This document describes a student nurse internship program in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that aimed to ease the transition from student to clinician. The 8-week summer program provided opportunities for student nurses to gain clinical experience in the NICU and bridge the gap between theory and practice. Survey results found that the program increased participants' baseline knowledge, confidence, and socialization with patients' families and staff. The program resulted in higher staff satisfaction, increased retention of nurses in the NICU, and better support for new nurses as they transitioned into the clinical role.

1. Student Nurse Internship:
Bridge to Building a Confident Competent Nurse
Georgie Perry, BSN,RNC-NIC and Peggy O’Neil Schneider, MS, RN-BC
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Introduction
Easing the transition from nursing student to
clinician has been an ongoing goal for both
academia and the institutions that hire them.
Immersion into the role of the clinical nurse
includes:
• Bridging the gap between theory and
practice
• Instilling knowledge and skills to provide safe
and effective patient care
• Fostering critical thinking
• Improving confidence
• Managing stress levels
• Improving socialization within the work
environment
This is especially true in specialty areas that
struggle with recruiting and retaining quality
candidates to work in their area.
Purpose
Sharing the positive outcomes of our eight-
week summer Student Nurse Internship
(SNI) program in the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit (NICU), which provided opportunities to
mesh the academic and clinical worlds and
resulted in a smoother transition into
practice.
Methods
Results
Conclusion
Curriculum
References
1. 100% retention of all SNI’s for over one year
2. Survey results from the perspective of the SNI,
the preceptor, and the supporting staff in the
NICU included the following outcomes:
• Increase baseline knowledge
• Improved confidence
• Positive impact on socialization with both
families and staff
1. All applicants underwent an extensive
interview process by Human Resources.
Each candidate had to be enrolled in an
accredited BSN program, was entering into
his/her senior year of college, and must be
graduating no later than June of the
calendar year following completion of the
SNI program.
2. Additionally, candidates with interest in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were
interviewed by NICU management and
staff.
3. Six (6) candidates were selected.
4. A program designed to immerse students
with both experiences and knowledge
needed for competence with the neonates
and families in the NICU was developed. It
included the following:
• Strategies to establish a relationship
between the preceptor and the SNI.
• Didactic classes that stress the basic
knowledge needs.
• Introduction to standards of practice.
• Bedside experience and shadowing of
the preceptor stressing role modeling. The SNI Program served as a bridge to for
student nurses, with the support and expertise
of the NICU preceptors, nurses, educators and
management, to transition into confident new
nurses in a very specialize area.
The program resulted in the positive impacts of
increased staff satisfaction, increased retention,
and a greater commitment by the experienced
staff to the success of each SNI as they began
their transition into clinical nurse in the NICU.
.
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During the 8-week
summer program,
concepts were
introduced and
discussed which
included both general
nursing and NICU-
specific topics.
Strengths of the program
included socialization
among the SNIs and
among the NICU staff
nurses leading to a
confident competent
nurse.