Forrest General Hospital’s Nurse Extern Program Graduates 30
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (August 6, 2024) Thirty senior-level nursing students who participated in the 2024 Forrest General Hospital Nurse Extern Program completed their training at the end of July. To date, this is the largest class they’ve graduated from the program. The students, who hail from Delta State University, Pearl River Community College, Mississippi University for Women, and The University of Southern Mississippi, complimented the program saying they have gained valuable experience during the past two months that will help them better care for patients in the future.
The 2024 Nurse Extern Program, which began at the beginning of the summer, concluded with a reception. The nurse externs are senior-level nursing students who work under the supervision of an RN preceptor to further develop their nursing skills. They will return to school this fall, with 22 of the 31 graduating in December.
This summer program ran from May 20 to July 26. Instructors included Kim Smith, MSN, RN, (USM); Brandi Linares, MSN, RN, (PRCC); Christy Jenkins, MSN, RN (DSU), and Tara Sullivan, BSN, (MUW).
The purpose of the program, which requires 320 work hours, is to provide students with an opportunity to enhance competencies, assist nursing students to experience a typical work environment; prepare nursing students to assume responsibilities of a full-time registered nurse, and encourage retention of nursing graduates.
“We appreciate that you took the initiative to spend your summer with us and get ahead with building your skills, and your confidence,” said Linda Holmes, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, an FGH Education Specialist, Education Department, who sits on the state summer nurse extern committee, along with fellow FGH educator, Adriane Crabtree, BSN, RN.
Forrest General’s 2024 Nurse Externs are: Dy’mond Ball, Kelly Bond Knaak, Dustin Bush, Aayana Chapman, Maggie Culver, Joshua Franklin, Piper Fulton, Kloe Gipson, Madalyn Harris, Olivia Hawkins, Sophie Heurtin, Kiera Hinton, Heather Hughes, Reagan Laird, Azariyah Magee, Anna Mayberry, Natallee McCauley, Madison McLemore, Kaytlyn Parker, Shriya Patel, Brandi Phillips, Jordan Pittman, Shaniya Rich, Jennifer Robinson, JD Rutherford, Ashton Stanley, Abigail Stauffer, Tara Sullivan, Yuwei Wang, Camryn Welch, and Alexandria Young.
Young, a student in Pearl River Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program, has worked at Forrest General since she graduated high school in 2022. Most recently, she has worked as a Nurse Student Tech, but for the summer transferred into the extern program. She described the extern program as “amazing and very beneficial.”
“I’ve never really had a chance to see exactly what a nurse does,” she said. “This summer I had the chance to practice my skills and work on everything I’m going to be doing on a preceptorship. This kind of put me a step ahead of the game.”
Young has always enjoyed being in the healthcare setting and knew she wanted to go into the field, but not for the reason everybody always thinks. “While I enjoy taking care of people, I really enjoy the science behind everything,” she said. That interest developed while a high school student in the CTE health science program where she had the opportunity to job shadow nurses. It was then I decided nursing was the No. 1 job where I could literally work anywhere, do anything, and that interests me so much. It’s always something I can do, and I fell in love with it. It’s been a blessing.”
Dy’mond Ball, from Jayess, a student at Delta State University in Cleveland, is lucky to have participated in the Summer Extern program at FGH for two years. She explained that at DSU, they have five semesters. “Last year, I had already had a clinical rotation on a Med/Surg floor, so I was able to participate in the Nurse Extern Summer program then and again this year,” she said. Last year, she worked in the ICU while this year she spent her time in the ER.
“Last year was super beneficial, because I got to train on so many skills,” she said. “When I went to my next set of clinicals, it was like I was ahead of the game. I had a lot of skills I got to do and got a lot better at. I also got a lot more confidence, and it helped with my communication skills. I’m really shy, and I got to talk to a lot of different people, from patients and physicians to nurses and others.” She really enjoyed her time in the ICU a little more, and would like to return to FGH’s ICU upon graduation.
This was the first time that Forrest General allowed nurse externs in the NICU and Brandi Phillips of Poplarville took full advantage of it. She had the opportunity to watch a lot of births, work in the intermediate nursery, as well as the NICU with the sickest of the sick.
A lot of the experiences she witnessed firsthand were things she had only read about or seen photos of in books. She also got to help with discharges, hearing, oxygen, and car seat tests. “I got to see the whole process – from birth to going home,” she said. “It was an absolutely amazing process.”
Before this externship, Phillips, who is a certified first responder/firefighter and certified by the Mississippi Fire Academy, said she was absolutely terrified of working with tiny humans. “But when the opportunity to work in the NICU was offered to me, I latched on to it,” she said. “It was the best decision I ever made. I would love to work in the NICU here. It’s a Level III NICU, so they do just about everything.”
As a first responder, she also asked if she might work in the ER for a couple of days. “As a first responder, I always worked wrecks and other emergencies from the other side,” she said. “I wanted to experience them from the ER side.” She wasn’t disappointed in being able to offer the compassion one sees from medical teams.
A collaboration between the Schools of Nursing and the hospital, Holmes said the Nurse Extern Program is a great way to help senior-level student nurses increase confidence and competence in skills and patient care. “It gives them a realistic picture of providing patient care in a hospital setting, learning time management, prioritizing and documenting care, and it eases their transition into their role as a new registered nurse,” she said.
This program would not be possible without the support of nursing administration, patient care managers, and registered nurses who are willing to serve as preceptors for nurse externs, according to Linda Holmes, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, education specialist at Forrest General. This year’s preceptors included: Emma Tolliver, Jake Brown, Kim Trosclair, Victoria Hand, Hannah Baker, ED; Chris Barrett, Crystal Moffett, Austin Borrello, Abby Butler, Sharon Henderson, Logan Cuevas, Kacey Stauter, Tori Miller, Jace Gordon, Raven Blackwell, Ashlee Van Etten, Claire Winstead, Betty Alexander, ICU; Mandi Chance, Sara Keele, Meagan Harvey, Sara Beth Crechale, Austin Tyler Burks, Pool; Amarylis Caves, Searria Hayes, Postpartum; Jennifer Lopez, Kaitlyn Gallagher, Pediatrics; Jeanna Hadley, Maggie Dobbs, NICU; Dalton Jenkins, 2T.
For more information about Forrest General’s Go Green! Campaign, visit www.forresthealth.org/careers.
ABOUT FORREST GENERAL HOSPITAL
Forrest General, a leader in medical excellence in South Mississippi, is the flagship hospital of Forrest Health. The 547-bed, Level II Regional Trauma Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, provides regional health services to a 19-county service area. Founded in 1952, the hospital’s mission—to do what is best for the patient—is grounded in “We CARE” values of caring and compassion.
