More systems and universities are turning to externship programs to shore up their nursing pipelines and help nursing students gain practical experience.
Some systems have provided externship programs for decades, but their popularity has increased in recent years. Externships allow systems to engage nurses earlier in their education and convert those connections into talent acquisition.
Here are four systems opening or expanding their nurse externship programs in 2024:
1. Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Regional Medical Center launched its 15-person nurse extern program Nov. 8.
2. Greenville, N.C.-based ECU Health graduated its first class of more than two dozen students from a new externship program launched in collaboration with East Carolina University College of Nursing.
3. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center relaunched an eight-week paid externship program this summer for 70 qualified prelicensure nursing students.
4. Cleveland Clinic’s nurse associate externship program, which has run for 10 years, is expanding its seats and adding more flexible schedule options for externs.