Externship
Externship Overview
MHA Organization for Mississippi Center for Quality & Workforce and the MS Council of Deans & Directors of Schools of Nursing jointly sponsor the Summer Student Nurse Externship Program (Externship Program). The Externship Program is designed to:
- Provide students in nursing with an opportunity to enhance previously learned skills under the supervision of experienced registered nurses in the healthcare setting.
- Assist students of nursing to experience acceptance in a work situation appropriate to their potential as future registered nurses.
- Prepare students to assume responsibilities of full-time employees with respect to performance requirements, policies, and procedures of a health care agency.
- Encourage retention of nursing graduates through provision of supplemental practice experience within the workplace.
Program Description
The program is offered to students after successful completion of year one in nursing school. It lasts for 8 weeks or 320 hours. Students can earn college credit through the program. The students are taught by registered nurses. Through the program, the students get the opportunity to gain hands on experience. In addition, a paycheck is earned while completing the program.
All facilities who plan to participate in the 2021 Externship Program must first watch this webinar. It is one hour in length and explains the program in detail, including guidelines for COVID19:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEBINAR
Newlsetter Update
FUNDING FROM PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS
FUNDING WEBINARS have been recorded. These explain to you how the student extern registers with each PDD. The recordings are below.
| PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (PDD) | TOTAL # OF FUNDED SLOTS APPROVED FOR 2021 | TOTAL # OF APPROVED HOSPITALS WITHIN THAT PDD |
| CENTRAL MS PDD | 55 | 15 |
| MS PARTNER PDD | 20 | 8 |
| SOUTH DL PDD | 38 | 6 |
| TWIN DISTRICTS PDD | 24 | 6 |
- HOSPITALS:
- I will email each hospital rep separately and let you know how many of those slots have been assigned to your hospital. Stay tuned for that email soon.
- I will make sure that each of you have been invited to attend the PDD Funding Webinar that is scheduled for each district next week. It will (or has) come to you as a meeting appointment. The PDD rep will explain the funding criteria for the funded externs. Please attend (or have someone attend) for that info. Each webinar will be recorded and emailed out to all hospital reps.
- Only the externs that are selected for the funding have to complete the WIN job center requirements. Let’s say you hire 10 externs at your facility and you receive 2 funded slots from our office. Only those 2 externs that you classify as “funded” have to complete the WIN Job Center requirements along with whatever your hospital requires for employment. The other (not funded) 8 externs would only follow your hospital’s criteria for employment.
- IMPT: Once you receive your funding email from me: If you do not use all of your assigned funded slots, please return them to me asap so I can share with your neighboring hospitals before it’s too late.
- Then, the necessary pieces for our office will be – each hospital will sign the Memorandum of Agreement and complete the funding spreadsheet I send you for the funded extern’s contact information. At the same time, you will then ensure that the funded externs complete the criteria required by the PDD.
- SONs:
- It’s not required for you to attend these funding webinars but you can if you’d like to know what the student is required to do. The SONs have no actions regarding the funding but can certainly support the process from their side of the fence.
- Stay in contact with your hospital affiliates and ensure that your students are excelling in their extern position.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
In 2019, I began compiling the frequently asked questions about externship along with the Committee’s response. I will continue to add Q&A to this document as we work our way through 2021. I do need to go through it and sort it by subject but I want to make sure you have access to it now. It is attached. I’ll keep this on my stove top to fine tune as time allows. In the meantime, it might help you in your program. If not, please reach out to our office or to an externship committee member.
FRONT LINES OF EXTERNSHIP
My position at MHA is to get the foundation of the program set up. I have not worked on the front line like you have. If you have clinical questions and the program guidelines haven’t resolved them, it’s best to reach out to the Externship committee or to another hospital representative for the answer. I’m certainly here to bridge those questions tho so I’m always happy to help!
FOREVER GRATEFUL
Wish I could buy you a hot cup of cocoa and say Thanks for All You Do Every Day for Mississippi! Until my next email – Blessings
Download and Complete Documents here:
- Powerpoint Presentation 2021
- Application: Hospital
- Application: School of Nursing
- Program Guidelines 2021
- Exclusion List 2021
- Skills Checklist with Exclusion List 2021
- Student Participation Agreement 2021
- Guideline of Program Procedures including Q&A 2021
- Flow Chart of Responsibilities 2021
- Labor and Delivery Module
- Labor and Delivery Preceptor Guide
- 2021 Externship Committee Contact Information
Or go to http://iteachnursingms.org/externship/
Shared documents between Hospitals
Student nurses who have not had OB content in their SON curriculum can view video links to complete the Labor and Delivery Ticket.
See video link #1: https://youtu.be/TEBQKXKtlMo
See video link #2: https://youtu.be/7aXF8jptZnw
Approved Facilities for the Externship 2021 Program:
For any questions regarding the Summer Student Nurse Externship Program, please contact:
LaDonna Northington, Chair
University of Mississippi Medical Center SON
2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216-4500
lnorthington@umc.edu
601 984 6207
or
LaNelle Weems, Director
MS Center for Quality and Workforce
MHA Health, Research, and Educational Foundation
116 Woodgreen Crossing
Madison, MS 39110
(601) 368-3322