Nurse Associate Program
Huntington Hospital’s Nurse Associate
Program was created in response to nursing
students’ requests for increased clinical
exposure as well as the hospital’s need
for dedicated, committed individuals in a nursing
support role.
In addition to Huntington Hospital’s
orientation requirements, applicants must have
the experience of at least one semester of
a clinical nursing rotation. This gives them
the didactic and hands on experience needed
to perform at a basic nursing assistant level.
But because of their increased knowledge base
from that of a nursing assistant, nurse associates
are given some additional responsibilities
such as performing EKGs, and glucose monitoring.
As part of the application process, nursing
students must submit two letters of recommendation,
at least one from a clinical instructor in
their nursing program, and submit a copy of
their nursing school transcript. They must
also take the hospital’s standard nursing
assistant pre-employment exam.
The unique title Nurse Associate indicates
to the staff that they are currently in nursing
school which promotes on going mentoring for
the students each time they report to work. As
an added bonus, nurse associates are offered
an externship during their last recess before
graduating from nursing school. They
are removed from the nurse associate role and
paired to work side by side with a tenured
RN. This challenge enables them to gain a bird’s
eye view of the true RN role.
Students are required to commit to at least
one shift per week throughout their tenure
in the Nurse Associate role. Many choose to
work more when school is in recess. Available
positions are primarily on the 3PM-11PM and
the 11PM-7AM shifts because this is where there
is greatest need on the nursing units. Experienced
nurses in Staff Development work very closely
with the students throughout their experience
at Huntington Hospital. These mentors make
it very clear to the nurse associates that
nursing school should remain their top priority.
The benefits for the student are many. In
addition to the increased clinical exposure
and professional patient care experience, they
begin the socialization process should they
decide to transition to an RN position at Huntington
Hospital. Many choose to accept positions once
they graduate. Also, the staff is able to get
a true view of their work ethic, commitment
and maturity level and the students have the
opportunity to witness nursing at Huntington
Hospital first hand.
The program continues to be a work in progress
with changes occurring on an on-going basis.
Currently, it is being offered twice per year
in January and May.
If you meet the above criteria, can fulfill
the commitment to the position and are interested
in learning more about Huntington Hospital’s
Nurse Associate Program, please contact Donna
Tanzi, RN, at dtanzi@hunthosp.org.
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