Clinical Policies of M.S.N. Program

Clinical Experiences: A major component of MSN preparation involves clinical practica in which the nurse practitioner student is supervised on-site by duly licensed and approved clinical preceptors. Clinical settings provide the student with opportunities to gain required competencies.

Clinical Placement Eligibility Requirements: Prior to enrolling in clinical courses, MSN students must meet with the Clinical Coordinator and Program Director to identify and select clinical sites that meet course/program goals. Online students will initiate the process by identifying clinical preceptors in their own locale and forwarding site information and the potential preceptor's curriculum vitae to the Clinical Coordinator and Program Director for review. All clinical preceptors must meet academic expectations and licensing requirements.

Licensure: MSN students in all clinical nursing programs are required to obtain licensure as Registered Nurses in the jurisdiction of their clinical placement.

Memorandum of Understanding: A formal memorandum of understanding (affiliation agreement) is required between the Catholic University of America and the health care agency where students precept. Students wishing to precept at a new clinical setting must submit necessary site information to the Clinical Coordinator and Program Director several months in advance of the clinical practicum start date.

Documentation and Certification Requirements: Health care agencies require licensure, health, and criminal background checks for students placed within their settings. Students are responsible for uploading required documentation to the CastleBranch portal in advance of any clinical rotation.

Health, Basic Life Support, and Licensure Requirements:

Students must immediately report in writing to the Associate Dean any changes in health status which might impact their safety, the safety of patients or those the student encounters, or which might significantly affect their progression in the program.
Students are expected to comply with all agency requirements for placement in the clinical setting. These include documentation of health and immunization requirements, current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, and drug/toxicology screening.
Failure to comply with these requirements could result in withdrawal from clinical courses with resultant effect upon progression in the program.
The Conway School of Nursing and clinical agencies reserve the right to deny placement in a clinical setting on the basis of the results of a student's criminal background check.
Evidence of past or present criminal behavior identified through the background check (or other documentation) can lead to administrative sanctions up to and including dismissal from the Conway School of Nursing.

Treatment of Student Health and Criminal Information: As a condition for placement in clinical settings, the Conway School of Nursing reserves the right to require students sign a waiver allowing the Conway School of Nursing to release pertinent health and/or background information to supervising faculty members, clinical associates, and/or clinical placement sites if any of the following conditions exist: (a) removal from prior clinical placements due to behavior or health concerns, (b) past health history suggesting elevated risk for substance abuse, (c) past or chronic health condition(s) which with acute exacerbation that could affect ability to provide safe care, and (d) non-academically based disciplinary action by the Conway School of Nursing or University.

Clinical Standards for Admission, Academic Progression, and Graduation in Graduate Nursing Programs: By accepting admission and enrolling in the Conway School of Nursing, the student certifies that he/she understands, meets at the time of admission, and continues to meet the essential eligibility requirements for clinical placement. These requirements pertain to (a) candor, (b) health-related behavioral standards, and (c) eligibility for placement in clinical settings.

Candor: Candor is defined as full disclosure of pertinent information as well as correction of inaccuracies and misperceptions.

All students must complete a health clearance form which requires disclosure of any health conditions which could affect the student's ability to precept at clinical settings or the ability of the School to secure clinical placements.
Students in clinical courses are required to submit to a criminal background check and fully disclose relevant health history that might impact their health or safety in a clinical setting or the health or safety of those around them. This might include, but is not limited to, any history of chemical dependency/substance use (i.e. alcohol, drugs, controlled substances).
Regardless of whether they represent a current threat to practice, disciplinary action or dismissal from the Conway School of Nursing could result from failing to fully disclose relevant health history, criminal background, and falsification or omission of information.

Health-Related Behavioral Standards:

In accordance with applicable laws and University policy, no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of that disability, be excluded from participation in The Catholic University of America programs or activities. The Conway School of Nursing, in accord with University policy, will provide reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a disability. To obtain accommodations, individuals must request them from the Office of Disability Services.

Admission and continuation in Conway School of Nursing programs is contingent on general abilities, behavioral and social attributes, and the ability to professionally manage stressful situations. The required behavioral attributes are outlined below:

General Abilities: The student is expected to possess functional use of the senses of vision, touch, hearing, and smell so that data received by these senses can be integrated, analyzed, and synthesized in a consistent and accurate manner. A student must also possess the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, vibration, and movement which are important to the student's ability to gather the information needed to effectively evaluate patients. A student must be able to respond promptly to urgent situations that might occur during clinical training activities and must not hinder the ability of other members of the health care team to provide prompt treatment and care to patients.

Observational Ability: The student must have sufficient capacity to make accurate visual observations and interpret them in the context of laboratory studies, medication administration, and patient care activities. In addition, the student must be able to document these observations and maintain accurate records.

Communication Ability: The student must communicate effectively to elicit information and to translate that information to others. Each student must have the ability to read, write, comprehend, and speak the English language to facilitate communication with patients, their family members, and other professionals in health care settings. In addition, the student must be able to maintain accurate patient records, present information in a professional and logical manner, and provide patient counseling and instruction to effectively care for patients and their families. The student must communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with instructors and other students. This requires verbal abilities, control of non-verbal behaviors which limit communication, and the ability to respond to non-verbal cues from patients, fellow students, and instructors.

