Student Nurse Extern I - Family & General Medicine Acute Care Unit

UNC Health • Chapel Hill, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Student Nurse Extern I position is for nursing students enrolled in an accredited prelicensure School of Nursing. 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 program provides an immersive clinical experience to strengthen foundational nursing education and support role socialization. It is not an extension of school clinicals; skills performed under a school clinical instructor’s supervision, including medication administration, assessment, documentation, and NGT or Foley insertion, are not permitted. The extern provides routine direct and indirect patient care under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider and applies concepts learned in the nursing program. The experience offers exposure to RNs and healthcare settings to build nursing knowledge and prepare for a registered nursing career.

The position is on a 31-bed Family and General Medicine unit with a strong focus on geriatric care. The unit uses a collaborative, multidisciplinary, patient- and family-centered approach and works closely with the Palliative Care Team. The externship program runs from May 24 through July 31, 2027. The role 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 facilitates and supports learning experiences in complex and non-complex situations.

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 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 beds or stretchers and assisting with lateral transfers.
• Frequent to continuous standing and walking.
• May be required to kneel, bend, squat, and perform CPR, depending on role-specific activities.

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 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 direct 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, 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 patient 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 or therapy, informal support therapy, verbal de-escalation, physical management of aggressive patients, age-appropriate play for children, and monitoring of therapeutic milieu activities to meet patients’ emotional and safety needs.
• Work with an assigned RN partner to develop proficiency in nursing care activities in complex and non-complex situations.

Benefits

• UNC Health benefits; employees of other North Carolina agencies currently participating in TSERS or ORP may be eligible to continue participating in those plans.

What This Job Offers

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