What type of work do externs do? What clinical skills can externs perform?
We try to provide experiences for the externs that are much like the ones they will have the following year as a new graduate RN. We believe that introduction to the “real world” helps the students better make the transition from student to staff nurse later. The externs work a typical full time RN schedule and, paired with an RN preceptor, provide total nursing care for patients. The preceptor and the extern take a “1-nurse assignment” together and the extern can assist the preceptor with any and all nursing functions that those patients might need. The extern can perform some of the more basic functions (such as vital signs and routine hygiene) independently, without the preceptor in the room. However, for more advanced skills (such as medication administration), the RN preceptor must be directly involved in the procedure — but the extern can be actively participating in it WITH the preceptor.
