Nurse Extern - Postpartum

UNC Health • Raleigh, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I) is a temporary, paid summer externship position for nursing students enrolled in an accredited prelicensure nursing program. The ten-week program is intended for rising senior ADN and BSN students and provides an immersive clinical experience to strengthen foundational nursing education, develop nursing skills, and support role socialization before graduation. The program dates are May 24 through July 31, 2027. Participants work alongside experienced Registered Nurses in a hospital setting and may gain exposure to various specialties.

This position is assigned to the 50-bed Postpartum Unit within the Women’s Center at UNC REX. The unit cares for stable antepartum patients, postpartum parents and their newborns, and GYN-surgical patients. Its multidisciplinary team includes Registered Nurses and Perinatal Technicians. Care emphasizes evidence-based practice, family involvement, education, and recovery support; phlebotomists perform lab collections so nurses can focus on direct patient care.

The SNE I works with an RN partner within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice and under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The role provides routine direct and indirect patient care and applies concepts learned in the nursing program to care activities in the assigned department. The SNE I reports to the department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader. The RN partner supports learning and the development of proficiency in nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations.

The position is temporary full-time, onsite in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a variable work schedule and 40 standard hours per week. The salary is listed as $18.00.

Requirements

• Current enrollment in an accredited prelicensure nursing program, with anticipated graduation within 12 months of the externship start date.
• Listed as Nursing Assistant I with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services before the program start date.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification before the program start date.
• Fluent verbal and written English-language skills.
• Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care.
• Attainment and maintenance of unit-specific competencies.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to lift and carry 40–50 pounds; examples include pushing or pulling patients on a bed or stretcher (requiring 29 pounds of push force) and lateral transfers involving up to 50 pounds of the patient’s weight.
• Frequent to continuous standing and walking.
• Ability to perform role-specific activities such as kneeling, bending, squatting, and CPR.
• High school diploma or GED; a higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement.

Responsibilities

• Observe, collect, and document patient information while providing care, and promptly report significant changes in a patient’s condition to a registered nurse or provider.
• Participate in identifying and reporting patient safety issues collaboratively.
• Assist patients and families with 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; specimen collection; skin preparation; catheter care; capillary blood glucose checks; simple wound care; range-of-motion exercises; postural drainage; and supportive interactions with patients and families.
• Provide direct personal care for routine activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.
• Provide indirect care, including cleaning work areas, changing linens, restocking supplies, cleaning or sterilizing instruments, transporting patients, supplies, or 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 patient understanding of instructions.
• Assist providers and other health care providers with routine examinations and procedures and obtain equipment and supplies during emergency situations.
• In psychiatric settings, support reality orientation, behavior modification plans or therapy, informal support therapy, verbal de-escalation, physical management of aggressive or out-of-control patients, age-appropriate play for children, and monitoring of therapeutic milieu activities to address patients’ emotional and safety needs.

Benefits

• Paid summer externship program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED