7 Summer Jobs For Nursing Students

• A summer job should build your healthcare experience, raise your confidence, and help pay the bills.
• The best ones fit your schedule, especially if you are taking summer classes, and give you relevant experience.
• A part-time role also expands your professional network ahead of graduation.

Nursing school is expensive, and a summer job can offset the cost while building the experience employers want. Even if you are taking classes over the summer, a part-time position adds healthcare experience and confidence. Here are seven worth a look, plus a reminder to think outside the box. A nanny position, for example, can be ideal for a student headed toward pediatric nurse practitioner work.

What to Look For

You want a job that pays, fits your schedule, and gives you relevant experience. The payoff should go beyond the paycheck: time in healthcare, a network of nursing contacts, and sharper time-management skills. The seven below meet that bar.

7 Summer Jobs for Nursing Students

1. Lifeguard

Lifeguards work outdoors most of the summer at pools and water parks, though indoor pools can offer year-round work. A lifeguard watches the water 50 minutes out of every hour, stays responsible for every visitor, holds CPR certification, and keeps calm in emergencies. The job suits you if you like being outdoors, do not mind a loud and busy environment, and want real responsibility.

2. Summer Camp Nurse Assistant

Some camps hire student nurses to help keep campers and staff healthy: weekly health checks, medical record keeping, parent communication, and escorting sick or injured people to appointments or the hospital. Expect to commit in two-week increments, and many camps require staff to stay onsite. The job fits flexible, confident students who enjoy an active lifestyle and have experience with kids.

3. Nursing Assistant

In some states, finishing your first year of nursing school qualifies you to sit for the certified nursing assistant exam. Even without certification, you can often work after one year of school. You earn an income, gain confidence with patients, and reinforce what you learn in class, all while networking for jobs after graduation.

4. Dietary Aide

Dietary aides cook and serve meals in hospitals and long-term care facilities, managing patients' dietary restrictions and keeping the kitchen and dining areas in order. They also help patients eat when needed and teach basic nutrition. The daytime schedule offers a window into nutritional nursing and builds your assessment and communication skills.

5. Personal Care Aide

A personal care aide supports people who cannot fully care for themselves, in their homes, in long-term care, or in the community, with grocery shopping, laundry, housekeeping, and meals. Most clients are physically disabled, cognitively impaired, chronically ill, or elderly. With an aging population and 6 in 10 adults living with a chronic disease, this field is expanding fast. In large cities, group homes also hire personal care aides.

6. Phlebotomist

Phlebotomists draw blood samples in hospitals, clinics, large practices, and labs. The skills overlap with nursing, since drawing blood and starting IV lines call for similar technique. Your program or college may offer a course that preps you for the certification exam. The hours are flexible, and you may be able to keep the job part time during fall and spring. Phlebotomists practice lab safety, understand anatomy, organize samples correctly, and sharpen their communication on the job.

7. Psychiatric Aide

If you are drawn to mental health nursing, a summer as a psychiatric aide is a good way to test the fit. Psychiatric aides are the first line of care in psychiatric hospitals and residential facilities, on their feet most of the day caring for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities. They observe and record behavior, monitor vital signs, help with daily living tasks, and run activities and educational programs.

The Payoff

Full time or part time, a summer job broadens your healthcare experience and supports a healthier work-life balance. Most are short-term, so if a role is not what you hoped, you are likely only in it for 11 to 12 weeks before fall. Even entry-level, lower-wage positions are worth it for the skills you refine and the network you build, both of which outlast the paycheck.