The Nurse Extern Program is designed for current nursing students who want to gain
clinical experience at AU Health, during the summer, outside of their school's program.
The Nurse Extern Program is designed for current nursing students who want to gain
clinical experience at AU Health, during the summer, outside of their school's program.
About
The Nurse Extern Program is for students enrolled in an Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) or higher pre-licensure program, such as Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). The extern program is open to students from any university - not just those attending
Augusta University. The program is 9-weeks, usually from mid-May to mid-July, with a rotating schedule totaling 36 hours each
week (schedule based on the precepting nurse's schedule) - so having a full summer
of courses/clinicals will make it difficult to complete.
What are the benefits of the program?
The Nurse Extern Program is a paid program where students will utilize the nursing knowledge they've learned in the classroom
while gaining proficiency working in the field, this includes:
Being paired one-on-one with a nurse to work their assignment, schedule, etc.
Gaining extra clinical experience
Practicing skills, while learning new skills
Critical thinking/time management skills
And the best part!
Participation in the program allows you to network with management, and potentially
secure a nursing position in your dream unit, months before graduation!
Program Details
What to Expect
During your participation in the Nurse Extern Program, we will start transitioning you into the role of Patient Care Intern (PCI). A PCI role will allow you to continue working in the hospital while finishing nursing
school as a Patient Care Technician (PCT) so you can continue to network and gain experience. The PCI role has a minimal time
commitment to ensure that school can remain a priority!
How this Helps You
The goal is to apply for these positions before the extern program ends, allowing
you to seamlesslytransition into a position (versus having to resign out of the system and be rehired/start
all of the initial onboarding again). In staying as a PCI throughout the school year,
it will also allow you to transfer into a nursing position with minimal additional
paperwork.
The PCI role is a great way to become familiar with the hospital, policy/protocols,
staff, documentation, etc. so that when you transition into a nursing position, your
orientation can be on actual nursing components (instead of trying to learn everything
previously listed) as you work on becoming proficient as a nurse.
How to Apply
Applicants need to be currently enrolled in a ADN (or higher pre-licensure) program
and will need to have completed and passed their Fundamentals of Nursing course by the start of the program.
The application is posted in the fall and remains open until the beginning of January. No application is reviewed until
the application window closes. Once closed, all applications and resumes are reviewed
to select who will be extended an interview.
Candidate Interviews
All extern interviews will be held on a Saturday morning (date listed on application).
Each interview is 15 minutes long, and we set up 2-3 interviews for each candidate,
based on the areas of interest expressed on your application.
Interested in this unique career-building experience?
