10 Summer Jobs for Student Nurses (With Duties and Salaries)

Pursuing a career as a nurse can be a competitive process, so many nursing students build experience during the summer while in nursing school. This can allow student nurses to continue their learning and developing their skills while making important industry connections that might help them find jobs after they graduate. If you're currently in nursing school or considering a career as a nurse, you might find a summer job that can help to shape your nursing career.

In this article, we consider what a summer job for student nurses can entail and explore 10 summer jobs that can be ideal for student nurses.

Related: 5 Must-Have Skills For Your Nursing Resume

What are summer jobs for student nurses?

Summer jobs for student nurses are positions that can allow them to practice their nursing skills and techniques while nursing school isn't in session. Most of these types of jobs take place in the health care industry, as nurses most often work in hospitals, doctor's offices and other kinds of medical facilities. Summer jobs that can be beneficial for student nurses typically involve responsibilities like caring for patients under the supervision of licensed professionals, using hospital equipment and interacting with patients and their families.

Related: How To Succeed in Nursing School

10 summer jobs for student nurses

Here are some of the most common jobs that student nurses can have over the summer:

1. Dietary aide

National average salary: $11.33 per hour

Primary duties: A dietary aide prepares food in hospitals, senior care centers and other types of health care facilities. Dietary aides can cook and serve meals to patients while adhering to their dietary restrictions, maintain the order and cleanliness of the kitchen and dining areas and sometimes help patients eat when they need assistance. Many dietary aides also educate patients about what they can do to improve and maintain their nutrition on their own.

Related: Learn About Being a Dietary Aide

2. Direct care aide

National average salary: $12.28 per hour

Primary duties: A direct care aide supports patients with medical conditions that impact their daily lives, such as cognitive impairment or chronic injury. Direct care aides can complete errands like shopping and cooking for their patients, help patients establish regular routines and provide emotional support to patients throughout each day. Direct care aides often work in medical facilities, but they can sometimes visit and care for patients in their homes as well.

3. Transporter

National average salary: $12.97 per hour

Primary duties: A transporter helps move patients around a medical facility. Transporters can use equipment like stretchers and wheelchairs to move patients securely, guide patients to the door when they get discharged from the hospital and bring patients to the operating room for surgical procedures. Most transporters work in hospitals, as these are typically large facilities with multiple departments that patients often need to travel between.

4. Caregiver

National average salary: $13.08 per hour

Primary duties: A caregiver helps patients who need assistance in their daily lives. Caregivers can monitor a patient's condition to ensure they're stable and comfortable, help patients complete daily tasks, like bathing and eating, and administer medications to patients when necessary. A caregiver also typically maintains frequent communication with patients' families and other medical professionals so that everyone remains updated on each patient's condition and progress.

Related: Learn About Being a Caregiver

5. Orderly

National average salary: $13.16 per hour

Primary duties: An orderly is an attendant who helps medical professionals in a health care facility. Orderlies can have several responsibilities, such as answering call signals from various departments, sanitizing hospital rooms after each use and escorting patients to different areas in a hospital. An orderly can also take care of the equipment in a hospital by sanitizing it and making sure each instrument or machine is working properly before a physician or other medical professional uses it.

6. Sanitation technician

National average salary: $14.08 per hour

Primary duties: A sanitation technician oversees the cleanliness of a health care facility and ensures that all areas are sanitized and ready for use. Sanitation technicians can clean laboratories after technicians complete testing, sanitize mattresses and beds and dispose of potentially hazardous materials, like medical waste. A sanitation technician is typically also responsible for cleaning the public areas, such as the hallways, lobbies and waiting areas.

7. Pharmacy technician

National average salary: $15.45 per hour

Primary duties: A pharmacy technician distributes medication to patients who come to a pharmacy to fill their prescriptions. Pharmacy technicians can monitor the pharmacy area to ensure it remains sanitized, mix compounds and solutions for medications that need preparation and answer any questions that patients have about their medications. A pharmacy technician can also sometimes oversee lower-level staff members while measuring and packaging medications.

Related: Learn About Being a Pharmacy Technician

8. Nursing assistant

National average salary: $15.92 per hour

Primary duties: A nursing assistant helps patients with limited mobility at their own homes or in a medical facility. Nursing assistants can check patients' vital signs to ensure they're stable, keep track of any changes in medical charts and help patients with daily activities like showering, eating and exercising. A nursing assistant usually works closely with a registered nurse who supervises them and guides them through their job duties.

Related: Learn About Being a Nursing Assistant

9. Monitor technician

National average salary: $16.70 per hour

Primary duties: A monitor technician pays attention to heart rate monitors that are attached to patients in the intensive care unit. Monitor technicians can oversee the heart rate monitors in an ICU to identify irregularities in patients' heartbeats, keep track of any unusual patterns that they notice and notify a nurse or physician when they find an unusual heart rate. As monitor technicians primarily work with cardiac patients, this can be an ideal summer job for nursing students who might want to specialize in cardiology.

10. Emergency medical technician

National average salary $18.88 per hour

Primary duties: An emergency medical technician responds to urgent medical situations. Emergency medical technicians can travel in ambulances to the scenes of emergencies, quickly evaluate the condition of patients to determine what medical care they need and transport patients to different medical facilities, like hospitals or surgical centers. An emergency medical technician can also make reports to physicians, law enforcement and other professionals who might need to know about the emergency.