Student Nurse Extern I - Acute Burn & Wound Unit

UNC Health • Chapel Hill, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I position is part of UNC Health’s Student Nurse Extern Program, scheduled May 24 through 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. The 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 Acute Burn and Wound Unit is a 15-bed unit caring for patients with burn injuries and/or complex wounds. Burn patients typically have less than 20% burn injury and are in acute care status. Other patients include plastic surgery patients, patients with diabetic wounds or pressure ulcers, and patients transferred from other acute-care surgery and medicine areas. The SNE I applies concepts learned in the nursing program while providing routine direct and indirect care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting. All work is performed under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. An assigned RN partner supports learning and helps the extern develop proficiency in care activities in both complex and non-complex situations. The position reports to the department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader.

This is a temporary, full-time, onsite State position with UNC Medical Center, Wound 5 East, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The schedule is variable, with 36 standard hours per week. The externship runs May 24–July 31, 2027, and pays $18.00 per hour.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in an accredited prelicensure nursing program, with anticipated graduation within 12 months of the externship start.
• 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.
• Attain and maintain unit-specific competencies.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to lift and carry 40–50 pounds, including pushing or pulling patients on a bed or stretcher and assisting with lateral transfers.
• Frequent to continuous standing and walking.
• Ability to perform role-specific physical activities, which may include 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 obtained 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; 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 care by 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 patient understanding of instructions.
• Assist providers and other healthcare professionals with routine examinations and procedures, and obtain 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 or out-of-control patients, age-appropriate play, and monitoring therapeutic milieu activities to support patient emotional and safety needs.

Benefits

• UNC Health benefits are mentioned; specific benefits are not itemized.
• Eligible employees who already participate in TSERS or the ORP through another North Carolina agency may continue participating in those plans at UNC Health.

What This Job Offers

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