BrightStar Care of Naperville/Oak Brook has partnered with the College of DuPage Nursing Program to offer internships to nursing students. We have invested in our learning lab to continuously raise our staff’s skills and promote further learning.
The Program: COD Student Nurse Capstone Program has provided their students with the opportunity to do internships with various facilities in which they complete 96 hours before they graduate. This is their final step in their student nursing career. COD has chosen BrightStar to participate and mentor their students. During their 4-week internship, these students follow Nurse Case coordinators into private duty homes and staffing facilities. They learn all kinds of hands on skills, from assessing the clients to G-tube care, catheter care, starting IV’s and wound care. They also learn the administrative side of Home care: proper documentation, therapeutic communication with clients, case management and working with multidisciplinary professionals. The interns do shifts in designated facilities where they learn how to delegate on a team, learn how to administer medication to a large amount of patients in a short amount of time and also learn time management skills.
What did you do with your Nurse Mentor during the internship? "I followed Elaine to all visits, did client reassessments, learned how to talk and build relationships with clients and saw how diseases progress. I also got to do a PICC line dressing change."
What did you get out of this internship? "I got a glimpse into a whole different side of nursing and the home care setting. I had no previous experience with home care. It’s less stressful and I like the leisure time, as well as traveling to and visiting assisted living facilities."
How was your experience with your Mentor? "Elaine is really good, she’s very experienced and great at communicating with different types of people, which was helpful because I learned how to properly communicate with difficult patients. Elaine is very skilled and extremely competent. You can really tell she wants to make a difference and wants to teach whoever is willing to learn. Elaine was also very flexible with my schedule which was great because it was hectic juggling school and work."
Why did you choose to pursue a career in nursing? "My little sister inspired me to go into the nursing field. She’s 11 years younger and I loved helping my mom raise and take care of her. I want to help and take care of other people too. I also really enjoy math and science, especially learning about the anatomy of the body - that’s why I’m excited to become a Nurse. I want to make a difference and help people."
What are your plans when you graduate COD? "I would like to pursue field nursing with BrightStar so I’ll definitely be applying."
What did you do with your Nurse Mentor during the internship? "I followed Ruth around to private duty cases, I assisted in writing assessments, which was really good practice, I also did a G-tub e feeding, dressing changes, scanning documents, and learned about the computer systems used in the office. This was valuable information because it’s not all clinical; it’s also following a case manager and that was a cool experience. I also did a variety of skills in the lab. We worked on blood draws, starting IV’s, catheter care, and developed skills with therapeutic communication. It’s crucial to know how to communicate appropriately as a nurse."
What did you get out of this internship? "I got experience! A lot more than I expected. When I was starting this process with COD, I don’t think BrightStar was listed as a choice, I didn’t pick to come here but the experience was much more than I would’ve thought… much more skill intensive."
How was your experience with your Mentor? "Ruth was awesome. She was so nice and friendly. I can honestly say I felt like she was my friend right off the bat, she made the experience very smooth. I had a fear about home care thinking I wouldn’t get a lot of hands on experience. I didn’t expect that I’d be using all of the skills that I did. I had a good time. Overall, I got all of my hours and Ruth was really flexible with my schedule. The nature of what we do here is dynamic, it always changes, it keeps you on your toes…I can’t complain about anything here."
Why did you choose to pursue a career in nursing?
"When I was 16, I dated a girl whose mom was a nurse. She single-handedly supported her family. The job security and good pay in nursing was very appealing to me. I like that I would be able to support a family. Even though my path towards nursing started because of the job security, the idea of nursing matured into a calling."
What are your plans when you graduate COD? "When I graduate from COD I’m going to be studying for the NCLEX under the palm trees of California and visiting family. When I come back I’ll be applying at BrightStar. Being here really opened my eyes to home care."
The Program: COD Student Nurse Capstone Program has provided their students with the opportunity to do internships with various facilities in which they complete 96 hours before they graduate. This is their final step in their student nursing career. COD has chosen BrightStar to participate and mentor their students. During their 4-week internship, these students follow Nurse Case coordinators into private duty homes and staffing facilities. They learn all kinds of hands on skills, from assessing the clients to G-tube care, catheter care, starting IV’s and wound care. They also learn the administrative side of Home care: proper documentation, therapeutic communication with clients, case management and working with multidisciplinary professionals. The interns do shifts in designated facilities where they learn how to delegate on a team, learn how to administer medication to a large amount of patients in a short amount of time and also learn time management skills.
Interview with the Interns
COD Intern: Kristen Tagliavia with her Nurse Mentor Elaine Ludwig, RN
What did you do with your Nurse Mentor during the internship? "I followed Elaine to all visits, did client reassessments, learned how to talk and build relationships with clients and saw how diseases progress. I also got to do a PICC line dressing change."What did you get out of this internship? "I got a glimpse into a whole different side of nursing and the home care setting. I had no previous experience with home care. It’s less stressful and I like the leisure time, as well as traveling to and visiting assisted living facilities."
How was your experience with your Mentor? "Elaine is really good, she’s very experienced and great at communicating with different types of people, which was helpful because I learned how to properly communicate with difficult patients. Elaine is very skilled and extremely competent. You can really tell she wants to make a difference and wants to teach whoever is willing to learn. Elaine was also very flexible with my schedule which was great because it was hectic juggling school and work."
Why did you choose to pursue a career in nursing? "My little sister inspired me to go into the nursing field. She’s 11 years younger and I loved helping my mom raise and take care of her. I want to help and take care of other people too. I also really enjoy math and science, especially learning about the anatomy of the body - that’s why I’m excited to become a Nurse. I want to make a difference and help people."
What are your plans when you graduate COD? "I would like to pursue field nursing with BrightStar so I’ll definitely be applying."
COD Intern: Frank Rizzo with his Nurse Mentor Ruth Babb, RN
What did you do with your Nurse Mentor during the internship? "I followed Ruth around to private duty cases, I assisted in writing assessments, which was really good practice, I also did a G-tub e feeding, dressing changes, scanning documents, and learned about the computer systems used in the office. This was valuable information because it’s not all clinical; it’s also following a case manager and that was a cool experience. I also did a variety of skills in the lab. We worked on blood draws, starting IV’s, catheter care, and developed skills with therapeutic communication. It’s crucial to know how to communicate appropriately as a nurse."What did you get out of this internship? "I got experience! A lot more than I expected. When I was starting this process with COD, I don’t think BrightStar was listed as a choice, I didn’t pick to come here but the experience was much more than I would’ve thought… much more skill intensive."
How was your experience with your Mentor? "Ruth was awesome. She was so nice and friendly. I can honestly say I felt like she was my friend right off the bat, she made the experience very smooth. I had a fear about home care thinking I wouldn’t get a lot of hands on experience. I didn’t expect that I’d be using all of the skills that I did. I had a good time. Overall, I got all of my hours and Ruth was really flexible with my schedule. The nature of what we do here is dynamic, it always changes, it keeps you on your toes…I can’t complain about anything here."
Why did you choose to pursue a career in nursing? "When I was 16, I dated a girl whose mom was a nurse. She single-handedly supported her family. The job security and good pay in nursing was very appealing to me. I like that I would be able to support a family. Even though my path towards nursing started because of the job security, the idea of nursing matured into a calling."What are your plans when you graduate COD? "When I graduate from COD I’m going to be studying for the NCLEX under the palm trees of California and visiting family. When I come back I’ll be applying at BrightStar. Being here really opened my eyes to home care."
"I am so proud of our students" - Ruth
"Kristen and Frank will be a great asset to BrightStar" - Elaine