What I liked
This student nurse internship was the ideal opportunity to be able to practice my nursing skills, apply nursing theory, and also learn from experienced nurses themselves at a trusted hospital facility. I had the chance to work closely with nurses from various departments, floating among the Wound Care Team, PICC Nurses, Emergency Department, Medical-Surgical units, Intensive Care Units, and Rapid Response Team. Floating to each of these units helped me to both practice my nursing skills and also better understand the role of the nurse in each of these settings. I learned how to treat patients in life-threatening emergent situations, especially in the Emergency Department, and how to consult other nursing specialties for opinions and optimum patient care with the Wound Care Team. Nursing school does not offer students the opportunity to experience such a wide variety of specialities, so this Kaiser Student Nurse Internship was the perfect learning experience.
In addition, this internship allowed me to work closely with the nursing educators. I had many opportunities to assist the nurse educators with annual nurse inservice training days, coordinating with the nurse educator to provide information on the latest technologies and updates to nursing practice. In addition, I worked closely with the nurse educators and head of the nursing department to conduct audits for quality improvement. We audited various medical-surgical floors, collecting data about patient satisfaction related to bedside manner. From this data, we were able to formulate an action plan to improve patient satisfaction through bedside handoff. I appreciated this opportunity to experience the administrative, research perspective of nursing, which I could not get from my regular nursing education.
