Nurse Extern - Medical Stepdown

Join UNC Rex Healthcare as a Student Nurse Extern on 4 East Medical Stepdown, a 31-bed pulmonary and nephrology intermediate care unit. This 10-week paid summer externship is designed for rising senior ADN and BSN nursing students to gain hands-on clinical experience in a hospital-based setting. You will work alongside registered nurses caring for patients with lung, kidney, and heart-related illnesses, including those requiring ventilator management, peritoneal dialysis, and cardiac monitoring. This immersive experience will help you develop clinical judgment, strengthen nursing skills, and prepare for your transition from nursing student to professional nurse.

Clinical Setting

4 East Medical Stepdown is a strong team-oriented unit that emphasizes critical thinking and a wide range of clinical skills for patients with multiple comorbidities. The unit provides exceptional patient care with a focus on top patient satisfaction results.

Responsibilities

• Observe, collect, and document patient information while providing care and promptly report significant changes in the patient's condition to a registered nurse or provider
• Participate in the collaborative identification and reporting of patient safety issues
• Provide assistance to patients and families during admission, orientation to the hospital experience, and discharge
• Provide care and treatments as outlined in the plan of care, including measurement of vital signs, height and weight, specimen collection, skin preps, catheter care, capillary blood glucose checks, simple wound care, range of motion exercises, postural drainage, and supportive patient and family interactions
• Provide direct personal care for routine activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation
• Provide indirect care including cleaning the work area, changing linens, restocking supplies, cleaning and sterilizing instruments, transporting patients and supplies, assisting in orientation of new employees and students, and routine clerical functions
• Reinforce routine teaching given by the registered nurse or provider and document patient understanding
• Assist providers and other healthcare providers with routine examinations and procedures, as well as procurement of equipment and supplies during emergency situations

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED
• Current enrollment in an accredited prelicensure nursing program with anticipated graduation within 12 months from 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 in verbal and written English
• Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care
• Basic computer skills
• Ability to lift and carry 40-50 lbs, including pushing and pulling patients on beds or stretchers (requires 29 lbs. push force) and lateral transfers up to 50 lbs. of patient weight
• Frequent to continuous standing and walking
• Ability to perform activities including kneeling, bending, squatting, and CPR as required by the role

Schedule and Employment

• Temporary full-time position
• 40 hours per week
• Variable schedule
• Onsite at UNC Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Employed by NC Health (Rex Healthcare, Inc., d/b/a NC Health), a private subsidiary of UNC Health Care System

Compensation

• $18.00 per hour
• Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity

Supervision

You will report to the assigned department's Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader and work under the direct supervision of an assigned RN partner. Your RN partner will facilitate and support learning experiences to enable you to proficiently perform nursing care activities in both complex and non-complex situations. All work is performed under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider.