Nursing Program Clinical Faculty Expectations/Guidelines This presentation will assist you in learning about some of the policies for our Program’s clinical experiences, and provide some guidance to make this experience a good one for both the student and for you.

Clinical Requirements Copy of current CPR card Copy of current nursing license Updated official transcripts Annual flu shot Annual TST (PPD) Updated contact information At the time of your hire, you were required to provide us with much of this information. It is up to you to maintain your file as our adjunct employee. This includes change of phone numbers or addresses, and any advanced degrees you have obtained since initial hire.

Clinical Success Student’s use of critical thinking skills Teaching and learning interaction with faculty Incorporation of informatics Demonstration of patient-centered care of the individual, family and community Your role as a clinical instructor may be unfamiliar to you. You play an important role through your ability to provide teaching and learning experiences that promotes student growth . This is demonstrated by fostering critical thinking, incorporating informatics into practice, and advocating for patient centered care. Tools required for effective clinical education include ease with clinical documentation systems, computer generated simulation exercises and use of electronic course software systems.

ADN Program Graduate Competencies (PGC’s) Integrate sound nursing judgment, incorporating theoretical knowledge and clinical reasoning skills, to provide clinically competent nursing care for individuals, families, and communities. Integrate the diversity of the individual, family, and community to maintain caring relationships. Employ appropriate communication techniques while functioning as a member of the health care team. Manage care for a group of patients using organization, collaboration, and delegation. Integrate civic professionalism, ethical, and legal standards into nursing practice. The PGC’s form the basis of every course’s clinical evaluation tool and speak to the skills and knowledge a Delaware Tech student nurse should demonstrate at graduation. Using Bloom’s taxonomy, the Core Course Performance Objectives, or CCPO’s, build in progression beginning with the first course and culminating with the last.

PN Program Graduate Competencies Analyze sound nursing judgement, incorporating theoretical knowledge and clinical reasoning skills to provide clinically competent nursing care. Practice appropriate communication techniques while functioning as a member of the health care team. Model caring behaviors while recognizing the uniqueness of the individual. Illustrate nursing care incorporating the principles of leadership and advocacy. Use professional, ethical, and legal standards of nursing practice.

Faculty Clinical Attendance Notify course lead instructor who will make a decision regarding student activity for that experience Students in the clinical group Instructional Coordinator or Clinical Coordinator Clinical unit If a faculty member must be absent on a clinical day, the steps to follow include notification of the course’s Lead Instructor, the clinical group, and either the Instructional Coordinator or Clinical Coordinator from that particular campus. You will also want to notify the hospital unit of your absence for that day.

Student Clinical Attendance Clinical attendance is mandatory Must meet all clinical objectives to receive a passing clinical grade Must pass clinical and theory to pass the course The clinical attendance policy is extensively reviewed with the students. The College does not have a classroom attendance policy, but clinical learning is best accomplished in the clinical setting; therefore, students are expected to attend all scheduled clinical activities. It is important for students to be active and engaged while in their clinical experiences. Valuable learning is lost due to clinical absences, lateness, or early departures. Students who miss clinical experiences place themselves at risk for not meeting the clinical objectives and may receive a failing grade for the course. If an absence occurs, the student must notify the clinical instructor of the absence prior to the start of the clinical experience. Failure to notify the clinical instructor of lateness or absence may result in a variance.

Prior to First Day Schedule an appointment Let them know your schedule Spend some time Prior to your first day on the unit, schedule an appointment with the staff development specialist or instructor specific to that unit. It is good practice. Let them know what days of the week you are coming, for how many weeks, and how many students you expect to bring with you each week. If it is a new unit for you, take a tour, and spend at least 4 hours with one of nurses to learn the “lay of the land”.

Professionalism Appearance Behavior Conduct Honesty Badges Teamwork Expectations for the student as well as the clinical faculty member are clearly outlined in the Nursing Program Student Handbook. These policies must be strictly adhered to. If the student arrives at a clinical site out of uniform, they must be sent home. Documentation must be initiated. This will be counted as a missed clinical day. Badges are to be worn at all times by students and faculty as mandated by each individual facility. Again, you and the students are the face of Delaware Tech. Professionalism is expected at all times.

College Wide Clinical Forms Nursing Skills Remediation Guidelines Clinical Variance

Nursing Skills Remediation Guidelines Can occur in a patient care environment when the student cannot perform a previously signed-off skill competently and safely Please refer to “Nursing Skills Remediation Guidelines” in the student handbook. There are remediations for lab skills not performed correctly in the controlled clinical skills lab environments on our campuses. But once a student successfully signs off on that skill, they should be able to perform that skill on a patient in the clinical area. At times though, students are not demonstrating that to you as their clinical instructor. It is within your right, and we expect it, that you send the student back to the lab to remediate on that skill. They will have to successfully re-demonstrate that skill in order to progress in the course. Written documentation is initiated by you at this time. The purpose of the documentation is to provide a structured plan to assist the student to complete that required skill successfully. The plan consists of components that must be achieved back on campus in the skills lab. The remediation and checkoff must be completed within five (5) school days from the date of the initial attempt.

