Are you doing anything for additional experience outside of clinicals? (Ex. Internships, volunteering, working, etc.). If so, please describe what you are doing, how you heard about it, and what is required to get into such program. What is your experience in the program? Do you recommend it?
If you do not have additional experience, do you believe that you need additional experience? Are there any programs that you are interested in or have applied for? What are you looking to get of any opportunities that may arise in the future?
I am currently an RN extern at Kaiser Santa Clara Medical Center, primarily as a COVID vaccinator. My role includes screening patients, reviewing allergies and past immunizations, drawing up medication and administering vaccines. I am not directly hired by Kaiser but instead through a staffing agency called InSync. Kaiser put out a search for externs in December for their first cohort of externs. The 2020 Kaiser Work Study Internship coordinators (for the Kaiser summer internship that was cancelled due to COVID) emailed the link for this new externship directly to the selected 2020 interns, but the flyer for the externship posting was also online. Though I did not get into the first cohort of the externship, I was still on the email and text list so when the posting came out for this new cohort of externs, I applied immediately -- this was really important because the InSync staff contact you on a first come first serve basis. Their only requirement was that you had to be a nursing student and have your BLS, which all USF nursing students have to have. I highly recommend becoming an extern if you have the time to complete the program. I was lucky to have finished my capstone by the time the externship started, so since then I've been able to work 3 days a week, 9 hours a day. It also pays fairly well considering this is an externship, which usually pays slightly above minimum wage. The experience has allowed me to work on my communication skills, as many people have questions or concerns about specific COVID vaccines when compared to others (side effects, efficacy, one dose vs 2 dose). My job promotes my responsibility to stay updated with current events and be knowledgeable in statistics and evidence-based research about COVID vaccines so that I can better respond to and educate patients.
I also did a traditional 10-week externship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the summer after my junior year. When I was a junior, Joy Pham, 2019-2020 MSNS Academic Chair provided us with an internship spreadsheet which supplemented my search for programs across the U.S., as there aren't really any in California besides Kaiser Work Study and Chico. I applied in January (kind of late technically, some programs open in October) to wherever I could and looked up the words "externship", "summer" or "student intern" on hospital career portals. The externship program I ended up completing was actually one that an older friend from NYU recommended to me, and thankfully the hospital contacted me after the Kaiser Work Study program was cancelled. It was one of the most impactful and growth-promoting experiences of my life -- not only was I terrified of living alone in a new state, but it was also May in New York and at the time, the pandemic was at its peak there. The experience itself felt like a capstone preceptorship, and I was able to develop my time management, critical thinking, and prioritization.
Overall, I believe externships/internships to be very valuable experiences if you are able to do one. Our school doesn't really promote these programs and they are by no means necessary to get a job after graduation. I seeked out clinical experiences that I thought would be valuable for my growth and was lucky to be able to be chosen and in the case of last summer, afford to move across the country on short notice for the program. The point of hospitals having externship programs is for them to find and train nursing students to fit their culture and values, with the intention of hiring you after your graduation. Kaiser just started their new graduate residency program, and almost all new hires to their Spring 2021 cohort were externs or internal hire employees. Completing an externship can give you hiring priority (and connections!) at the hospital, which is great if you're looking for an easier time with job applications. If anyone wants to learn more about externships, job or volunteer opportunities, please don't hesitate to hit me (or any upperclassmen) up as we've all been through it and would love to help and make your lives easier!