Regardless of whether you want to study at a state, foreign or private university/college: As a medical student, you must complete a nursing internship. Some universities/colleges even require a nursing internship when applying.
If you have no obligations and a lot of free time after graduating from high school and before starting your studies, you can use this time to complete your nursing internship. It is important that the internship was not completed during school hours/holidays.
Benefit of Spending More Time in a Specific Ward
Even though the internship can be completed in up to three 30-day periods, it is advisable to stay on a specific ward in a hospital for a longer period of time. The nursing team is always happy to welcome interns who want to dedicate more time to a ward. The advantage of this is that you have the chance to build a personal relationship with temporary colleagues. In the first few weeks you will probably just get to know everyday hospital life and the staff. Only over time will you be able to understand all the procedures and be a real help to the nursing staff.
However, if you are looking for a lot of different experiences and want to gain as much insight as possible, then it makes more sense for you to complete your nursing internship in several sections on different wards.
1. Applying for a nursing internship
If you want to apply for a nursing internship, you should look for an internship position early on. To minimize the risk of not getting an internship, it is best to contact the relevant clinic three to four months in advance. The nursing service management is responsible for allocating internship positions. Before joining any internship program, it is better to go through medicine mmi interview questions at first.Even if you are not yet sure which ward you would like to complete your internship on, the nursing supervisors are usually happy to advise you.
In order for your nursing internship to be recognized, it must meet certain conditions. These vary from state to state. The internship on a psychiatric or psychosomatic ward is e.g. B. not recognized in some federal states. In addition, some responsible state examination offices expect a precise job description from the nursing service manager in order to recognize your nursing internship.
In principle, nursing internships are not recognized in the following institutions:
- Home for the disabled
- Nursing home for the elderly
- Emergency room or outpatient clinic
- Doctor’s or community practice
- Rehabilitation facility
- pension scheme
- operating room
- anesthesia
- Dialysis station
- Mobile nursing service
The application for the nursing internship is informal. In most cases, a CV and a personal interview are sufficient. If the nursing service manager is convinced of you, you will receive an internship contract. It is also noted there whether the internship is paid or not and for what period of time you will work on which station.
Most hospitals will offer you an unpaid internship. Paid internships are rare.
2. Nursing internship abroad
Just like the internship, the nursing internship also takes place during the lecture-free period. This means that the internship does not necessarily have to be completed in the USA. If you are already enrolled at a university/college, you can find out more about “nursing internships abroad” from the student advisory service. There are often exchange programs and international contacts at the university/college that you can use. Of course, you can also organize the entire stay on your own.
When abroad, you should ask the hospitals as early as possible whether and how many internship positions they offer. Before you accept an internship offer from a foreign hospital, you should definitely ask the responsible state examination office whether the activity will be taken into account.
If you want to apply for an internship abroad, you usually have to have certain language skills. Even if only English is officially required as a language, it is often difficult to converse with patients in English alone. On average, the patients you deal with are slightly older and may not be very fluent in English. In countries like Peru or Japan, for example, English is hardly spoken anyway. Learning and using two foreign languages can be a real challenge, but you definitely won’t regret the experience afterwards.
3. This is what you learn during a nursing internship
In order to be able to use the nursing internship sensibly, you should also consider this part of the course to be very important. Just like in a lecture, you can write down any important questions or terms during your internship. If you have any questions about certain procedures, the nurses and doctors are always available to help you.
You can also learn a lot from patients. Targeted communication, attentive listening, showing compassion and improving your ability to persuade: These are all skills that you develop or expand during your nursing internship. These can also influence your decision when choosing a particular specialty.
4. How to avoid the nursing internship
If you have completed one of the following training courses, you can be exempt from the nursing internship.
- Midwife or maternity nurse
- Medical assistant
- Emergency paramedic
- Nurse or nurse
- Geriatric nurse
- Nursing assistant or geriatric care assistant
Even after nursing work in the following contexts, you no longer have to do nursing work:
- Voluntary social year or community service
- Medical service
- Federal Voluntary Service
- Youth volunteer service
5. Can I have nursing job without internship?
Getting hired as a nurse typically requires finishing an internship or clinical placement in many different nations. Although it could be difficult, it is theoretically feasible to obtain employment as a nurse without completing an internship. Through practical experience in real-world healthcare settings, internships enable nurses to apply their academic knowledge. Because internships guarantee that a nurse has real-world experience and is better equipped to meet the demands of the job, most businesses prefer to recruit nurses with internship experience.
You should carefully analyze the criteria of the healthcare facilities or businesses you are interested in working for if you are thinking about pursuing a nursing career without an internship. For applicants who have not done traditional internships but have obtained relevant experience through other sources, some may have particular preferences or alternate routes.
We wish you much success in your first nursing internship and hope that you will have a great time with lots of experience.
