Clinical Decision-making

1.  Apply the theories and concepts learned throughout the program to clinical situations.

2.  Utilize problem-solving approaches to recognizing and meeting patient care needs.

3.  Apply clinical judgment skills in the coordination of patient care.

4.  Implement the role of coordinator of care.

5.  Integrate effective communication, research and teaching-learning principles in coordinating patient care.

6.  Evaluate effective and non-effective nursing interventions in providing care to patients.

7.  Examine the legal, ethical, cultural, economic, and spiritual issues related to the care of patients.

 1.         Students must maintain satisfactory health as determined by the total faculty consensus.

2.         Clinical performance, campus and/or clinical laboratory, are evaluated. Students are expected to pass both clinical and classroom components of the course. Failure in either one will constitute failure in the course. A course average of at least 74% is required to successfully complete this course.

3.         Students must maintain a current immunization record on file at the Vinson Health Clinic plus proof of a current CPR card, validated Health Insurance and paid Liability Insurance on file with the Wilson School of Nursing secretary during the entire semester. In order to attend class or clinical experiences, each student MUST comply with each of these requirements. 

4.         Four function calculators are allowed during exams. The use of programmable calculators, statistical or graphing calculators and calculators stored on personal data assistant devices are NOT allowed. In addition, sharing a calculator with another student is NOT allowed. Calculators may not make a discernable noise during use.

5.         Faculty reserve the right to make changes at anytime to this syllabus.

6.         Students will be held accountable for all communications sent by faculty via the course’s WebCT site; therefore, you will be expected to check the site for announcements, assignments, messages, etc. daily. Faculty asks that students use the discussion board or clinical group sites as a means to make a specific request, ask for content clarification, to submit clinical dates…and so forth…rather than using our school/work email addresses.

 Grading scale:

90-100 = A

80-89 = B

74-79 = C

65-73 = D

<65 = F

There will no rounding of grades

Evaluation methods:

*Must score at least an 850 to receive any grade for this assignment. Failure to score at least an 850 within three attempts results in receiving a zero for this assignment.

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Weekly logs must be submitted using the Assignment function of WebCT.

Clinical logs must be submitted electronically via the e-mail function of WebCT.

HESI Exit must be completed on-campus with faculty proctor.

Clinical Content

 1.         Each student will be required to complete 72 clinical hours with a preceptor and 18 hours completing clinical assignments.

2.         The student is to work with the preceptor(s) to develop a clinical schedule. That schedule is to be submitted to the Clinical Instructor and written approval received from the Clinical Instructor prior to the student attending any clinical experiences. Failure to receive written approval for the experience will result in rejection of the clinical hours completed. If any changes need to be made to the submitted schedule, the student is to notify the Clinical Instructor in advance of the change being made and receive written approval. If a student must miss a scheduled clinical, then the student is responsible for notifying the preceptor and the Clinical Instructor prior to the scheduled experience.

3.         The student is to complete an evaluation of the preceptor using the Assessment Function in WebCT by July 26, 2011.

4.         Clinical instructors will periodically visit the student and his/her preceptor.

Clinical Failure:

 1.         Clinical failures are awarded students who fail to meet the objectives of the clinical experience, students who fail to uphold the ANA Practice Standards and the ANA Code of ethics, students who fail to maintain patient safety, and students who fail to complete all of their clinical hours.

 Infractions constituting clinical failure:

 STUDENTS ARE NOT TO ADMINISTER MEDICATIONS UNLESS DIRECTLY SUPERVISED BY A FACULTY MEMBER OR PRECEPTOR

 Failure of the clinical component of the course occurs when the student receives an unsatisfactory rating in any area of the evaluation tool or does not complete 90 hours of clinical. Absences will be rescheduled at the discretion of the course coordinator. 

 Certain behaviors result in an unsatisfactory rating in the professional behavior section of the evaluation rubric.

 Three incidents of infractions to the standard of professional behavior to include but not limited to:

• Arriving to a clinical experience without completing the pre-clinical assignment even if allowed to stay in the clinical
• Not conforming to the dress code even if allowed to stay in the clinical
• Not bringing appropriate supplies to the clinical experience even if allowed to stay in the clinical
• Unprofessional/inappropriate language or gestures
• Unprofessional/inappropriate behavior such as disrespectful behavior, chewing gum, using tobacco products in non-smoking areas, disruptive behavior, or failure to comply with a written or verbal instruction including reminders to update immunizations and other clinical requirements
• Arriving late to any clinical site even if allowed to stay in the clinical
• Non-compliance with the policy to notify the instructor and the agency of a clinical absence prior to the absence or as soon as possible if immediate notification is not possible
• Non-compliance with the policy to receive written prior approval before attending the clinical and/or the policy to notify the clinical instructor of absences prior to attending the clinical or as soon as the student realizes he/she must leave the clinical experience.
• Leaving the premises without permission from the clinical instructor
• Failure to complete assignments by the due dates
• Failure to return from meals or breaks at the assigned time
• Falsification, omissions, and/or lying about a non-patient care situation
• Use of a cell phone for calling, texting, e-mailing or receiving calls, texts or e-mails in the clinical area unless given permission by the clinical instructor

Two incidents of infractions to the standard of professional behavior to include but not limited to:

• Disregarding patient confidentiality without malice or intent to disclose
• Patient negligence that does not result in patient injury
• An error in care that does not harm a patient
• Committing two infractions from the list above as well as one in this list

Infractions to the standard of professional behavior that results in immediate failure of the clinical component of the course to include by not limited to:

• Administering medications without the direct supervision of a faculty member or preceptor
• Failing to check two patient identifiers prior to administering medications.
• The smell of alcohol on the breath
• Testing positive for illicit drugs or alcohol
• An error in care or patient negligence that harms a patient
• Falsification, omissions, and/or lying about a patient care situation
• Intentionally revealing confidential information
• Placing self, staff or patient at risk of harm due to abandonment of duties and/or sleeping during clinical experiences
• Cheating, collusion, plagiarism, or stealing. Cheating/collusion/plagiarism – cheating means intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise; collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing work offered for credit; plagiarism means intentionally representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise.
• Performing in an unsafe manner.
• Failure to report a patient care error or incident.
• Physical or verbal abuse of patients, patient’s family members, faculty or staff