Internships Versus Clinical Practicums
Both give you supervised clinical training and a real preview of direct patient care. As an intern you work under a registered nurse, learning entry-level skills in a controlled setting. Internships usually run as 10-week summer blocks, though some happen during the school year.
The key difference is that internships sit outside your degree requirements and are not supervised by faculty. Those hours usually do not count toward the clinical hours your degree requires. There is no single national number: neither the CCNE nor the ACEN sets a fixed count, and the state boards that do set minimums vary widely, with many pre-licensure BSN programs landing somewhere around 700 to 800 hours (NCSBN). Interns are typically paid and treated as employees of the practice.
A practicum is a required part of your program, usually paired with a seminar or theory component. An RN supervises you, and a faculty member often does too. The work is more academically oriented, the time commitment is lighter than an internship, and it is unpaid. The upside: practicum hours count toward your required clinical hours.
What to Expect
The two experiences pull in different directions. Interns tend to deliver more hands-on patient care under supervision. Practicum students observe more and assist while they learn.
As a clinical intern, you care for real patients under an assigned preceptor. Daily duties can include assessing patients, administering medication, and helping with bathing, dressing, and eating. Some patients are wary of a student nurse, so part of the job is putting them at ease.
Practicums lean toward support tasks like charting, plus watching how experienced nurses interact with patients. You shadow a nurse or other mentor and get guidance from your professors. Expect a mix of lab work, classroom learning, and clinical observation, all aimed at applying theory to the floor. Fitting practicum hours around other coursework is one of the harder parts.
Work Settings
Both happen in real healthcare settings: hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and doctors' offices. Your school helps place you somewhere that fits your academic needs and career goals. Online programs can help you find approved sites within a practical commute.
Why It Matters
Internships and practicums give you an inside look at the job, the hands-on training you will rely on once licensed, and connections that lead to recommendations and offers after graduation.
Where to Find Nursing Internships
A few places to start, including summer internships:
- Your school's career center keeps internship listings and can sharpen your interviewing and application skills.
- Job fairs bring recruiters to meet students looking for jobs or internships. Some focus only on healthcare.
- Recruiting events are held by employers with openings who want to reach interested students.
- Alumni networks connect you with nurses from your program who want to help, often with leads or personal recommendations.
- Job boards and internship databases run by professional organizations keep members posted on openings, mostly online.
Nursing Internship Opportunities
- American Nurses Association Job Board: ANA offers student members job board listings for nursing internships across the United States.
- International Medical Aid Internships: A nonprofit placing interns in regions that need medical personnel, including East Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.
- Nurse in Washington Internship: A weekend conference in the Washington, D.C., area that introduces the legislative process and how to advocate on issues affecting nurses and healthcare.
- Work the World: Customized nursing internships in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, with voluntary hospital rotations in developing countries.
- OSHA's Graduate Nurse Internship Program: Open to RNs pursuing graduate degrees in public or occupational health nursing, with a focus on applying theory to government projects.
- Chegg Internships: Search nursing internships by location, company, employer type, and paid versus unpaid.
- WayUp: Internships and entry-level roles for students and recent grads, searchable by location and other criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a nursing internship and a practicum? A practicum is a required, faculty-supervised part of your degree, usually unpaid, and its hours count toward your program's clinical requirements. An internship sits outside the curriculum, is typically paid, and gives more hands-on patient care, but the hours usually don't count toward your degree.
Do internship hours count toward my required clinical hours? Usually no. Because internships are not faculty-supervised parts of your program, those hours generally don't apply to your degree's clinical requirement. Practicum hours do.
How many clinical hours does a BSN require? There's no single national figure. Neither the CCNE nor the ACEN sets a fixed number, and state boards that set minimums vary widely, with many pre-licensure BSN programs landing around 700 to 800 hours (NCSBN).
Are nursing internships paid? Internships are commonly paid and treat you as an employee of the practice. Practicums are typically unpaid because they are part of your coursework.
Where do I find a nursing internship? Start with your school's career center, job and recruiting fairs, alumni networks, and professional-organization job boards such as the American Nurses Association listings.