What about Internship?

grimmy, RN · Apr 4, 2005

i am curious what you all think about internships that are sometimes available through hospitals.
i am an lpn on my last semester of rn program and i am trying to think ahead. while i would like to stay in town there are only 2 hospitals here! whats more than that because they are a small community they are wanting experienced nurses...i am starting to think i will have to move where there is a greater need, but even when looking for a job i see they (down south) want expeirence as well.
i want to become an er/trauma nurse...
what am i supposed to do?

there are many ways to find out what internships are available. you can check with the nsna (national student nurses assoc) or the specialty association. many will list internships available for new grads. oh, and there's one here where i work in virginia (uva) http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu. fair warning, though: southern states are notoriously lousy for pay. :rolleyes: good luck!

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2005

I dont know that internships are critical to ones career. Even smaller hospitals have positions open and even though the turn over rates are not quite what larger hospitals are, small facilities are a great place to work. Sometimes i think the support smaller facilites give their employees, and co-workers give each other is a better working environment. Their turn over rates arent low just because they are small, there is something there backing people making them WANT to stay there.

LPN2RN05 · Apr 5, 2005

I agree the turn over rates are much slower in small hospitals. But unfourtunaltly these two hospitals cannot absorb 13 students who are graduating in May. What's more than that, they will hire travel nurses because the majority of nurses in this town were home grown..which means they dont have alot of experiences with OB, Trauma, etc. It is true that most of these high risk patients are flown out..but still they need a nurse who is experienced. I really want to get this experience..I just wont get it here..not on a daily basis anyway.

I am concerned when it comes to internship that I will be locked into a commitment that is low paying. Certainly I do not expect high wages for being entry level, but I would like to have competitive pay with a good learning program.

grimmy, RN · Apr 5, 2005

i agree the turn over rates are much slower in small hospitals. but unfourtunaltly these two hospitals cannot absorb 13 students who are graduating in may. what's more than that, they will hire travel nurses because the majority of nurses in this town were home grown..which means they dont have alot of experiences with ob, trauma, etc. it is true that most of these high risk patients are flown out..but still they need a nurse who is experienced. i really want to get this experience..i just wont get it here..not on a daily basis anyway.
i am concerned when it comes to internship that i will be locked into a commitment that is low paying. certainly i do not expect high wages for being entry level, but i would like to have competitive pay with a good learning program.

well, if i were you, and i was because i graduated last june, i would write down all the stuff you'd really like in a "wish list," all the stuff you need in a "need" list, and the things you don't want on a "don't want list." after you've got that down, pare things down to less than 10 on each list. then down to the top 5. after that, start doing some homework. go to the nearest library where there are nursing magazines and journals, go to the back of a national journal or a specialty journal that interests you, and look at the ads you see there, what they say, etc. then, go to the internet (also at the library) and type in "nursing internship" and maybe a state or two. see what you find. then email or make some phone calls to get more information. different facilities do different things. for instance, when i interviewed for internships, i was typically offered one of two types of compensation/bonus packages. the first was a contract type, where i would get a $2-4,000 bonus up front, with the stipulation that i would work there for so many months. if i could not stick it out those so many months, i owed them back the bonus. another type of package was a so-called "retention" bonus. i was given a $4000 bonus over time...$1000 after every 6 months for the first 2 years. this second option appealed to me, and that's what i chose. so far, so good. but everyone has different lifestyles, families, etc. you have to do your homework, and i cannot stress this enough - get it in writing! never, ever trust someone in hr to give you a quote of a salary or a bonus or whatever without getting it in writing with someone's john hancock on it. i have heard some real depressing stories from my fellow grads who believed some gung-ho recruiter who did not know what they were selling, and they back-pedaled later on. don't fall into that trap.

LPN2RN05 · Apr 6, 2005

Thanks Grimmy that is awesome advice!! :)

grinnurse, RN · Apr 10, 2005

I agree the turn over rates are much slower in small hospitals. But unfourtunaltly these two hospitals cannot absorb 13 students who are graduating in May. What's more than that, they will hire travel nurses because the majority of nurses in this town were home grown..which means they dont have alot of experiences with OB, Trauma, etc. It is true that most of these high risk patients are flown out..but still they need a nurse who is experienced. I really want to get this experience..I just wont get it here..not on a daily basis anyway.
I am concerned when it comes to internship that I will be locked into a commitment that is low paying. Certainly I do not expect high wages for being entry level, but I would like to have competitive pay with a good learning program.

The hospital that I am pretty certain that I am going to accept an offer at is what I would call a medium size hospital that starts out at $18/hr which is a dollar less than the major hospitals. It has an internship for specialization which for me is oncology. Once I finish my internship I will get a $2/hr increase. Then once I complete a 3 mo preceptorship on the oncology unit I will get another $2/hr increase so in 6 mos I will be above the average pay and I had to take nights so they have a 15% shif dif to add on to this. They also have a sign-on/retention bonus of $7500 which kind of scares me b/c I don't know all the details of that yet but intend to fully understand it before signing it. I know I get some kind of sign on bonus which I think is like $3,500 for one year and then the rest is given if you sign a two year contract. Does anyone know if you can take the contract home and really read over it before you sign it? Ideally, I would like to have my DH look at it to b/c he's good a bringing out the negatives in things. Also as GNs with these things what other questions should we be asking? I would love any feedback anyone could offer.

grimmy, RN · Apr 12, 2005

the hospital that i am pretty certain that i am going to accept an offer at is what i would call a medium size hospital that starts out at $18/hr which is a dollar less than the major hospitals. it has an internship for specialization which for me is oncology. once i finish my internship i will get a $2/hr increase. then once i complete a 3 mo preceptorship on the oncology unit i will get another $2/hr increase so in 6 mos i will be above the average pay and i had to take nights so they have a 15% shif dif to add on to this. they also have a sign-on/retention bonus of $7500 which kind of scares me b/c i don't know all the details of that yet but intend to fully understand it before signing it. i know i get some kind of sign on bonus which i think is like $3,500 for one year and then the rest is given if you sign a two year contract. does anyone know if you can take the contract home and really read over it before you sign it? ideally, i would like to have my dh look at it to b/c he's good a bringing out the negatives in things. also as gns with these things what other questions should we be asking? i would love any feedback anyone could offer.

i recommend that you get a copy of the contract and take it home with you to read...if they won't give you the actual contract. they should. don't sign it until you are sure, and then, wait to sign it at the hr office. watch them sign, too. don't sign something and leave it to be signed by someone else at a later time. any amendments to a contract need to be signed by all parties. make sure you get a copy of the signed contract for your files. if you have any doubts about the language of the contract, contact an attorney. most will check out a contract for $100 or less. and, don't think you don't need an attorney. create a relationship with an attorney now, rather than later. that attorney can do any future work for you, like advanced directives, power of attorney (financial or medical), etc. its better to develop a relationship now while things are relatively stress-free, rather than at a crisis-point. good luck! :)

grinnurse, RN · Apr 19, 2005

I got a packet in the mail from the hospital yesterday (for job) and it had a page that looks like it needs signature about the bonus but not what I was expecting as the "contract". It doesn't have anything on it about what she told me about the pay increases, shiff diff etc. Will the contract look like a normal contract? I am going to call her today and see whats up.

Thanks for the advice Grimmy. I always adhere to that saying that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!! I want to know exactly what I am getting into.