferred hiring status," whatever that means. If hospitals in that system are not hiring, it will mean zilch, nada. "Oh! You were an intern?? Well come right in!" Yeah, right.

I will do my very best in this position because that is how I have done everything in my healthcare career. I serve my patients to the very best of my abilities regardless of pay.

However, I still have the nagging feeling that by taking this uncompensated position, I am helping myself but hurting my profession.