Graduate nurse education

We appreciate your interest in Graduate Nursing Education at St. David’s HealthCare. Our network offers six programs that support your professional development, no matter your experience level. We provide nursing students and registered nurses (RNs) several options to develop their knowledge and build clinical skills.

As a nursing student, our nurse externship program offers you an excellent opportunity to learn at the bedside. You will sharpen your skills and work closely with hospital unit staff to impact patients' lives before your graduation. One of the benefits of this program is the flexibility of working around your school schedule.

Program overview and features

Our program is an excellent learning opportunity and a chance for you to get the skills you need to succeed. In our program you will:

• Build confidence in your nursing skills
• Complete a minimum of two, 12-hour shifts per month during the program
• Improve your overall nursing knowledge in a hospital setting
• Secure paid capstone spots early
• Network with hospital and nursing leaders before graduation
• Schedule your externship training around your current classes and clinicals

Program eligibility requirements

In order to be eligible, you must be currently enrolled, and in good standing at an accredited School of Nursing and completed your first semester of nursing school. You must have your current Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification from the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.

Apply to the Nurse Externship Program

You can apply to the nurse externship program here. If you have any additional questions, you can email our nurse extern recruiter.

We have partnered with local Austin nursing schools to offer the Advanced Student Experience (ASE), paid clinical capstone enhancement program. This program aligns with those nursing students wanting to join the St. David’s HealthCare team upon graduation. After completing our ASE program, you will seamlessly transition into our new graduate nurse residency program in the same unit you completed the ASE program.

Program overview and features

St. David’s HealthCare has 2 tracks for the nursing ASE program and ASE positions are based on availability of residency positions.

As an ASE participant, you will complete paid capstone clinical hours, working one-on-one with a clinical preceptor in your chosen specialty. You will also receive tailored support from leaders and educators in our team. After completing the program, you'll begin full-time employment in the unit where you completed capstone training. The number of ASE positions available varies depending on open positions.

Some of the features of our program include:

• Increased competence and confidence in a specialty unit
• Paid training clinical hours up to 150 hours
• Personal and professional support
• Early securement of position for the residency program

Specialty areas of interest in the AE program include:

• Medical and surgical services
  • Neurology
  • Renal Transplant Unit
  • Cardiac Specialty Unit
  • Oncology
  • Orthopedics Trauma Unit
  • Surgical Trauma Unit
  • Hemodialysis
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation
• Telemetry
• Progressive care/intermediate care

The Advanced Specialty Experience Specialty program requires additional precepted clinical hours outside of your required capstone school hours for the below highly specialized areas:

• Critical Care
  • Cardiovascular intensive care unit
  • Intensive Care Unit
  • Surgical Trauma ICU
  • Surgical trauma ICU
• Emergency department services
• Women’s services
  • High risk antepartum care
  • Labor and delivery assistance
  • Mother and baby care
  • Neonatal intensive care
  • Newborn nursery care
• Pediatrics
  • Emergency department services
  • Intensive Care Unit
  • Medical and surgical care
• Surgical services
  • Operating room
  • Outpatient surgery
  • Post anesthesia care unit

Program eligibility requirements

Our program seeks highly motivated students who have demonstrated high clinical performance and leadership abilities. To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be a nursing student entering their final semester or quarter
• Complete a personal essay: “Why I Should be Accepted into ASE”
• Maintain a preferred minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (equivalent to a B average or higher)
• Submit a program application
• Submit a letter of recommendation from nursing instructors or faculty

Qualifying applicants will participate in a two-step interview process. The first step will be an interview with the hiring manager. The second step will be interviews with peers from your specialty areas of interest.

We base our program acceptance on the number of available positions in the specialty of interest, the strength of the application and feedback from the interview process. Applicants can expect the ASE program roadmap to follow this path:

• One semester prior to final semester/quarter, student applies for ASE program
• Student interviews with Nurse Manager and Peer Team
• Student shadows in the unit
• Offer extended and student completes official St. David’s HealthCare application
• Completes onboarding
  • Background check, urine drug screen, employee health requirements
• Letter of Agreement signed
• Complete ASE orientation
• Student begins hours in their unit of hire following a preceptor’s scheduled
• Student applies to residency position and accepts offer
• Student graduates nursing school and ASE program
• Student passes NCLEX
• New graduate nurse begins residency

Connect with your Dean on your school’s eligibility for the ASE program

Contact our ASE program coordinator for ASE application questions

For questions, you can reach out and email our program lead at any time.

We accept applications from nursing students preparing to graduate within the next six months or graduate nursing students with six months or less of experience at the time of application. Intrigued? Click here to learn more Nurse Residency Program Ready to apply ? Click here to apply!

Are you a high-performing nurse with two years of experience interested in a fellowship that promotes professionalism, leadership and engagement? Our peak fellowship is a new and unique program that provides an exciting avenue for continuing your journey to excellence and career advancement through numerous succession planning courses and experiences.

Program overview and features

This fellowship offers four professional development tracks, plus examples of potential positions you'll be able to pursue after completing your fellowship, including:

• Advanced bedside roles — Fellow will be trained to cover navigator, case manager, quality improvement, inpatient care and palliative care roles
• Education — Prepares fellows for specialty Educator, generalist and residency coordinator positions
• Informatics — Prepares fellows for nursing analytics and clinical analyst positions
• Leadership — Develops fellows for dedicated education units (DEUs), clinical nurse consultant (CNC), manager and director positions

Program eligibility requirements

Applicants must meet the following qualifications:

• Be a current St. David's HealthCare employee in good standing
• Be a full-time employee
• Be a hospital or unit committee member
• Be preceptor-certified
• Be a St. David's HealthCare employee for at least six months
• Have at least two years of nursing experience before the start of the fellowship
• Have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree
• Have director-approved participation
• Not currently be in a CNC position

Whether you’re a new RN or an experienced nurse looking for ongoing development, HCA Healthcare’s majority ownership in Galen College of Nursing means it’s easier for you to afford and gain certifications, degrees and job skills with no tuition cap.

Learn more by visiting Galen College of Nursing's Get Started page