Internships are the best way to gain experience, knowledge and insight into what kind of nursing you want to pursue. Even though you might not be jazzed about working for free, the knowledge and tools you can gain from an internship are priceless. Here are some reasons why you should take on an internship while in nursing school.
1. Resume Fluff
All of the experience you will gain at an internship is a great filler for your resume. Hospitals and facilities want to see that you have some type of past experience working in the nursing field and just about the only way to do that before you graduate is an internship. You will open yourself up to a lot more opportunities with an internship and will set yourself apart from those who haven’t.
2. Specialization
There are over 20 types of specialties in the nursing field, so how do you know which one you want to pursue? The answer is research and internships! Choose an internship that you think you are interested in after doing a little research and then you essentially get a trial period to see if it’s something you want to dive further into. If not, you don’t have to take a job in the same specialty as your internship and you just saved yourself a lot of time and job switching!
3. Hiring Potential
Now that you know the ins and outs of the facility since you interned there, you are now going to move up higher on the hiring list! The facility will spend less time on training and you will have already connected with your coworkers, making it a win-win for both parties!
Even though you aren’t getting paid for an internship, that doesn’t mean it isn’t paying you in some way. Hands-on experience is the best way to prepare yourself for entering the nursing world, so start applying for those internships today!
