Student Nurse Extern I - Surgical Trauma Critical Care 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 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 role socialization. Student Nurse Extern I is intended for students enrolled in an accredited School of Nursing and serves as a member of the patient care team, working with an RN partner within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. This externship is not an extension of school clinicals; skills performed under a clinical instructor’s supervision, such as medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion, are not permitted.

The extern applies concepts learned in the nursing program while providing technically skilled care in the assigned department. The role offers experience working with registered nurses in healthcare settings to build nursing knowledge in preparation for a registered nursing career. The Student Nurse Extern 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 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 Surgical Trauma Critical Care Unit is a fast-paced, 40-bed unit in the North Carolina Surgical Hospital. It is Level 1 Trauma certified and designated with a Beacon Gold Award for Excellence. The unit cares for critically injured trauma and surgical patients, including patients in transplant, plastics, oncology, obstetrics, gynecology, gastrointestinal, and orthopedics services.

The position is temporary, full-time, onsite, and has a variable work schedule. It is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with 36 standard hours per week and pay of $18.00 per hour.

Requirements

• Currently enrolled 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.
• Able to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care.
• Attain and maintain unit-specific competencies.
• Basic computer skills.
• Able 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.
• Patient care providers may need 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 during admission, orientation to the hospital, clinic, or home health experience, and discharge.
• Provide care and treatments outlined in the plan of care, including vital signs, height and weight measurement, specimen collection, skin preps or 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 patient and unit 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 routine clerical functions.
• Reinforce routine teaching provided 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, assist with reality orientation, behavior modification plans or 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 therapeutic milieu activities for patient emotional and safety needs.

Benefits

• UNC Health benefits are stated; specific benefits are not listed. Employees of another North Carolina agency who currently participate in TSERS or ORP may be eligible to continue participating in those plans.

What This Job Offers

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