Clinical Variance A documentation of practices or behaviors in the patient care environment which could ultimately result in patient injury Internal form for the Department of Nursing and NOT the clinical institution Please refer to “Clinical Variances” in the Nursing Student Handbook A clinical variance is a documentation of practices or behaviors that could ultimately result in a patient injury. Examples of this behavior include, but certainly not limited to, a student leaving a bed up in the air with the side rail down and leaving the bedside, improper withdrawal of either the wrong medication, leaving a call bell out of reach, finding a patient on fall risk getting out of bed to retrieve it, or practicing out of the student’s scope of practice. A student receiving two (2) clinical variances in the same course will receive a failure (F) grade for that clinical experience and consequently a failure (F) grade for the course. Do not be afraid to give the student a variance if you feel that the patient was at risk of injury if you were not there to prevent it. You may want to discuss this with the lead instructor if you are unsure. You as the clinical instructor must remain a patient advocate for our patients. Please keep in mind though that this is an internal form. It is not to be shared with the hospital facility. Sit down with your student, and have a discussion with them about the ramifications of their practice to patient safety. Refer them to their lead instructor and retention instructor on each campus.  

Clinical Evaluations Timely feedback! Assist with application to theory content Positive reinforcement is a strong motivator Written and verbal clinical evaluations are given weekly Detailed written documentation is required for all unsatisfactory clinical performance. You are our eyes and ears in the clinical facilities. Therefore, this clinical evaluation should never be a check off box and a signature. The students spend a lot of time on their paperwork; therefore, we owe it to them to read it carefully, and provide helpful feedback to assist them in applying what they are learning in the classroom. It needs to be timely, allowing students the ability to improve each week. All of your feedback is to be submitted as soon after that clinical day as possible. Much of the time, meeting with that student weekly will include much of the information you will write on their paperwork, so communication is clear and the student understands the expectations and plan for success for the following week. Make the experience a positive one, and reinforce all they are doing well before you present a constructive critique. Any unsatisfactory performance must be clearly documented with specific examples and a plan for improvement for the next week. Communicate weekly with the lead instructor for the course to partner ways to assist the student to be successful.

Inclement Weather Delaware Tech Mass Notification System Faculty will not automatically cancel clinical because of inclement weather Please follow your campus protocol for canceling clinical We encourage our students, and therefore you, to update the Delaware Tech mass notification system located on the main portal page. In times of inclement weather that causes school closures, you will be notified via the means you have identified, such as phone text or email. During these times, your lead instructor will call you regarding clinical attendance. You are never to cancel a clinical day without consulting with your lead theory instructor first who will guide you through the process.

Illness or Injury Notify the lead Instructor of any injury while in the clinical setting If a student is injured in the clinical facility the policy of the facility must be followed. Documents from any treatment received must be copied for Delaware Tech ‘s Public Safety A College injury report is also completed and submitted to the Public Safety Office. Change of health status Any injury to you or a student in the clinical area must be reported immediately to your lead instructor. At that time, follow the policies of that specific hospital facility. Have the student bring any paperwork provided to them by the facility for our Public Safety department. A student or faculty member who experiences a change in health status must submit a written statement from their Medical Provider to the lead instructor that they may participate in clinical activities WITHOUT RESTRICTION. This paperwork will be kept with the student’s file.

Protected Information Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Family Education Rights and Protection Act (FERPA) It is essential that the patients right to privacy and confidentiality of health information is protected. Student's agree to this in writing upon admission into the program. Examples of this include, but certainly not limited to: Agency generated forms with patient information may not be removed from the agency. You cannot address a patients’ name or initials while in post conference. Students can only access the records of the patients they are directly caring for. No patient discussion is to occur in an elevator. Also, no photographs are to be taken at the clinical site, and absolutely no information posted about the clinical day on social media. THE STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY THEIR CELL PHONES IN THEIR POCKETS. They are to be placed in their clinical bags. Just as valuable is our students right to confidentiality. It is prohibited that you share information about one student to another student. Any conference or discussion with a student needs to take place out of the earshot of other nurses or students. It is being respectful. Specific information about HIPAA can be found in the Student Handbook. Information regarding FERPA is available on the college’s webpage.

Thank you!