News

Extern Program Gives Nursing Students "Real Life" Experiences

08/20/09

Sixteen nursing students from college and university nursing programs across the East Coast, as well as from the Beebe School of Nursing, recently celebrated the completion of an eight-week Nurse Extern Program at Beebe Medical Center.

The Nurse Extern Program gives nursing students the opportunity to have real-life experience in several different hospital areas including the Emergency Department, outpatient surgery and medical surgical units, the Critical Care Unit, the Cardiovascular Step-down Unit and at the Tunnell Cancer Center.

We were excited and honored to have had 16 great nursing students join our team for the summer Extern Program, said Vendla Esler, RN, BSN, MBA, CNAA, BC, Vice President of Patient Care Services. This program enables the nursing students to immerse themselves in the patient care environment and experience the nurse's role post graduation. It is a great experience for us and for the externs.

The students shadowed registered nurses and were not directly responsible for patient care. However, they were treated as team members and were able to ask questions and develop skills that will help them in their future nursing careers. One-hour, weekly classes were incorporated into program, allowing for discussions of topics such as quality methods, communication, and critical-thinking. The students will return to school in the fall to complete their final year of nursing school.

Beebe Medical Center's Education Department and Cheryl Graf., Director of Employment and Development, coordinated the program. In order to be eligible, applicants must be enrolled in a state board of nursing approved program. They must also have competency in performing basic health care tasks and have completed specific course work with a GPA of 80 percent or greater.

The Nurse Extern Program places emphasis on developing and strengthening skills required in the field of nursing. Some of these skills are: responsibility, assessment skills, patient advocate, time management, delegating, prioritizing and organization skills, as well as open communication with patients and co-workers.

Having the Externs here is a great opportunity for them to learn and for us to see them in action'. It is a win-win situation, said Cheryl Graf, MPH, BS, Director of Employment and development at Beebe Medical Center.


Caption: From Left to Right: On sign Andrew Tull, Beebe School of Nursing; Windy Wadsworth, Beebe School of Nursing; Back Row Jamie Petkovic, Del Tech; Stephen Rayne Beebe School of Nursing; Shannon Allmond, Beebe School of Nursing; Dana LeFort, Beebe School of Nursing; Elizabeth Hofmann West Chester University; Alisa Fowler, Beebe School of Nursign; Sarah Lenderman, Beebe School of Nursing: Front Row Ashley Payne Del Tech; Divya Thankachan, Beebe School of Nursing; Ashley Holton, Beebe School of Nursing; Brittany Hill, Widner University; Alison Byram, Beebe School of Nursing; Autumn Patilla, Beebe School of Nursing; Front Jennifer L. Hargreaves, BA,RN, Program Coordinator. Not shown Victoria Konnyu, Beebe School of Nursing.


Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org