1. The Clinical Placement Grid
Interpretation and Understanding

2. Transparent Placement Availability
Universal scheduling tool
Transparency of placement & utilization
Students represented on grid meet compliance standards

3. Purpose of the Grid
To provide a landscape visualization and inventory of all nursing student clinical placement for each acute setting and for the region
To create a standard scheduling tool among education programs and healthcare partners
To identify clinical placement opportunity
To visualize utilization of healthcare setting

4. Background A single Grid is developed for each healthcare setting.
The Grid is a standard document utilized by 51 partners of education and healthcare in Washington State and northern Idaho.
All Grids are available online at cpnw.org.
The Clinical Coordinator acts as a single point-of-contact for the nursing program and healthcare setting to facilitate placement.

5. Sequence of Events
All placement requests for the upcoming academic year are submitted to the Clinical Coordinator.
The placement requests are inserted into the Grid by the Consortium Clinical Coordinator.
Nursing programs review and collaborate to avoid overlap and volume issues.
The Grid is submitted to the healthcare representative for approval process.

6. Sequence of Events
Nurse managers review the requests for their unit(s) and approve or decline the placement.
The information is sent back to the Consortium Clinical Coordinator.
A final approved Grid is developed and distributed to the nursing program and healthcare setting by May 31.
The approved Grid is uploaded to the CPNW web.
Any request for placement revision occurs through the Clinical Coordinator.

7. Interpretation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Grid has seven main field areas across the horizontal header:
Clinical Area (Unit)
Nursing Program
Type of Student
Number of Students
Days of the Week
Shift
Monthly Calendar

8. Interpretation The Grid is best read from left to right.
Clinical areas are separated by double lines.
Each nursing program has a permanently assigned color which acts as a visual identifier.
The numbers within parentheses are the actual start dates that students will be on the unit.

9. Interpretation All units are located on the Grid.
Placement parameters established by the unit communicate expectations to nursing programs such as student volume, level, days, etc.

10. Interpretation
Nursing programs are identified by their abbreviated letters as well as by their assigned color.
Renton Technical College (RTC) is represented by orange.
Tacoma Community College (TCC) by blue.

11. Interpretation
Type of student describes the nursing program as well as the student level or term or quarter.
This is helpful information for the nursing unit and also helps to track placement of students throughout the facility.
ADN or BSN “prec” or “prac” refers to the senior practicum experience.

12. Interpretation
The number of students represents the total numbers of students from the nursing program present on the unit during that time period.

13. Interpretation
Row three interpretation on the 10th floor Oncology Unit: Tacoma Technical College (TCC) has 2 ADN Q4 students present on Monday and Tuesday, dayshift from November 27th through December 5th.

14. Interpretation
There are three standard shifts but Grids can be formatted for both eight-hour and twelve-hour shifts. This Grid reflects a traditional eight-hour shift format.

15. Interpretation
Clinical start and end dates are the dates between parentheses. Line one interpretation shows one Renton Technical College (RTC) ADN preceptor student present any day of the week on any shift between September 21st and December 8th.

16. For additional Information regarding Clinical Placements Northwest
Mary McDonald RN MN
Consortium Clinical Coordinator
Colleen J Hewes DC MSN RN
Consortium Clinical Coordinator