Scholarships for Pre-Health Internships in Patient Care
Pre-Health Internships 2021 -2022 (Juniors, Seniors or Gap Year opportunity)
Moon River Senior Care, in partnership with Moon River Nursing Careers in Ashburn, VA, is offering paid internships for pre-health students and recent graduates who want to gain experience in patient care. This is a great opportunity if your career path/major is Pre-med, Biology, Nursing, Social Work, Psychology or other healthcare career path. Interns receive the benefit of receiving a scholarship for 120 hours of Nurse Aide training, providing the necessary credential to take the Virginia Board of Nursing exam to be a CNA. Those who are already CNAs can start assisting patients immediately. All interns will be part of the class that will meet for educational sessions and to share experiences.
Internship dates: The internship start date is flexible with classes starting the first week of each month. Interns can commit to 8-1 2 months, and we will accept up to three interns each month. The internship can be structured to include 400-1000+ hours of experience working one-on-one with patients in home health care. The internship requires averaging a minimum of 50 hours per month as a nursing assistant (or CNA after passing the Board of Nursing exam). Interns have the option of working part-time or full-time. All interns are provided with skills training beyond the nurse aide training and are provided with the PPE appropriate for each assignment.
Internship Requirements:
*Complete the 120-hour licensed Nurse Aide training course, if not already a CNA. The course includes 50 hours on-line instruction using the excellent American Red Cross video curriculum that can completed from your home.
*Complete 30 hours skills lab training at Moon River Nursing Careers in Ashburn, VA
*Complete a 40- hour clinical rotation at a long-term care facility in Leesburg, VA
*Work one-on-one with patients receiving home health care, completing a minimum of 400 hours. Duties including assisting older adults with the activities of daily living. Services are provided under the licensed home care agency, Moon River Senior Care. Additional patient care hours are encouraged, and the stipend is increased as interns gain more experience. All direct care hours and training as considered part of the total internship experience in your letter of recommendation.
Home Health scheduled hours: After completion of the Nurse Aide course, each intern submits availability for the upcoming month. The shifts can be scheduled days, evenings and weekends. The students must provide available dates to work 30 days in advance. While scheduled times can be flexible, all interns must have availability to work days, evenings and some weekends. The shifts can range from a few hours to a 12 hour shift.
Ongoing training:
*Interns participate in ZOOM internship team meetings and training sessions twice a month with well-respected guest speakers.
*Complete a 4-6 page reflection paper about your experience as an intern.
·*Select a healthcare topic of interest that is approved by the Director of Nursing and lead a 15-20 minute training session, including a discussion.
Terms of the Internship
· Moon River Nursing Careers is affiliated with Moon River Senior Care. The Nurse Aide training (valued at $1,850.00) is awarded as a a scholarship to interns. Successful completion of this course is required to take the Virginia Board of Nursing exam to become a CNA.
· While interns are encouraged to take the Board of Nursing exam following the course to become a CNA, this is not a requirement to proceed with the home health experience. Students who choose to become licensed as a CNA are responsible for paying the fee of $140.00 to take the state Board of Nursing exam. Once assigned to home health shifts, the intern will receive a stipend of $13.00/ hr. for 1-300 hours; $14.00/hr for 301-599 hours; $15.00/hr. for 600+ hours.
· Students are required to be CPR certified to participate in the internship. Those who are not already CPR certified can take this course at Moon River Nursing Careers for the discounted price of $90.00.
· Interns need to provide their own black scrub pants. Moon River Nursing Careers will provide one set of scrubs for the clinical rotation. Moon River Senior Care will provide a polo shirt with the agency logo that will be worn with the black scrubs for the home health assignments.
Responsibilities of Interns:
· Attend all training sessions and actively participate in discussions.
· Follow the Plan of Care developed by a Registered Nurse
· Provide medication reminders
· Provide personal care services including bathing, oral care, shaving, dressing, feeding,restroom assistance, incontinence care and transfers
· Report observations regarding skin breakdown
· Monitor vital signs and changes in communication or cognition
· Demonstrate charting and proper documentation
· Gain understanding of infection control, confidentiality, and privacy protocol
· Simple meal preparation, such as making a sandwich
· Assist with daily tasks
· Provide a listening ear, companionship and engage in activities
· Schedule medical appointments for client, if requested
· Accompany to medical appointments, as needed
· Crisis intervention; communicate with RN supervisor
· Accompany clients to physical therapy sessions
Benefits to Students pursuing careers in Healthcare
· The internship includes valuable training, including receiving Nurse Aide training free of charge.
· Successful completion of the Nurse Aide course prepares an intern to take the Virginia Board of Nursing exam to be licensed as a Certified Nursing Assistant. A CNA license in the state of Virginia is an important credential that opens doors to jobs in hospitals, clinics, medical offices, assisted living and memory care, nursing homes, Hospice, and home health.
· Interns learn about many different medical conditions and gain insight into the challenges that patients and family caregivers face at home daily.
· During team meetings, interns learn from the expertise of healthcare professionals and have an opportunity to interact with other interns. Extraordinary, experienced instructors can share experiences working with every age group and in various healthcare settings.
· Graduates of our internship program have a competitive edge when applying to nursing school, medical school, PA school and other healthcare advanced degrees.
Who should apply for this internship?
This internship is recommended for a recent college graduate who is passionate about a career in healthcare and motivated to achieve his/her goals. It is an ideal internship for someone in the gap year prior to attending medical school, but open to other qualified candidates. Former interns also have included students pursuing careers in Nursing, Social work, OT/PT, Psychology, Pharmacy, Public Health or Healthcare Administration. While these are typically the majors of interns, we will consider any college senior or recent college graduate who has the academic potential, compassion, work ethic and motivation to become a healthcare professional.
Applications are reviewed as they are received, and interviews scheduled on an ongoing basis until the internship class is full. We encourage qualified candidates to apply today.