Student Nurse Extern I - Cardiac Specialty Unit

UNC Health • Chapel Hill, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I) is a temporary full-time role in UNC Medical Center’s 20-bed Cardiac Specialty Unit. The unit cares for patients with diagnoses and needs including LVAD, TVR, TR Bands, pre- and post-cardiac catheterization procedures, and arrhythmias. The externship runs from May 24 through July 31, 2027, and provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to strengthen foundational nursing education and support role socialization. The SNE I functions as a member of the patient care team 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 SNE I applies concepts learned in the nursing program while providing routine direct and indirect patient care in a hospital, clinic, or home health setting. All work is performed under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The position 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 role is onsite in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with a rotating schedule of 36 standard 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 externship start date.
• Listed as Nursing Assistant I with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• Fluent verbal and written English.
• Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in delivering patient care.
• 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-related activities that may include kneeling, bending, squatting, and 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 specified 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 interactions with patients and families.
• Provide direct personal care for routine activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.
• Provide indirect care, 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 emergencies.
• 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 for children, and monitoring of therapeutic milieu activities to support patients’ emotional and safety needs.
• Attain and maintain unit-specific competencies.

Benefits

• UNC Health benefits are stated to apply to this State position; eligible employees may continue participating in TSERS or the ORP if they are currently employees of another North Carolina agency and participate in one of those plans.

What This Job Offers

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