Student Nurse Extern I - Child, Adolescent, and Eating Disorders Unit

UNC Health•Chapel Hill, NC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

UNC Health is seeking a Student Nurse Extern I for the Child, Adolescent, and Eating Disorders Psychiatry Inpatient Unit (5 Neurosciences), a 28-bed unit with 14 adolescent, 8 child, and 6 eating disorders beds. Safety is central to care, along with helping patients develop positive coping skills, healthy living habits, and positive leisure activities. The temporary Student Nurse Extern Program runs May 24 through July 31, 2027. It provides prelicensure nursing students with an immersive clinical experience to strengthen foundational nursing education and support role socialization. The extern functions as a member of the patient care team and partners with an RN within the Nursing Assistant I scope of practice. The role is not an extension of school clinicals; skills such as medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion are not permitted when performed under school-clinical supervision. The Student Nurse Extern I applies concepts learned in a nursing program while providing routine direct and indirect patient care under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider. The assigned RN partner supports learning and helps the extern perform nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations. The position reports to the department’s Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader. The position is onsite in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with rotating day/night shifts and rotating weekends. The schedule is 24 or 36 hours per week; the job details list 36 standard hours per week. Orientation includes in-person and virtual sessions Monday through Friday.

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 verbal and written English.
Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care.
Attainment and maintenance of 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 and 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 as part of role-specific patient care activities.

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 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, 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 patient understanding of instructions.
Assist providers and other healthcare providers with routine examinations and procedures, and obtain equipment and supplies during emergencies.
In the psychiatric setting, aid patients in reality orientation; participate in behavior modification plans or therapy; provide informal support therapy to patients and families; use verbal de-escalation with 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 help meet patients’ emotional and safety needs.