News
October 2011
Nursing Home Internship Prepares Students for LTC Career
An innovative collaboration between UW–Madison and Edgewood College schools of nursing aims to change the way that nursing students think about long-term care nursing.
Student interns (from left) Bretta Schmitt, Maichou Lor, Lyzz Glueckstein, Katie Herald, and Kendra Tappa
This past summer, partnering with three Dane County nursing homes and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the two schools of nursing pioneered the Long-Term Care Clinical Scholars Program (LTCCSP)—a student internship that placed nursing students in area nursing homes to experience the complex, challenging world of long-term care. The program combines real work experience with workshops that help nursing students develop knowledge and problem-solving skills related to caring for long-term care residents.
Fourteen students applied to the program for a limited number of positions. Five interns were chosen and worked at three nursing homes. Two were recent baccalaureate nursing graduates; three are currently seniors in an undergraduate nursing program. The interns can be classified as nurse technicians in the State of Wisconsin, a status that allows them to perform skills they have successfully completed in nursing school.
The cornerstone organizations, preceptors, and students involved are:
- Good Samaritan Society of Lodi: Bretta Schmitt (intern); Jenny Krey (internship coordinator); Anna Henn and Nicole Solberg (preceptors);
- Oakwood Village: Lyzz Glueckstein and Katie Herald (interns); Audrey Schmelling (internship coordinator); Kim Bloom, Jenna Heim, Stephanie Mendel, and Courtney Rucks (preceptors); and
- Oak Park Village: Maichou Lor and Kendra Tappa (interns); Patti Cabala (internship coordinator); Patti Cabala and Donna Clark (preceptors).
"Long-term care nursing requires a high level of skill in caring for a resident's complex conditions," says LTCCSP project co-leader Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, who is associate dean for research at the UW–Madison School of Nursing. "It requires significant critical thinking skills to manage multiple health care issues and medications, as well as leadership skills to manage supervision of direct care workers. There are often no physicians on site. It’s a very challenging and sometimes highly stressful environment. But at the same time, nurses build relationships with residents and families, and they find this aspect very satisfying and personally rewarding."
The LTCCSP was created, in part, to enhance the appeal of long-term care settings for baccalaureate-prepared nurses through firsthand experience. These nurses rarely choose long-term care as a place of employment upon graduation. In one study, only three percent of nursing students reported planning to work in long-term care settings after graduation.
At UW–Madison, a recent graduate survey found that no nurses pursued employment in nursing homes, while a school survey and focus group conducted two years ago found that UW–Madison nursing students did not pursue employment in nursing homes largely because they felt unprepared to manage multiple, complex resident conditions and supervise certified nursing assistants (CNAs). They worried about being thrust into the role of charge nurse too soon, without sufficient experience.
In this residency, the interns worked at least three shifts a week and had the guidance of two preceptors at each home. Preceptors volunteered to share their nursing expertise to help shape the future generation of RNs in long-term care. They completed preceptor education as part of the program and worked regularly with interns to help them think through complex situations, expose them to a breadth of nursing experiences, and support their development throughout the summer. Consequently, in exit interviews, the interns reported enjoying the opportunity to gain more experience working with older adults and the ability to see the long-term impact of nursing interventions related to a resident's health and quality of life.
"It’s been rewarding watching students develop in their critical thinking regarding the challenges nurses face in long-term care," says Colleen Gullickson, PhD, RN, APRN, BC, professor of nursing at Edgewood College and project co-leader. "While there are no simple solutions to issues related to staffing shortages and low pay, the students in the program offered new insights and demonstrated boundless enthusiasm about ways to tackle many of these perennial issues that prevent new graduates from entering long-term care."
"Within a short summer internship, we tried to give students as much real-world experience and education specific to the long-term care field as was possible," Bowers says. "They got the opportunity to discover if this was an environment they want to work in for years to come."