Nurse Extern - Operating Room

UNC Health; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 20,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

UNC Rex Healthcare is offering a 10-week Student Nurse Externship Program for rising senior ADN/BSN students. The role operates in the Operating Room with hands-on patient care under RN supervision, building confidence and clinical judgment as you transition toward a licensed nurse.

The program emphasizes direct and indirect patient care, collaboration with the nursing team, and experiences across surgical service lines.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; current enrollment in an accredited prelicensure nursing program with anticipated graduation within 12 months from start of externship.
• Listed as Nursing Assistant I with North Carolina DHHS and Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• No prior professional experience required.

Responsibilities

• Observes, collects, and documents patient information and reports significant changes to a nurse or provider; participates in patient safety reporting.
• Provides assistance to patients and families during admission, orientation, and discharge.
• Performs care/treatments per care plan including vital signs, measurements, specimen collection, wound care, glucose checks, range of motion, and basic patient/family interactions.
• Provides direct personal care for activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and assisting with ambulation.
• Assists with indirect care duties including maintaining a clean work area, restocking supplies, and transporting patients and materials.
• Reinforces routine teaching and documents patient understanding; supports providers during routine exams and emergencies as needed.
• In psychiatric settings, aids reality orientation, supports behavior modification plans, and assists in managing safety and therapeutic milieu.

Skills

Fluent English

Organization & prioritization

Basic computer skills

Lifting up to 50 lbs

Frequent standing/walking

CPR certification

Education

High school diploma or GED

Enrollment in accredited prelicensure nursing program

Job description

Description

Student Nurse Externship Program (May 24, 2027 - July 31, 2027)

Launch Your Nursing Career with Hands-On Experience!

Ready to take your nursing education to the next level? Our 10-week, paid summer Student Nurse Externship Program offers rising senior ADN and BSN nursing students an exciting opportunity to gain valuable hands-on clinical experience, strengthen nursing skills, and explore the dynamic world of hospital-based care. This immersive experience allows you to build confidence, sharpen your clinical judgment, and develop the skills needed to transition from nursing student to professional nurse.

Invest in your future, expand your experience, and take the next step toward becoming the nurse you aspire to be!

Unit Details: Operating Room

UNC Rex has a robust and efficient surgical program. We have two separate OR departments that perform both inpatient and outpatient procedures on adult and pediatric populations. Our OR West has 12 Operating Rooms and OR East has 11 Operating Rooms and 2 Procedure Rooms. The Nurses and Surgical Technologists provide intraoperative care for a variety of service lines including Plastics, GYN, GU, General, Bariatrics, Colorectal, Orthopedics, Neuro, Urology, Pulmonology, Robotics, and ENT.

Your passion belongs at UNC Health. Join more than 56,000 teammates working together to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve across North Carolina.

Summary:

The goal of the Student Nurse Externship experience is to provide prelicensure nursing students with an immersive experience to enhance their foundational nursing education and role socialization within a clinical setting. The Student Nurse Extern I (SNE I) position is intended for nursing students enrolled in an accredited School of Nursing to function as a member of the patient care team.. The SNE I will work with their RN partner as a partner in practice within their Nursing Assistant I scope of practice.

The Student Nurse Extern I demonstrates the ability to learn and apply the concepts they have been taught in their nursing program to provide technically skilled care in their assigned department. This position provides the chance to work with RNs in a variety of healthcare settings, earning valuable experience that will enhance nursing knowledge and prepare the incumbent for a profession as a registered nurse.
The SNE I reports to the assigned department's Patient Services Manager or designated Education Leader and works under the direct supervision of an assigned RN partner. The RN partner facilitates and supports learning experiences to enable the SNE to proficiently perform nursing care activities in both complex and non-complex situations. Provides routine direct and indirect patient care in a hospital, clinic, or home health care setting. All work performed is under the direct supervision of a registered nurse or provider.

Responsibilities:

• Observes, collects, and documents patient information obtained while providing care and promptly report significant changes in the patient's condition to a registered nurse or provider. Participates in the collaborative identification and reporting of patient safety issues.
• Provides assistance to patients and their families during admission to the clinical area, orientation to the hospital/clinic/home health experience, and discharge
• Provides care/ treatments to patients as outlined in plan of care including, but not limited to, the measurement of vital signs, height and weight, specimen collection, skin preps/scrubs, catheter care, capillary blood glucose checks, simple wound care, range of motion exercises, postural drainage, and supportive 1:1 patient and family interactions.
• Provides direct personal care to patients as outlined in plan of care for routine activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding and assisting with ambulation.Provides direct personal care to patients as outlined in plan of care for routine activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, feeding and assisting with ambulation.
• Provides indirect care to patients and assigned area to include, but not limited to, cleaning the work area, changing linens, re-stocking supplies, cleaning/sterilizing instruments, transporting patients/ supplies/ specimens, assisting in the orientation of new employees and students, and some routine clerical functions.
• Reinforces routine teaching given to patients by the registered nurse or provider and document patient understanding of instructions.
• Assist providers and other health care providers with routine examinations and procedures, as well as procurement of equipment and supplies during emergency situations.
• In the psychiatric setting, aids patients in reality orientation, participates in behavior modification plans/therapy, provides informal support therapy to patients/families, provides verbal de-escalation of potentially aggressive patients, aids in the physical management of aggressive/out-of-control patients, facilitates age appropriate play for children, and monitors the therapeutic milieu activities on assigned unit to ensure that emotional and safety needs of patients are met.

Education Requirements

• High school diploma or GED required; higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement. Current enrollment in an accredited prelicensure nursing program with anticipated graduation within 12 months time from the start of student nurse externship.

Licensure/Certification Requirements

• Listed as Nursing Assistant I with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

Professional Experience Requirements

• None required.

Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements

• 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.
• Lift and carry 40-50 lbs. Examples: Push/pull patients on a bed, stretcher (requires 29 lbs. push force), lateral transfers up to 50 lbs. of the patient's weight.
• Frequent to continuous standing/walking.
• Patient care providers may be required to perform activities specific to their role including kneeling, bending, squatting, and performing CPR.

Job Details

Legal Employer: NCHEALTH

Entity: UNC REX Healthcare

Organization Unit: Rex OR Operations

Work Type: Temporary Full Time

Standard Hours Per Week: 40.00

Pay Rate:$18.00

Work Assignment Type: Onsite

Work Schedule: Variable

Location of Job: US:NC:Raleigh

Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: No

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

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation.

UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email [e-mail] if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.