Nurse Internship

Gundersen Health System offers a competitively paid, 10-week nurse internship May 30 - August 5, 2023.  After working closely with RN preceptors in one clinical area, you’ll be one step ahead as you enter your final year of nursing school. Placement opportunities include a variety of positions in hospital, procedural, specialty and clinic. Opportunity for continued employment after the end of the summer internship along with a potential RN offer! Applications are accepted Oct. 17 - Dec. 19, 2022.

Qualifications

Candidates must:

• Be qualified to graduate from a baccalaureate nursing program or associate nursing program by December or May following the summer internship
• Hold one of the following active certifications/licenses:
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Emergency Medical Technician – Basic (EMT-B)
• Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic (EMT-P)
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) license
• Have active CPR certification: Current Infant-Adult Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers (with hands on learning) from one of the following programs; American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• Commit to full-time employment (36 hours per week) for 10 weeks. Day, PM, night, weekend, and holidays may be included

Application process

• Complete the online application on our find a career page
• Include a professional resume
• Attach a cover letter with thoughtful responses to the following essay questions:
• Describe why you have selected nursing as your career path
• Share an experience from your clinicals in which you demonstrated your capacity for human compassion. Explain why the experience made an impression on you as a student nurse.
• Describe what makes you a great candidate for a Nurse Internship at Gundersen Health System
• What are your goals as an intern and post-intern?
• Send official college transcript to Kayla Jones at [email protected] or by mail to Kayla Jones, MSN, RN, Gundersen Health System, Mailstop BELL-01, 1900 South Ave., La Crosse, WI, 54601, by Dec. 19, 2022. Incomplete applications may not be reviewed.

2023 participating departments

• Cardiopulmonary 
• Medical Oncology
• Neuroscience
• Orthopedics 
• General Medical
• Surgical Digestive Care
• Medical Specialty
• Inpatient Rehabilitation 
• Hospital Float Pool
• Inpatient Behavioral Health
• Labor & Delivery
• Obstetrics 
• Emergency Services
• Pediatrics
• Critical Care
• Infusion
• Renal Dialysis
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• OR
• Family Medicine Residency Clinic
• Internal Medicine-La Crosse
• Clinic Float Pool
• Pediatrics Clinic-La Crosse

Our summer 2022 interns said:

Going forward into my last year of school and future career as a nurse, I feel I have a better understanding of assessing and thinking of patients holistically and connecting the dots between different diagnosis. Truly considering diagnosis as more than just words under the patient’s problem list.

I believe I have been able to develop a nurse instinct that I did not have before. This internship has allowed me to bridge the ‘textbook patient’ learned in nursing school into real life. It has also filled the gap between didactic and real-world experiences that will follow me through my last year of school and into my practice as a new graduate nurse.

My preceptor was wonderful at helping debrief rounds and asking me questions to help me think deeper about my patient’s presentation and what we should do based on the findings. If I was not as familiar with a certain diagnosis or concept, my preceptor and I would start researching to learn more and have a better understanding when we found a break in the day (which can I say, does not always happen).