Improving Retention through Implementation of a Nurse Externship

Studies indicate that investment into an externship can increase nurse retention. Externships allow novice nurses to practice skills, increase confidence levels, become inside members of the health care team, and develop communication skills with patients, families, and other health care providers. Throughout the literature, nursing students, nurse educators, and employers expressed concern over the lack of hands‐on learning and practice readiness that academic clinical time provides new nurses. Provision of additional clinical time and skill repetition, as in an externship program, is reported to increase confidence, reduce anxiety, and promote critical thinking.