Student Nurse Extern I - Acute Care Trauma and General Surgery

UNC Health•Chapel Hill, NC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I) is a temporary full-time position in UNC Health’s Student Nurse Extern Program, scheduled from May 24 through July 31, 2027. The program provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to strengthen foundational nursing education and support socialization into the nursing role. The SNE I works as a member of the patient care team and partners with an RN within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. The role applies concepts learned in a nursing program to provide technically skilled care in the assigned department and offers experience working with RNs in healthcare settings. 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 and development so the SNE can perform nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. The position provides routine direct and indirect patient care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting, with all work performed under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The role is assigned to UNC Medical Center’s 5 Bedtower in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is onsite with a variable schedule. Standard hours are 36 per week, and pay is $18.00 per hour.

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 in spoken and written English.
Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of 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, 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 that may include kneeling, bending, squatting, and 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 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 treatments and care 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 direct personal care for routine activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.
Provide indirect care in the patient’s assigned area, including cleaning work areas, 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; participate in behavior-modification plans or therapy; provide informal support to patients and families; verbally de-escalate potentially aggressive patients; assist with physical management of aggressive or out-of-control patients; facilitate age-appropriate play for children; and monitor therapeutic milieu activities to ensure patients’ emotional and safety needs are met.