Motor Ability: The student must be able to perform gross and fine motor movements with the coordination needed to perform complete physical examinations utilizing the techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A student must develop the psychomotor skills needed to perform or assist with procedures, treatments, medication administration, management and operation of diagnostic and therapeutic medical equipment, and maneuvers to assist with patient care activities such as lifting, wheelchair guidance, and mobility. The student must have sufficient levels of neuromuscular control and eye-to-hand coordination as well as possess the physical and mental stamina to meet the demands associated with satisfactory and safe performance in clinical and classroom settings, including performing CPR if necessary.

Intellectual, Conceptual, and Quantitative Abilities: The student must be able to develop and refine problem-solving skills that are crucial to practice as an advanced practice nurse. Problem solving involves the ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize objective and subjective data, and to make decisions, often in a time-urgent environment, that reflect consistent and thoughtful deliberation and sound clinical judgment. Each student must demonstrate mastery of these skills and possess the ability to formulate sound judgment in patient assessment, intervention, evaluation, teaching, and setting short- and long-term goals.

Behavioral and Social Attributes: Compassion, integrity, motivation, effective interpersonal skills, and concern for others are personal attributes required of those in nursing programs. Comfort with and acceptance of the role of a nurse functioning under supervision of a clinical preceptor is essential for a nursing student. The student must possess the skills required for full utilization of the student's intellectual abilities; the exercise of good judgment; the prompt completion of all responsibilities in the classroom and clinical settings; and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients and other members of the health care team. Each student must be able to exercise stable and sound judgment and complete assessment and interventional activities.

The ability to establish rapport and maintain sensitive, interpersonal relationships with individuals, families, and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds is critical for practice as a nurse. The student must be able to adapt to changing environments; display flexibility; accept and integrate constructive criticism given in the classroom and clinical settings; effectively interact in the clinical setting with other members of the healthcare team; and learn to function cooperatively and efficiently in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical practice.

Ability to Manage Stressful Situations: The student must be able to adapt to and function effectively in stressful situations in both the classroom and clinical settings, including emergency situations. Students will encounter multiple stressors while in the nursing program. These stressors include (but are not limited to) personal, patient care/family, faculty/peer, and or program related.

Unsafe Practice: Unsafe practice is defined as behavior which threatens, or has the potential to threaten, the safety of a patient, another student, a faculty member, or other health care providers in the clinical placement.

Students are not allowed to practice in a clinical setting without the knowledge and approval of a faculty member.
Students who exhibit potentially unsafe practice during a clinical experience can be immediately removed from the clinical setting. This decision can be made by the clinical faculty or at the request of the clinical agency.
Students who are at risk for unsafe practice can also be prevented from participating in their clinical practicum until the unsafe practice concern has been investigated and satisfactorily resolved. Exact procedures for reporting, documenting, investigating and resolving concerns regarding unsafe practice are found in the Conway School of Nursing student clinical practice guidelines.
If the concern cannot be resolved, the student might be subject to additional administrative sanctions including administrative dismissal from the program and the Conway School of Nursing.
The student has the right to follow the published University procedures in the event of course failure or program dismissal.

Clinical/Lab Attendance:

Clinical attendance and participation is required. The student is expected to notify the appropriate persons, as identified in specific courses, of an emergency requiring an absence or tardiness prior to the beginning of the clinical. The student is responsible for meeting the specific requirements for each clinical/lab course.
Habitual tardiness to clinical/lab, defined as more than one occurrence, will result in lowering of the composite course grade by one level for each occurrence.

HIPAA Adherence:

All students are expected to comply with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as applied to clinical education.
Failure to adhere to these expectations can result in immediate removal from the clinical settings and additional academic sanctions including course failure and program dismissal.
All students are expected to complete HIPAA training prior to participating in clinical practica or rotations.
Students are expected to maintain the privacy of individually identifiable health information (IIHI).

Student Responsibilities

Attendance: The faculty and administration in the Conway School of Nursing consider attendance in class necessary to master the body of knowledge needed for safe clinical practice and adequate preparation for licensure. Therefore, class and clinical/lab attendance is mandatory. The responsibility for prompt and regular class and clinical/lab attendance rests upon the individual student. Professors are responsible for establishing and communicating policy regarding documentation and consequences of absenteeism in their individual classes. This might include requiring authentication of unavoidable absences and the inability of a student to receive a passing grade.

Transportation to Agencies: The student is expected to assume responsibility for transportation in connection with the clinical practice.

Insurance: All students in clinical programs are required to carry malpractice insurance. This is available through the University. This insurance applies only for clinical practice while enrolled in University courses. It does not cover students involved in personal employment. See Fees and Expenses in the General Information section of these Announcements.

Health Clearance: The student is required to meet all Conway School of Nursing health requirements prior to beginning clinical coursework.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR: The student is required to meet all CPR for Healthcare Providers requirements prior to entering clinical coursework.

Drug/Alcohol Screen: A negative drug and alcohol screen is required.

Security/Background Checks: Background checks are required prior to entering clinical coursework.