Bullington & Steinke Complete Clinical Enrichment Internship at Brookings Health
- August 07, 2023
Nursing students Brooke Bullington and Carlee Steinke recently completed the clinical enrichment program at Brookings Health System, a partnership with the South Dakota Board of Nursing.
Bullington and Steinke each spent 10 weeks at Brookings Health System, learning the practice of nursing outside their formal education. Each spent five weeks in Brookings Hospital’s inpatient care unit, two weeks in the obstetrics unit, two weeks in the emergency department and one week in the operating room. They were paired with a nurse preceptor and performed tasks of direct and indirect patient care under the nurse preceptor’s guidance.
A Brookings High School graduate, Bullington currently attends Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., and plans to graduate in 2024.
“I learned so much and gained valuable skills to take with me the rest of my nursing career,” said Bullington about her clinical enrichment program experience. “Every preceptor helped me grow as a person and a nurse.”
Steinke is also a Brookings High School graduate and currently attends South Dakota State University. She plans to graduate December 2023.
“I feel so much more comfortable and confident in my nursing skills after the internship,” said Steinke. “Placing IVs and catheters during the internship helped me to hone my skills. Spending weeks of time on each unit helps you to feel more comfortable asking questions and performing tasks. The internship helped me gain more nursing knowledge and feel prepared to begin a job as a registered nurse soon.”
Applications for Brookings Health’s summer 2024 clinical enrichment program will open on November 1. At the time of the internship, qualified candidates must be one to two semesters away from completing their degree with an accredited registered nursing program. They must also meet Brookings Health’s pre-employment requirements and be certified in basic life support.
Brookings Health’s workforce embodies the spirit of teamwork, working together across disciplines to care for local patients and residents. Individuals who want to join Brookings Health System’s Top 20 Rural Community Hospital team can find a position right for them at brookingshealth.org/Careers.
About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.