USCA nursing externship helps student discover passion for critical care

Internship or externship, which is better?

USCA’s experiential education program offers both options, giving students a lot of flexibility.

Internships allow students an opportunity to work with area partners in ways that complement classroom instruction. An extern position provides Pacers the same opportunities and often leads to a guaranteed job as soon as they graduate.

Honors nursing student Lily Boswell, USCA ’27, chose the externship option and is working as a nurse extern at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta until she graduates. 

“I really enjoy being a float pool nurse,” Boswell said. “It just keeps me busy and being part of a float pool, they just send me wherever they are the most understaffed or need the most help at that point, so I get to see a lot of different things. I have been at almost every unit at the hospital.”

During her first 18 shifts, she worked as a patient care technician and helped patients with numerous health conditions by collaborating with nurses to extend effective care. Boswell proactively sought opportunities to support the nursing team, anticipating patient needs, assisting with hands-on care, and observing experienced nurses to deepen her clinical knowledge and strengthen her ability to contribute to safe, compassionate patient care.

“My externship helps me get experience and more comfortable speaking with patients and making clinical decisions with the help of the nurses I am working with,” Boswell said. 

“It kind of helps me see how they interact and how she charts things that are different at hospitals that you don’t really get to see or do as a student.”
 
This externship impacted Boswell’s professional and personal growth. She is now more comfortable talking to patients and their families and has trained other people because of her increase in skills, confidence, and knowledge. She has also built connections with many people at the hospital.

“I am more empathetic toward certain things, and it also gave me more confidence in my skill-base and decision-making,” Boswell said.

She says she gained valuable insight into the type of nurse and person she aspires to be. Because of her externship, Boswell says she discovered an interest in working in critical care as a possible career.

While the externship gave her additional insight, she credits USCA with building a strong foundation and setting her up for success — in class, as part of her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, at Wellstar and beyond.

Boswell said she chose to go to USCA because she had “always heard good things about the nursing program here.” She also met a few of the instructors at admissions events and had good interactions with them. She appreciates the rigor of the program and the high pass rate on professional exams for USCA nursing students.

The information she learned in her classes helped solidify her future as a nurse. This externship has allowed her to see theoretical concepts first-hand, which helped her begin to apply everything she has learned.

“You learn about so many things, but it’s different to actually do those things; as a nurse, you learn a lot of things working even more than you do in school,” Boswell said. 

She says her clinical experience at USCA helped set up her success during her externship as well. 

USCA offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing and an online RN-to-BSN option. Through a blend of classroom instruction, interactive labs, immersive simulations, and real-world clinical experiences, Pacers gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to lead in patient care, education and translation of research.

The boasts a 95 percent pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam. Successful passage of the exam is necessary before nursing graduates can work in a clinical environment as a registered nurse.

The school’s employment rate, or acceptance into graduate nursing schools, within six months of graduation and licensing is 100 percent.

“Our NCLEX pass rate and job placement rate reflect the collective strength of our faculty, the rigor of our coursework, our commitment to high-impact teaching practices and meaningful clinical experiences,” said Dr. Katie Chargualaf, dean of the USCA School of Nursing.

“We prepare students to do more than pass an exam; we prepare them to think critically, apply their knowledge in real-world settings and enter the nursing profession with confidence.”

Boswell advises fellow Pacers take lessons learned in the classroom into the world and get practical, real-world experience through either an internship or an externship. She says it will help with resume prep and getting employed after graduation.
 
“It makes you more desirable to be hired because you have something that other people might not have,” Boswell said.

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