Nurse Extern - Antepartum

UNC Health•Chapel Hill, NC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nurse Extern I position is part of UNC Health’s Student Nurse Extern Program, scheduled for May 24–July 31, 2027. The program provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience intended to strengthen foundational nursing education and support role socialization. The extern functions as a member of the patient care team and works with an RN partner within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. This externship is not an extension of school clinicals; skills performed as a student under a clinical instructor’s supervision—including IV or oral medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion—are not permitted. The position is based on 5 Women’s Antepartum, a 13-bed inpatient unit caring for high-risk antepartum patients with pregnancy complications, as well as antepartum and postpartum patients requiring magnesium infusions. The unit may also care for postpartum couplets and GYN patients. Care includes external fetal monitoring and management of transfusions and antibiotic therapy. Under the direct supervision of an RN or provider, the extern provides routine direct and indirect care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting. The RN partner supports learning and the performance of nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. The position reports to the assigned department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader and works under the direct supervision of an assigned RN partner.

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 start of the externship.
Listed as Nursing Assistant I with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
Fluent 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; examples include pushing or pulling patients on a bed or stretcher (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 that may include kneeling, bending, squatting, and CPR.

Responsibilities

Observe, collect, and document patient information obtained while providing care, and promptly report significant changes in a patient’s condition to an RN 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; collecting specimens; skin preparation 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 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 an RN or provider and document the patient’s understanding of instructions.
Assist providers and other healthcare providers with routine examinations and procedures, and procure equipment and supplies during emergencies.
In psychiatric settings, assist with reality orientation, behavior modification plans or therapy, informal support therapy, verbal de-escalation, physical management of aggressive patients, age-appropriate play for children, and monitoring therapeutic milieu activities to help meet patients’ emotional and safety needs.