Opportunity Summary:

Senior nursing students intern at Sheppard Pratt on inpatient units to complete required clinical hours for graduation. Interns may work on assigned inpatient units directly with a pre-selected BSN prepared preceptor. Primary focus of this internship is to obtain comprehensive knowledge of psychiatric nursing including but not limited to therapeutic communication, therapeutic groups, common psychiatric medications, verbal de-escalation techniques, patient engagement, and milieu management.

Opportunity time frame:

Practicum time frame is semester based and hours and dates will vary depending on school requirements.

Eligibility requirements:

Must be a senior level nursing student in their last semester of nursing school. Must complete in person onboarding process through Human Resources. Sheppard Pratt must have a current affiliation agreement with the student's school. Student must submit a current transcript with application and program description which includes practicum hours and student expectations must be provided.

Learning model:

The student will work directly with the assigned preceptor who provides 1:1 supervision and selects opportunities for observation, return demonstration, and verbal comprehension.

Student expectations:

The student should expect direct patient interaction/care, the ability to assist in running a group, learning team collaboration, and 1:1 feedback from preceptor. Student expectations will include flexible thinking and adaptability, readiness to learn from all experiences, patience and compassion when working with this challenging patient population.

Student tasks:

All tasks of a psychiatric nurse except medication administration and hands on interventions for behavioral dyscontrol.