She was just a few miles from home, but walking into her nurse externship at Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Weston, Florida, Loriann Anderson, BSN ’26, felt like she’d entered a whole new health care universe, no passport required. “I was able to fully understand what a day in the profession looks like,” she said. “Everything my nurse would do, I was there with her. It was a very fulfilling experience from my first day.”
Anderson was completing her junior year at the University of Miami Schol of Nursing and Health Studies when she learned she was accepted to the 10-week experiential learning opportunity at Cleveland Clinic, which is a member of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s prestigious Magnet Recognition Program. “This program allowed me to become much more comfortable doing all the things a care associate would do—helping patients with their meals, cleaning them, helping to move them or any other task they’d need help with,” she said.
Anderson was assigned to shadow a nurse working in the hospital’s medical intensive care unit (ICU), her first choice. “Being on the medical ICU floor, you definitely see much more critical cases. You see directly how what the nurse does affects the patient in mere minutes, like keeping the blood pressure stable or making sure the patient is mentally aware,” she said. “A large part of nursing is how you are with patients.”
Her weekly schedule at Cleveland Clinic consisted of two consecutive 12-hour shifts and one 8-hour shift on her nurse’s unit, followed by a full classroom day. "I'm proud to see how much I've grown,” she said. “I’m willing to jump into a room and be like, ‘Does anyone need help with anything?’ I know the procedures and policies, and I feel much more confident helping my fellow employees.”
In addition to learning a great deal about creating a caring environment for long-term patients, Anderson gained insights about self-care. “Seeing severely ill patients day to day is definitely something to get used to,” she said. “You kind of have to place it in the area where you can digest it on your own. Even though it’s sad, and you wouldn’t want that to happen to you or anyone you love, the next patient you treat, they’re not related to any of that.”
Anderson found comfort in some favorite activities, like art. “I can draw, look at paintings, or paint a little bit myself,” she said. “I just take a piece of paper and start drawing sometimes. It helps me wind down after work.”
This fall, Anderson, now a senior, took part in the school’s White Coat ceremony, a celebration welcoming nursing students into the clinical realm as they transition closer to the end of their undergraduate studies. “It’s such an amazing, comprehensive nursing program,” she said of her University experience. “I like the general culture around the school as well.”
Loriann’s Top 5 Nurse Extern Tips
- Keep a stain pen handy(especially if your uniform is white).
- Always be willing to learn. If someone asks if you want to see something, say ‘yes!’ Don’t assume you know it already.
- Be respectful.You may not think of it, but your entire externship is an interview. It shows how you treat people.
- Be ready to help. You want your assigned nurse and staff happy to have you around.
- Learn the hospital’s layout, so you’ll know how to get somewhere quickly if you need to.
