Thirty senior nursing students are getting eight weeks of valuable nursing experience this summer thanks to central Nebraska area hospitals.
The nursing students are participating through the Senior Clinical Nursing Externship program at the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division. The program gives the students an opportunity to apply nursing theories and skills, as well as learn to make appropriate decisions in a hospital setting under the guidance of a practicing registered nurse.
The health facilities provide a salary for the nursing students, along with tuition reimbursement for their externship. They also compensate UNMC faculty who supervise the students, as well as pay for the registered nurse assigned to the student.
Mary Ann Mertz, Ed.D., interim assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division, said the experiences are important in learning to become a professional nurse.
“The externship is a very valuable experience for students as it provides them with more clinical experiences,” Dr. Mertz said. “It improves their critical thinking skills and clinical judgment, as well as increasing their confidence with patients and their families. We are pleased to be able to work with agencies in the area to provide this opportunity.”
She said part of the experience requires students to think through situations and make decisions based on patient data and symptoms as they work with the assigned staff nurse. The students and their preceptor work together to set goals as outlined in the course objectives while faculty provide feedback and guidance during site visits and through the students’ written assignments.
The externship also develops the student’s organizational skills and helps them decide which area of nursing they may want to work.
Miguel Pedraza, a student who is working in the intensive care unit in CHI Good Samaritan in Kearney, said the summer externship is a great opportunity to solidify the material and clinical aspects of class.
“In the intensive care unit I have learned to cover the bases of patient care/assessment as well as an introduction to a higher quality of care that requires extra training,” Pedraza said. “The preceptors are great at teaching and walking through the various types of procedures. It’s an outstanding program that helps students develop and refine their nursing skills.”