Internship training is a core requirement of the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all health specialties. It is also a requirement of Saudi Commission for Health Specialties/Nursing Board to grant professional registration and licensure to practice within the kingdom. It concludes the BSN curriculum and starts straight after successful completion of academic requirements and course work.
Internship training program is a one-year training after successful completion of Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. It is the time where nursing students incorporate their knowledge and skill into practice. Nursing internship training conducted in JCIA accredited clinical settings recruited by CON- R, KSAU-HS.
Purpose:
The program is designed to achieve the following goals:
To expand the interns’ understanding of the structure, scope, and services of real practice settings.
To consolidate previously learned knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to professional nursing practice.
To orient the interns about the different professional nurse roles & responsibilities.
To facilitate the transition of interns’ performance from supervised to independent and functional professional practice.
To prepare interns effectively for future full-time employment and related workplace/ professional requirements.
To explore interns’ career interests and employment preferences to prepare them accordingly.
Intended Learning Outcomes of internship field experience
By the end of the internship year the interns will be able to:
Recognize the structure of the practice settings and its available services needed to facilitate patient care delivery.
Recognize the knowledge and theory foundation for core nursing interventions and skills.
Demonstrate utilization of critical thinking skills in making informed decisions related to the care of patients & their families.
Carry an assigned patient load and deliver holistic nursing care within standards of practice guidelines.
Evaluate research evidence necessary to guide professional nursing practice,
Communicate effectively using therapeutic verbal and non-verbal communication with patients, families & interdisciplinary team.
Demonstrate mastery of basic mathematical calculation necessary for nursing care delivery.
Plan holistic patients and family centered care utilizing the nursing process framework.
Demonstrate effective management and clinical leadership skills at the unit level,
Incorporate professional values and standards including ethical and legal aspects into the practice of nursing.
Structure of KSAU-HS Nursing Internship Program
Nursing internship program is divided into two phases:
Phase I:
It covers 32 weeks period and has unified requirements that all enrolled interns are expected to meet. Phase I is structured to facilitate consolidation of interns’ clinical experience, knowledge and professional conduct in medical, surgical, maternity and pediatric areas.
No |
Unit |
Total number of weeks |
Area / week |
1
| Surgical
| 12 weeks inclusive of necessary orientation
|
● Any general surgical area (male or female)
● Day care Unit
● Critical care/specialized areas with surgical orientation such as (but not limited to) surgical ICU, OR, PACU, Endoscopy/ Angiography and others
● Any other unit where its service profile is adequate to cover the surgical rotation objectives provided that the newly selected areas are approved by CON-R.
● Interns shall also spend one week of their surgical rotation in an outpatient clinic with surgical orientation service profile
|
2
| Medical
| 12 weeks inclusive of necessary orientation
|
● Any general medical area (male or female)
● Oncology
● Critical care/specialized areas with medical orientation such as (but not limited to) medical ICU, CCU, dialysis units, emergency, and others
● Any other unit where its service profile is adequate to cover the medical rotation objectives provided that the newly selected areas are approved by CON-R.
● Interns shall also spend one week of their medical rotation in an outpatient clinic with medical orientation service profile
|
3
| Maternity
| 4 weeks
|
● Obstetrics& Gynecology
● Labor & Delivery
|
4
| Pediatrics
| 4 weeks
|
● Pediatric (surgical or medical)
● Critical care/specialized areas with pediatric orientation such as (but not limited to) PICU, Admission nursery, NICU and others
|
Phase II:
It covers a period of 16 weeks and starts after successful completion of phase I.
The KSAU-HS nursing internship program is career-linked which means that phase II of the program is designed to prepare the interns effectively for their targeted future positions as nurses. Such approach is believed to improve the interns’ functionality, adaptability and improve their retention on their first employment.
In preparation for phase II, the division of Nursing Services at the clinical settings in collaboration with the College of Nursing will offer structured career counseling activities so that the interns can make an informed decisions about their possible future career path within the clinical settings where they are placed.
No |
Unit |
Total number of weeks |
Area / week |
5
| Based on the intern’s career choice/preferred area of practice
| 16 weeks inclusive of necessary orientation
|
The placement unit depends on the intern’s career choice.
Potentially, phase II placement could be arranged in any general medical, surgical or pediatric area, obstetric & labor area, any critical or specialized unit, outpatient clinics, home health care services, and any other relevant area provided that it provide direct patient care services and is approved by college of nursing - riyadh. In cases when an intern is not considering employment in the same clinical site where her clinical training occurs, she will be placed, as much as possible, in an area relevant to her recruitment plan with other employer (if valid) or an area that is convenient to her personal preference.
|