Student Nurse Extern - Cardiac Medicine Intermediate Care

UNC Health•Raleigh, NC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I position is part of a 10-week paid summer externship for rising senior ADN and BSN nursing students. The program provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to build on foundational nursing education, develop clinical skills and judgment, and support socialization into the nursing role. Externs work as members of the patient care team alongside an RN partner, within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice, and provide care under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The role offers experience working with registered nurses in hospital, clinic, or home health settings and is intended to help prepare students for a career as a registered nurse. This position is assigned to the 7HV Cardiac Medicine Intermediate Care Unit, a 24-bed unit on the seventh floor of the Heart and Vascular Hospital. The unit provides intermediate-level care to adult and geriatric patients with complex cardiac conditions, including heart failure, dysrhythmias, myocardial infarctions, and recovery from cardiac or vascular procedures. Patient rooms have GE bedside monitoring and in-room computers, and telemetry technicians provide round-the-clock cardiac rhythm surveillance through a centralized Telemetry Command Center. The SNE I reports to the assigned department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader and works under the direct supervision of an assigned RN partner. The RN partner supports learning experiences and helps the extern develop proficiency in nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. This is a temporary, full-time, onsite position with variable scheduling, 40 standard hours per week, from May 18 through July 25. The stated salary is $17.43.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
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.
Fluency in verbal and written English.
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 (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 performing CPR.

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 the collaborative identification and reporting of patient safety issues.
Assist patients and families with admission to the clinical area, 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; 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 patient and area support, 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 to patients by a registered nurse or provider and document patient 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 for patients and families, verbal de-escalation, physical management of aggressive or out-of-control patients, age-appropriate play for children, and monitoring of the therapeutic milieu to address patients’ emotional and safety needs.