http://www.veteranscrisisline.net

Veterans Crisis Line

Student Nurse Technician (Paid Internship)

June - August 2017 • Buffalo, NY

What I liked

Hands-on nursing experience; some nurses were great, and let me work their entire workload with them, rather than sending me to individual tasks that they prefer not to do

What I wish was different

HR was horrible. I had planned to attend orientation for 1 week, and found out Wednesday of that week that I was required to attend a second week. I consequently missed 2 weeks of classes. The circumstances they put me in were just short of requiring me to leave my previous job without any notice. They made it seem "worth it," because a paid internship is a great opportunity. They also promised me that I would be an intern until I graduated a year later, at which point I would be promoted to general nurse, and would immediately be hired as an RN once licensed. After about a month of work, I showed up one day and was told I was "off the schedule" because it was not beneficial to the hospital to pay for internships. They told me that I should have expected it because when I applied, the position was listed as temporary - even though they repeatedly told me it was a temporary position that would last a year. I had literally zero notice, and was out of any job whatsoever for 2 months. They really put me in tough position to accept the internship, and then were totally comfortable leaving me high and dry. This happened to multiple people.

Advice

Don't accept an internship at the VA - they are 100% unprofessional, and have no interest in your wellbeing.
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