Each summer, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital hosts nursing students from around the country for a paid externship program that helps students gain valuable hands-on experience. Our paid externship helps nursing students discover new nursing specialties through paid shadow days. Bi-weekly Lunch and Learn meetings engage nurse technicians in conversations about professional and clinical topics and prepare them for their next role as new graduate nurses. Our nurse technicians even explore Washington, D.C. on a fun local scavenger hunt, an experience that allows them to get to know the city and each other.
Paid internships are available in most specialty areas, and the opportunity to apply for a $10,000 scholarship is available exclusively to participants.
Important dates
Summer 2024 Student Nurse Technician Externship
Upcoming program
June through August 2024
Application period
Online applications will be accepted from November 6 through December 20, 2023
Spots may fill up before the end of the application period, so get your application in early!
Interviews
January through March 2024
- Rising Junior or Senior BSN-enrolled student
- Scheduled to complete Med/Surg Clinical by Spring 2024
- Minimum 3.2 GPA
- Available for full-time summer employment, including rotating shifts and weekends
- Current resume and cover letter
- Current official transcript (reflecting a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or greater)
- Two clinical faculty reference letters (on official university letterhead)
- Employer reference if you have worked as a Nurse Technician/Extern/CNA/Care Partner
- Unit or specialty area preference
Sharpen your skills.
The Summer Nurse Externship allows you to work alongside MedStar Georgetown’s elite team of Magnet®-recognized nurses. You’ll gain hands-on experience in your area of interest, shadow the pros in a variety of specialty areas, attend educational sessions, and hone your clinical and leadership skills.
Experience Washington, D.C.
Spend your summer diving into all that Washington, D.C., has to offer. With a vibrant arts and music scene, tons of free city activities, amazing restaurants, and a diverse group of nursing students here to explore it all with you, it’s an unforgettable way to spend the summer.
"Looking back on my first week on the floor, I was so nervous to place my first IV and draw blood work. Now, I go into patients’ rooms with confidence. Through the nursing externship program, I have become a better student, a better nurse, and a better person."
Greg, Emergency Department
"What I love most about these past few months was that if there was something I wanted to see or do, I had the ability to do it. If you've always wanted to see brain surgery, you can go observe a craniotomy. If you want to count a billion sponges, you can go count sponges in a liver transplant."
Joe, Operating Room
“Working on my unit is amazing. It leaves my feet aching at the end of the day, but my heart full. On my unit, we do not just care for patients–we care for every visitor who walks onto our floor. We know health is not limited to simply the medical diagnoses. This experience has taught me to go above and beyond. A lesson like that is priceless.”
Grace, Surgical Specialties Unit 6 Main
“My professors are always telling me the importance of being a Magnet® nurse, but it wasn’t until, and the ones that I shadowed here, that I fully realized the extent of the importance of being a Magnet nurse.”
Elizabeth, General Medicine 4 Bles
“I’ve been lucky enough to learn how to work an arterial line, read a head CT, and much more. Not only has this experience given me a whole new skill set, but it has afforded me the opportunity to be a part of patients’ lives. That is such a privilege.”
Sarah, Neuroscience ICU
“Coming into the summer, I was quite nervous. But I had loved working at a university affiliated hospital, where everyone is willing to teach and learn. I’ve met patients that I will remember for the rest of my career.”
Savannah, Vascular Mediacal/Surgical Intermediate Care Unit 4 East
Additional information and resources
Contact us
Please call us at 202-444-1215 or send us an email at nurse.recruit@gunet.georgetown.edu.
Download our Summer 2023 information flyer.