Getting your first placement into healthcare is one of the biggest achievements for nursing graduates. It does not really matter if you are volunteering or taking part in an internship. This is your first chance to gain practical experience outside the classroom.These first placements offer many learning opportunities for graduates under the guidance of skilled nurses and doctors.
Are you also a nursing student excited for your first placement into healthcare? This blog will help you go through the benefits, opportunities and tips of doing a nursing internship.
Let’s get started!
What is Nursing?
First things first. Let's start with a brief about what nursing actually is.
Nursing is a healthcare profession which focuses on the protection, care and support of patients. It involves providing direct care to patients. The nurses are trained to focus on the patient’s emotional, mental and physical health.
The scope of this profession is significantly growing. The number of students choosing to enroll themselves in nursing has increased by 38% since 2019.
Why is a Nursing Internship Important?
Nursing tests your strength and patience like no other profession. Nursing internships offer a hand-on experience to nursing students. They build up your clinical skills and increase confidence in new peers who are willing to secure a position in healthcare. These nursing internships are typically considered as your first placement in the healthcare profession.
Nursing internships bring classroom learning to life. These internships are vital as they help you use your academic knowledge into practical life. Another importance of these internships is that you will learn crucial skills like time management and ability to resolve a conflict with patience. You can learn these skills only through practical experience.
What are the Benefits of Nursing Internships?
There are several benefits of doing nursing internships. Some of them include:
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Building up your Soft Skills:
These internships provide real-world experience of clinics and hospitals. You will be able to learn soft skills like empathy, communication, time management, critical thinking and team work. These skills are very beneficial for your future.
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Gaining Confidence:
A nursing internship helps you gain confidence which plays an essential role in your nursing future. This increased confidence helps you in the healthcare profession.
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Experiencing Different Specialities:
Internships allow you to explore different nursing specialties. This means that you will be able to experience different areas of nursing. This will be helpful for you to choose an ideal career path.
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Gaining real-world Experience:
Doing a nursing internship helps you gain real-world experience. This experience is really important for getting a job in the future. There is a very high demand for nursing. Just like that, the competition in the job market is also very high. These internships will also boost your resume which will be helpful for you to stand out among the candidates, securing a job position for you.
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Getting a Mentor:
These internships are the best way to find your mentor. Mostly older nurses are willing to take the role of the mentor to guide the new interns. Additionally, a mentor might play a vital role in helping you seek a job after the completion of your degree.
Mentors are also helpful in building professional networks. You can connect with your mentor’s colleagues. This will be helpful for you to secure additional positions and get advice from experts.
Expected Challenges
Nursing interns often face some challenges during their internship. These challenges can have a negative impact on an intern’s career. The intern can lose confidence and motivation for the work which can have an impact on the patient’s care. Therefore, it is essential to identify the challenges faced by nursing interns during their internships. Some of these challenges include:
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Lack of Guidance:
Nursing interns are often expected to complete their tasks without any guidance. This lack of guidance often leads to low confidence of the interns. The interns demand proper guidance from the experienced and skilled staff, nurses and instructors.
There should be strict orders for the seniors to provide proper guidance to the interns.
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Managing Studies With Internship:
Many students find it hard to manage their studies along with their internship. Not giving proper time to their studies may result in low grades. These low grades lead to low grades.
One of the key reasons for these low grades is not submitting the tasks on time. The busy timetables and long-hours duties are the reason why these students do not get time to complete their assignments on time.
Many students take Nursing Writing Services to submit their assignments on the given deadline.
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Emotionally Challenging Atmosphere:
The clinical or hospital environment may be emotionally challenging. This is due to the exposure to different injuries of patients. This results in stress in interns which usually results in their improper work.
Tips for Nursing Internships
During your internship, there are several tips that you should keep in your mind. Some of these tips include:
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions. That’s how you learn. But make sure that your questions are to the point and you are not bothering your seniors with your questions.
- Review basic medical terms and procedures.
- Follow all rules and regulations.
- Keep a polite tone while talking to the patients and other staff members.
- View mistakes as the chance of learning and take feedback positively.
Opportunities of Nursing Internships
To find nursing opportunities, search internships on Indeed, LinkedIn and BUNAC. You can also connect with your university’s career services or check different company’s official career pages directly. You can also find opportunities through specialized programs. However, these programs may be unpaid but you can gain some experience.
Tips for Finding Opportunities
- Discuss with fellow students, researchers and other healthcare professionals. This may be helpful to learn about other opportunities.
- Check the requirements for the internship and make sure that you meet all the conditions.
- Try not to waste chances if they are unpaid. Unpaid internships also play a vital role in gaining experience.
Final Thoughts
A nursing internship is not just a job that is necessary to meet the requirements of nursing school. It is more than that. It is your first step into the practical world. Finding the right path will be difficult and may be time taking but once you will find the right path, all of this will be worth your time and efforts.
