Nursing Externship Program

Atlantic Health System offers exciting opportunities to prepare the nurses of tomorrow. Our Summer Nursing Externship Program at Morristown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center allows nursing students to gain hands-on patient care experience under the guidance of a certified preceptor. Those who graduate may be eligible for continued employment as a patient care technician or nursing assistant.

Externship Curriculum and Training

Nurse externs accepted into our program learn critical thinking and time management skills and practice basic nursing care with some exceptions. Students may treat wounds and insert suction lines and urinary catheters, but are not permitted to start an intravenous (IV), draw blood or administer medications, blood products or titrate vasoactive drips.

Nursing Unit Placement

Students are assigned to a specific unit for the entire externship and must be willing to work there even if it wasn’t their first choice. We do our very best to accommodate individual preferences, but placement is ultimately determined by unit need. Externs receive their assignments just prior to the start of the program.

Externship Details

• Timeframe: Eight weeks from the end of May through July (dates TBD)
• Shifts: Days, nights, weekends and holidays
• Work schedule: Three 12-hour shifts per week working side-by-side with a preceptor according to his or her schedule
• Vacation: Not permitted
• Pay: Bi-weekly pay at a rate determined by Atlantic Health System

Eligibility

Atlantic Health System’s Nursing Externship Program is intended only for students obtaining their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) who have completed their junior year. Those enrolled in an associate program or a registered nurse (RN) to BSN program are not eligible.

Requirements

Applicants must present an official transcript showing a minimum 3.0 GPA and two letters of recommendation from instructors. Interviews are held during the break between the fall and spring semester of the student’s junior year.

How to Apply

Applications can be found on the Atlantic Health System Careers website starting early November by searching “Summer Nursing Externship.” Due to the high volume of applicants, only those selected for an interview will be notified or contacted.