Student Nurse Extern I - Family Medicine Unit, Hillsborough Hospital

UNC Health • Chapel Hill, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I) is a temporary, full-time role in the Family Medicine Unit at UNC Health Care Hillsborough Campus. The 20-bed inpatient unit cares primarily for family medicine patients, as well as observation, extended recovery from PACU, and other medical-surgical patients. The externship runs from May 24 through July 31, 2027, and provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to enhance foundational nursing education and support professional role socialization.

The SNE I functions as a member of the patient care team and works with an RN partner within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. The position provides routine direct and indirect patient care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting, under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The role does not extend school clinicals: activities such as IV or oral medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion are not permitted as student clinical skills.

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, who supports learning and the performance of nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. The position is onsite, has a rotating schedule, and is 36 hours per week. Pay is $18.00 per hour.

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.
• Fluent in verbal and written English.
• Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to lift and carry 40–50 pounds; examples include pushing or pulling patients on a bed or stretcher and performing lateral transfers involving up to 50 pounds of the patient’s weight.
• Frequent to continuous standing and walking.
• May be required to kneel, bend, squat, and perform 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 collaborative identification and reporting of patient safety issues.
• Assist patients and families with admission, orientation to the hospital, clinic, or home health experience, and discharge.
• Provide care and treatments according to 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 direct personal care for routine activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and assistance with ambulation.
• Provide indirect patient and area 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 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, and monitoring of therapeutic milieu activities to help meet patients’ emotional and safety needs.
• Attain and maintain unit-specific competencies.

Benefits

• UNC Health benefits are noted for this State position. Employees of another North Carolina agency who currently participate in TSERS or the ORP may be eligible to continue participating in those plans at UNC Health.
• Free employee parking at the Hillsborough Campus.

What This Job Offers

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