Nurse Extern - Operating Room

Join UNC Rex Healthcare as a Student Nurse Extern in the Operating Room for a paid ten-week summer externship program running from May 24, 2027 through July 31, 2027. This position is designed for rising senior ADN and BSN nursing students to gain hands-on clinical experience and build nursing skills before graduation. You will work alongside experienced Registered Nurses in a dynamic hospital operating room setting, participating in patient care and observing various surgical specialties.

Clinical Setting

UNC Rex operates two separate OR departments performing both inpatient and outpatient procedures on adult and pediatric populations. OR West has 12 operating rooms and OR East has 11 operating rooms plus 2 procedure rooms. The surgical program includes service lines in Plastics, GYN, GU, General, Bariatrics, Colorectal, Orthopedics, Neuro, Urology, Pulmonology, Robotics, and ENT. Nurses and Surgical Technologists provide intraoperative care across these specialties.

Position Overview

As a Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I), you will function as a member of the patient care team 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. You will report to the assigned department's Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader.

Responsibilities

• Observe, collect, and document patient information obtained 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 their families during admission to the clinical area, orientation to the hospital experience, and discharge
• Provide care and treatments to patients as outlined in the plan of care, including measurement of vital signs, height and weight, specimen collection, skin preps and scrubs, catheter care, capillary blood glucose checks, simple wound care, range of motion exercises, postural drainage, and supportive one-on-one patient and family interactions
• Provide direct personal care to patients for routine activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation
• Provide indirect care to patients and assigned area, including cleaning the work area, changing linens, restocking supplies, cleaning and sterilizing instruments, transporting patients, supplies, and specimens, assisting in the orientation of new employees and students, and routine clerical functions
• Reinforce routine teaching given to patients by the registered nurse or provider and document patient understanding of instructions
• 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
• Nursing Assistant I certification with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
• Fluent in verbal and written English language
• Ability to organize and prioritize assignments in the delivery of patient care
• Attainment and maintenance of unit-specific competencies
• Basic computer skills
• Ability to lift and carry 40-50 lbs, including pushing and pulling patients on beds and 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 specific to patient care roles, including kneeling, bending, squatting, and performing CPR

Schedule and Employment

• Temporary full-time position
• 40 hours per week
• Variable schedule
• Onsite at UNC Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Non-exempt from overtime

Compensation

• Hourly rate: $18.00 - $24.66 per hour (hiring range)
• Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity

Employer Information

This position is employed by NC Health (Rex Healthcare, Inc., d/b/a NC Health), a private, fully-owned subsidiary of UNC Health Care System. This is not a state-employed position.