Student Nurse Internship:Bridge to Building a Confident Competent Nurse

Georgie Perry, BSN,RNC-NIC and Peggy O’Neil Schneider, MS, RN-BCNorthwestern Memorial Hospital

Introduction

Easing the transition from nursing student to

clinician has been an ongoing goal for both

academia and the institutions that hire them.

Immersion into the role of the clinical nurse

includes:

• Bridging the gap between theory and

practice

• Instilling knowledge and skills to provide safe

and effective patient care

• Fostering critical thinking

• Improving confidence

• Managing stress levels

• Improving socialization within the work

environment

This is especially true in specialty areas that

struggle with recruiting and retaining quality

candidates to work in their area.

Purpose

Sharing the positive outcomes of our eight-

week summer Student Nurse Internship

(SNI) program in the Neonatal Intensive Care

Unit (NICU), which provided opportunities to

mesh the academic and clinical worlds and

resulted in a smoother transition into

practice.

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Curriculum

References

1. 100% retention of all SNI’s for over one year

2. Survey results from the perspective of the SNI,

the preceptor, and the supporting staff in the

NICU included the following outcomes:

• Increase baseline knowledge

• Improved confidence

• Positive impact on socialization with both

families and staff

1. All applicants underwent an extensive

interview process by Human Resources.

Each candidate had to be enrolled in an

accredited BSN program, was entering into

his/her senior year of college, and must be

graduating no later than June of the

calendar year following completion of the

SNI program.

2. Additionally, candidates with interest in the

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were

interviewed by NICU management and

staff.

3. Six (6) candidates were selected.

4. A program designed to immerse students

with both experiences and knowledge

needed for competence with the neonates

and families in the NICU was developed. It

included the following:

• Strategies to establish a relationship

between the preceptor and the SNI.

• Didactic classes that stress the basic

knowledge needs.

• Introduction to standards of practice.

• Bedside experience and shadowing of

the preceptor stressing role modeling. The SNI Program served as a bridge to for

student nurses, with the support and expertise

of the NICU preceptors, nurses, educators and

management, to transition into confident new

nurses in a very specialize area.

The program resulted in the positive impacts of

increased staff satisfaction, increased retention,

and a greater commitment by the experienced

staff to the success of each SNI as they began

their transition into clinical nurse in the NICU.

.

Dyess, S.M., & Sherman, R.O. (2009). The first year of practice: New graduate nurses’ transition and

learning needs. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 40(9), 403-410.

Geslak, J. (2005) When Resources Are Scarce, Consider Growing Your Own. AORN JOURNAL 82(2),

244-249

.

Paul , P., Olson, J., Jackman , D., Gauthier, S., Gibson, B., Kabotoff , W., Weddell , A., Hungler, K., (2011).

Perceptions of extrinsic factors that contribute to a nursing internship experience. Nurse Education

Today 31 763–767,

During the 8-week

summer program,

concepts were

introduced and

discussed which

included both general

nursing and NICU-

specific topics.

Strengths of the program

included socialization

among the SNIs and

among the NICU staff

nurses leading to a

confident competent

nurse.