Nurse Extern - Women's Specialty Unit

UNC Health•Chapel Hill, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I position is part of UNC Health’s Student Nurse Extern Program, scheduled for May 24 through July 31, 2027. The program provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to enhance foundational nursing education and support socialization into the nursing role. The extern functions as a member of the patient care team and partners with an RN within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. The externship is not an extension of school clinicals; skills such as medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion that students perform under a clinical instructor’s supervision are not permitted in this role. The extern applies concepts learned in the nursing program to provide technically skilled care in the assigned department and gains experience intended to enhance nursing knowledge and prepare for a career as a registered nurse. The position provides routine direct and indirect patient care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting, always under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The SNE I reports to the department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader and works under the direct supervision of an assigned RN partner, who supports learning and the performance of nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. The Women's Specialty Unit is a 14-bed inpatient unit on the fourth floor of Basnight Cancer Hospital. It is designated for benign gynecology and gynecologic oncology within the Women's Hospital Service Line. This is a temporary, full-time onsite position in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with a variable schedule and 36 standard hours per week.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED; a higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement.
Current enrollment in an accredited prelicensure nursing program, with anticipated graduation within 12 months of the externship start.
Listed as Nursing Assistant I with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
Fluency in verbal and written English.
Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in delivering patient care.
Attain and maintain unit-specific competencies.
Basic computer skills.
Ability to lift and carry 40–50 pounds, including pushing or pulling patients on a bed or stretcher and assisting with lateral transfers.
Frequent to continuous standing and walking; patient care activities may also require kneeling, bending, squatting, and performing CPR.

Responsibilities

Observe, collect, and document patient information obtained while providing care, and promptly report significant changes in a patient's condition to a registered nurse or provider.
Participate in the collaborative identification and reporting of patient safety issues.
Assist patients and families during admission, orientation to the hospital, clinic, or home health experience, and discharge.
Provide care and treatments outlined in the plan of care, including measuring vital signs, height, and weight; collecting specimens; skin preps and scrubs; catheter care; capillary blood glucose checks; simple wound care; range-of-motion exercises; postural drainage; and supportive one-to-one patient and family interactions.
Provide direct personal care for routine activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.
Provide indirect care by cleaning the work area, changing linens, restocking supplies, cleaning or sterilizing instruments, transporting patients, supplies, and specimens, assisting with orientation of new employees and students, and performing routine clerical functions.
Reinforce routine teaching provided by a registered nurse or provider and document the patient's understanding of instructions.
Assist providers and other healthcare providers with routine examinations and procedures, and obtain equipment and supplies during emergency situations.
In psychiatric settings, support reality orientation, behavior modification plans and therapy, informal support therapy, verbal de-escalation, physical management of aggressive patients, age-appropriate play for children, and monitoring of therapeutic milieu activities to help meet patients' emotional and safety needs.