05/27/2026
For many nursing students, the transition from the classroom to the bedside can feel overwhelming. That’s why UPMC’s Student Nurse Internship (SNI) Program is designed to bridge that gap — giving future nurses hands-on experience, mentorship, and confidence before they officially enter the workforce.
The 10-week paid summer internship provides student nurses who have completed their junior year, or an equivalent stage in their nursing program, the opportunity to work side-by-side with experienced nurse preceptors in real clinical settings across UPMC.
Participants typically work 36 to 40 hours per week while gaining direct patient care experience, strengthening clinical skills, and learning what day-to-day nursing truly looks like.
For Cortney Parsell, RN, inpatient rehabilitation, UPMC Williamsport, the experience helped shape her nursing career before she even graduated.
“I think it was probably the best thing that I could have done for myself,” Parsell said. “By the time I got through the program, I felt so much more ahead and so much more confident in myself as a student nurse who was less than a year away from entering the workforce.”
Parsell entered the nursing profession after initially pursuing a degree in exercise science. With several nurses in her family, she decided to make the career change and enrolled at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
When she learned about the SNI Program, she saw it as an opportunity to gain more experience and explore different nursing specialties.
“I wanted to get my foot in the door to really learn more about the different units, especially because I was clueless when I started nursing school about the different specialties,” she said. “All they really talk about in nursing school is med surg, so I wanted to see something else.”
Parsell selected inpatient rehabilitation as one of her preferred placements, because it combined her exercise science background with nursing care. Throughout the internship, she worked one-on-one with a nurse preceptor while also shadowing in other clinical areas to better understand the wide range of opportunities available in nursing.
“The nice part about the program is that throughout the 10 weeks, you get opportunities to shadow different units,” Parsell said. “You can see total joint, wound care, ICU, OB, the ER, whatever your interests are. It really helps you understand there’s so much more to nursing than just med surg.”
The individualized mentorship is one of the program’s biggest strengths. Unlike traditional nursing school clinical rotations, which are often group-based, SNI participants work directly alongside an experienced nurse, allowing for more hands-on learning and real-time feedback.
“It really did feel like I was the nurse one-on-one with the preceptor,” Parsell said. “She was there to answer questions, walk me through things, and help me think critically.”
For Jeweleen Dunkleberger, BSN, inpatient rehabilitation, UPMC Williamsport, serving as a preceptor has been equally rewarding.
“I had recently been a student myself, so I felt like I understood where they were coming from and what they needed," Dunkleberger said.
“In clinicals, you might have a different nurse and different patients every day, and sometimes it feels cut short,” she said. “With the SNI Program, students are consistently with one nurse for several weeks. They learn that nurse’s workflow, schedule, and how they care for patients. I think that consistency is really beneficial.”
She also believes the program helps students gain the real-world experience many nursing students crave.
Under the guidance of their preceptors, student nurse interns build practical clinical skills while learning how to manage patient care, prioritize tasks, and develop confidence in their decision-making.
“I was setting up IVs, looking at labs, using my critical thinking skills, and tying everything together that I was learning in class,” Parsell said.
That growth came full circle for Dunkleberger and Parsell. After serving as Parsell’s SNI preceptor, Dunkleberger later helped orient her again as a newly hired registered nurse. Today, the two work together as colleagues on the inpatient rehabilitation unit.
Beyond bedside experience, the program also focuses on leadership development, patient safety, and professional growth through structured education sessions and relationship-building opportunities with nursing leadership and UPMC recruiters.
Now more than a year into her nursing career, Parsell still strongly encourages nursing students to take advantage of the opportunity.
“If you’re on the fence, absolutely jump on it,” she said. “You’re never going to know what you do and don’t like unless you put yourself out there to experience those different things. If I had to go back, I would do it all over again.”
