Externship program gives Wright State Lake Campus nursing students hands-on learning experiences

Lake Campus nursing students Alexa Poeppelman, left, and Gwyn Elking received hands-on training at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Mary’s through a new externship program.

Two nursing students at Wright State University’s Lake Campus will be practice-ready upon graduation after participating in a unique partnership between Wright State and Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Mary’s.

Alexa Poeppelman and Gwyn Elking participated in an eight-week externship at the hospital, part of the Grand Lake Health Systems, this summer as a supplement to their traditional nursing education.

The impetus behind the collaboration was Lana Hinders, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, reaching out to Lynn Franck, director of nursing at the Lake Campus, last year to explore the possibility of establishing a nursing externship.

“The idea of an externship has been around for many years,” said Franck. “Other disciplines tend to utilize this type of experience more than health care. This is the first time we have offered anything like this through the nursing program at the Lake Campus. These students were given an amazing opportunity to learn one-on-one with a registered nurse for eight weeks.”

Poeppelman, a senior nursing student who works as an aide at the hospital and as a student tutor, worked with a nurse preceptor on the medical/surgical floor and said she got a firsthand look at what responsibilities a nurse tackles on a daily basis.

She called the externship the best eight weeks of her life.

“I decided to participate in the externship because I wanted the one-on-one experience with a nurse, and I wanted to use my knowledge from nursing school to use on real patients,” said the 2020 New Bremen High School graduate.

Following graduation, Poeppelman plans to specialize in obstetrics or work on a medical/surgical floor.

A firm believer that “no experience is a bad experience,” Elking applied for the externship to increase her knowledge and skills and to make herself a better nurse in the long run. She worked three 12-hour shifts a week in the emergency room and spent three to four hours of dedicated time in the classroom each Friday discussing various topics, engaging in active learning experiences and job shadowing nurses in different disciplines.

“This externship was one of the best decisions I have made for my career,” she said. “By the end of the experience, I was as autonomous as I was permitted to be by the facility and WSU, and I felt so much more confident in my assessment skills and critical thinking. This experience has exposed me to so many different situations and I feel so much more confident as a student and as a future RN because of it.”

The 2020 St. Henry High School graduate, who has worked several nursing assistant positions while attending Wright State, wishes to start her career in either an emergency department or intensive care unit after graduating next spring.

“I have found incredible interest in high-acuity situations that require a knowledge of advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and critical thinking,” said Elking. “The externship really assisted me in solidifying that I want to work primarily with adults and that I want to be in a position that is going to challenge me.”

Students between their junior and senior years in the nursing program are eligible to participate in the externship. Franck said the experience is for any student who desires to extend themselves and learn more about their future career.

The Lake Campus and the Joint Township District Memorial Hospital plan to continue the program next summer. The Lake Campus may also add Coldwater’s Mercer County Community Hospital as a participant next year.

“Overall, it was a great experience for the students and the staff,” said Franck.