Fourth-semester nursing students Alyssa Boyle, Paige Brinkerhoff, Shalyn Henstra and Katie Merrell have been accepted into the Veterans Affairs Student Trainee Experience Program, or VA-STEP. This is a competitive opportunity, providing a year of paid clinical training to Bachelor of Science in Nursing students; it also fulfils the BYU College of Nursing capstone requirement for graduation. These students applied for limited and highly sought-after places in the program, and all four of them were accepted. Paige is excited to be part of the VA-STEP: “I feel like not a lot of people know what it actually entails and how cool it is.” According to these students, these “cool” aspects include flexible work arrangements, excellent mentoring, and meaningful service.
The VA hospital is very accommodating, the students agree. During the summer, they can work anywhere from two shifts a week to full-time. Once they hit 400 hours, the minimum drops to just once a week, allowing students to schedule around schooling. Not only are the hours flexible, so is the work—students can request to spend time in different units and observe a wide variety of specialties. The students are excited to try different things and hope to gain a better idea of their vocation.
Additionally, students are grateful for the excellent mentoring that the VA-STEP provides. Students are always paired with a nurse for one-on-one mentoring. The VA hospital is a teaching hospital, so the nurses are experienced teachers, and the students can be very hands-on. They get to be the ones actually performing clinical skills and working with patients, not just observing. Katie already loves the staff there. She said, “The VA is the best clinical learning environment I have experienced; you are always encouraged to ask questions and develop new skills. They never make you feel like an inconvenience and always make you feel welcome and part of the team.” This safe learning environment was a draw for these students. They all had positive experiences with the VA hospital during their medical-surgical clinicals and applied for VA-STEP because they knew how amazing the staff there are. With the help of that excellent staff, the students hope to become more independent and confident in their skills, gaining “real life experience.”
For these four students, another exciting aspect of the internship is working with veterans. Alyssa commented, “I love chatting with all the veterans and just kind of learning their stories. They are very chatty!” Each of the students has a military connection, from growing up on base to having siblings, in-laws, parents, or grandparents who served. That connection, and the resulting love and respect for veterans, makes the prospect of working at the VA hospital special. “It felt very fitting to work with veterans.” Shalyn said. “It's super cool to help people who have served their country.” Over the next year, the four students will continue building their clinical expertise while caring for the men and women whose military service has shaped the nation. For them, VA-STEP is more than a training program; it's an opportunity to combine professional growth with meaningful service.