224 Hamburg Turnpike

Wayne, New Jersey 07470

973-942-6900

Last update:

12/12/2002

St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital Nursing Externship Program prepares student nurses for the real world: 

The Nursing Externship Program at St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital provides college-level junior and senior nursing students with an opportunity to put book theory learned in the classroom into clinical practice. The intensive, 10-week program takes place once a year from June through August.

“The program serves as a learning tool for the students and a recruitment opportunity for the hospital,” said Ann Marie Shears, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services. “Our primary objective is to teach the students how to establish goals and prioritize care in diverse clinical settings. Our hope is that after graduation, they return to St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital for employment,” added Ms. Shears.

Nursing externs work under the supervision of registered nurse preceptors.  Preceptors are chosen based on their professional practice, interpersonal skills and their willingness and ability to teach.

“The students share the normal assignments and patient load of an RN,” said Deborah Stoekel, RN, Director of Education. “They help their preceptor assess patients, plan patient care using the nursing process and evaluate the effectiveness of care.  The externs are evaluated daily in areas such as leadership and organizational skills, clinical performance and patient satisfaction,” added Ms. Stoekel.

“The externship program gives me and the other students confidence, more knowledge and the general feel for the role of a nurse,” said Jason DeBruycker, a senior at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. “The preceptors really stress the importance of prioritizing, organizing and time-management,” added Barbara Miklosinski, a second year student at Passaic County College.

The program started three years ago and provides the externs with three full days of education, which reinforces skills regarding physical assessment, surgical procedures, emergency management and cardiac arrest. The classes consist of presentations with active discussions, workshops and mock codes.

Students listen to each other’s hearts, lungs and bowel sounds during physical assessment drills; and their quick-thinking and competency skills are challenged during emergency management mock codes, where students demonstrate the skills they have learned by applying them to emergency situations.   

“Nursing is more challenging than I thought,” said Jessica Kowalewski, a junior at William Paterson University.   “This program prepares you for reality.”

For more information on The Nursing Externship Program at St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, please E-mail Deborah Stoekel.