Internships & Student Placements
Are you a student nurse who is interested in finding out more about pediatric care?
Every fall, Connecticut Children’s accepts applications for our Student Nurse Internship. The Student Nurse Intern (SNI) position is open to nursing college students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior years. This is a per diem position with a minimum requirement of 24 hours per week for the duration of the summer program (May 30-August 6).
Student nurses will function in the role of a Patient Care Assistant (PCA) for the duration of the program. The SNI will participate in a weekly educational seminar on Wednesdays and will be given opportunities to shadow with a nurse regularly. Workdays will be 8 or 12-hour shifts and will include working every other weekend. SNI positions are available in most areas of the hospital, including our Medical Surgical units, inpatient Hematology/Oncology unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Department.
Applicants will be given an opportunity to interview with several units if they are interested. There is no need to fill out multiple applications for different units. Interviews will be held at the end of January or early February. Please note that employment as a Student Nurse Intern does not guarantee employment as a Registered Nurse upon graduation.
Search “student nurse internship” to locate the current listing on our job board. If no listings appear, please check back later in the fall.
Connecticut Children’s is a nationally recognized organization that provides exceptional care for pediatric patients. We collaborate with several nursing schools to provide the best possible pediatric nursing learning experiences.
We are excited that you have decided to complete part of your nursing education with Connecticut Children’s. Pediatric nursing is an exciting and ever-changing field. At Connecticut Children’s we are dedicated to improving the physical and emotional health of children through family-centered care, research, education and advocacy.
Instructor-Led Clinical Groups
Traditional instructor-led experience involves an instructor bringing a group of students to a clinical unit in a hospital for learning. Students have the opportunities within our medical-surgical units, emergency department, ambulatory surgery center and ambulatory clinic settings.
All requests for Clinical Group placement must be submitted by an academic partner’s Placement Coordinator.
Capstone Placements
Capstone placements are limited to senior-level students; these students are paired with a Connecticut Children’s team member (also called a preceptor) in the student’s area of interest. There are a limited number of placements available in any given semester over a variety of settings within the organization.
All requests for Capstone Placement must be submitted by an academic partner to Connecticut Children’s Nursing Student Placement Coordinator through our Nursing Capstone Application form (see submission deadlines below). Please reach out to your academic coordinator if you are interested in a Capstone experience at Connecticut Children’s.
- Fall Request (experiences occurring between August 15 and December 31): Submit requests no later than April
- Spring Request (for experiences occurring between January 1 and May 15): Submit requests no later than October
- Summer Request (for experiences occurring between May 15 and August 15): Submit requests no later than March
Acceptance of requests will be made directly to academic coordinator.
Clinical divisions at Connecticut Children’s participate in educational clinical placements for nurse practitioner and physician assistant students currently enrolled in an accredited program. For motivated NP/PA students, we provide clinical placements to:
- Gain valuable hands-on experience in a diverse pediatric patient population
- Further develop your clinical skills providing care for pediatric patients with uncomplicated and complex medical conditions
- Contribute to high-quality patient care under the guidance of experienced Advanced Practice Providers
- Align your academic knowledge with real-world practice to become a confident and competent future NP or PA.
- We do not offer clinical placements in Pediatric Primary Care that many programs require.
- All students must have already completed a pediatric primary care placement.
- We do provide clinical placements in pediatric specialty care (Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Pediatric Medical and Surgical subspecialties, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Check your school curriculum and/or consult your school advisor to determine is a pediatric specialty care placement will be approved.
- Students must apply at least 6 months before your expected placement. This will allow us time to review your application and find the appropriate placement, if available.
- Placement is based on the availability of Advanced Practice Provider preceptors. We will try our best to match you with the best placement but there is no guarantee that we will have a placement available at the time that you requested.
Clinical shadow experience for undergraduate college students (must be 18 years old) to observe the work and learn about the career of a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA).
Clinical shadow is a one-time observation only experience (up to 4 hours), under the supervision of an NP or PA sponsor.
Our goal is to provide a high quality educational experience for students in undergraduate and graduate degree healthcare programs. We have a strong commitment to the education of our future work forces.
Departments throughout Connecticut Children’s participate in educational placements with many local colleges and universities. Many types of placements may be available, both clinical and nonclinical.
How to Request an Educational Placement
Students who participate in an educational placement must be from a school that has a valid affiliation agreement in place.
The Placement Coordinator from your school should contact the appropriate department manager to discuss the availability of placements. Once a placement has been found, you will be responsible for requesting your own placement and submitting, with the assistance of your Placement Coordinator, all required documentation through Smartsheet.
If you are not a student or faculty member from a currently affiliated school and accepted healthcare-specific program but are interested in placement at Connecticut Children’s as part of your degree program, contact the hospital specialty that is most closely associated with your area of study to discuss whether we can accommodate your learning needs/objectives.
Contact Us
For more information, please studentplacements [at] connecticutchildrens.org (email) Connecticut Children’s student placement team.
The Connecticut Children’s Administrative Fellowship Program is a one-year, post-graduate program designed to cultivate the next generation of healthcare leaders through exposure, practice and experience with the various functions of a growing pediatric health care system.
Connecticut Children’s division of research provides internship opportunities for high school, undergraduate, graduate, medical and post-doctoral students.
Job Shadow sand Observations
Job shadows are a great opportunity to observe the responsibilities of a healthcare professional in a field that interests you. These visits are limited to students at least sixteen (16) years of age.
How to Request a Job Shadow/Observation
Anyone looking to do a job shadow or observation is responsible for locating someone within the organization to shadow (this person is called a sponsor).
The best way to do this is to explore the various units/departments. Contact the specialty that most closely matches your area of interest to receive approval for a visit. Please keep in mind, the visits are at the discretion of the units/department and available staff. There is no guarantee that a manager/staff member will be able to accommodate your request.
Contact Us
For more information, please studentplacements [at] connecticutchildrens.org (email) Connecticut Children’s student placement team.