Extern Program
For those already in a nursing education program, Trinitas Hospital offers a selected group of nursing students the opportunity to work as Nurse Externs.

Nursing students who have successfully completed at least two clinical courses are eligible to apply for a 10-week Externship Program. It acts as a Bridge to the workplace, connecting the students' classroom and clinical experiences with the reality of the hospital setting. The Externs function as staff members, honing their assessment skills and providing direct patient care --- practicing newly-learned skills like VAC dressing application, foley catheter insertion, suctioning, and care planning.

Faculty from the Trinitas School of Nursing and Advance Practice Nurses from Trinitas Hospital collaborate to provide oversight and mentoring for the Externs who participate in seminars in Pain Management, Renal Disease, Wound Care, and End of Life Issues. They also attend in-service sessions along with the nursing staff on Safe Patient Lifting, Mock Codes and Customer Satisfaction, as available.

During the summer of 2006, 13 nursing students from Trinitas School of Nursing, Bloomfield College and Rutgers University in New Jersey, Moravian College in Pennsylvania, and the University of Delaware spent their summer in the Nurse Extern program. Three of the students were daughters of registered nurses on the hospital staff. The program allowed the externs to participate in patient care in medical-surgical units, attend classes, and observe in the Emergency Room, Operating Room, Post-Anesthesia Unit, Intensive Care Unit, and in Obstetrics. In addition to providing experiences that created greater levels of confidence among the student nurses, the program offered one-on-one interactions with practicing nurses, valuable lessons in the importance of teamwork, and the gratification that comes from seeing patients improve, thanks to their care.

One extern noted that the hospital's program "embraced" her need to become a professional nurse and allowed her to grow in learning to prioritize care and manage a group of patients while another believed that the program allowed her to blossom in a nurturing and supportive environment and showed her that she had chosen the right path for her future.

The Trinitas Externship Program has proven to be invaluable in attracting confident, capable students who later choose a full-time career in the exciting field of nursing.

If interested in applying for the next program beginning in June 2007, please call Beverly Porter, Human Resources, at 908-994 - 5326, FAX 908-994 - 5727, or bporter@trinitas.org. Deadline for application is May 6, 2007.