written agreements specify expectations for all parties and ensure the protection of students.
A written clinical affiliation agreement exists between Victoria College and all agencies used for clinical experiences for Victoria College Allied Health students. All agreements are signed by the College President and a designee of the agency. The Dean of the Allied Health Division initiates and maintains all clinical affiliation agreements for the college Allied Health programs. New agencies are added at the request of an instructor or because a new facility has been opened. These facilities must have the appropriate accreditation status from their
accrediting body and they must have a registered nurse who is responsible for directing any direct nursing care that is given. New agreements are initiated for one year only and designate the specific program and students that have experiences in a particular agency. Agency affiliation agreements specify the joint responsibilities of the college and the clinical facility, the specific responsible of the Victoria College Nursing Division, the specific responsibilities of the clinical facility, and the specific responsibilities of students. All agreements provide faculty members with the control and freedom to select appropriate learning experiences for students.
The agreements also clearly designate the agencies as having the ultimate responsibility for nursing care provided. After the first year, if learning experiences are adequate the contract is renewed for five years and every five years thereafter. There are a few exceptions to this as Victoria College has on-going agreements with Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Seton Health Care Systems.
Review of the agreements is multi-faceted. All facilities are sent an annual review where they can request a new contract, affirm that things will continue as stated in the current contract,
or ask that the contract be terminated. Current agreements all have a termination clause that allows sufficient time (90 days) for enrolled students to meet the course objectives. Periodically, often when new regulations or laws are instituted, the agreements are reviewed by legal
counsel and appropriate changes are made. This was done when HIPAA regulations impacted health care facilities. During each summer the Dean of the Allied Health Division reviews the program’s list of clinical agencies indicating necessary additions or deletions and the
appropriate changes are made prior to the fall semester. If needed, new contracts can be initiated at any time during the year, based on a request from the Program Chair.
The A.D.N. Program maintains agency affiliation agreements with multiple agencies.
A.D.N. Students provide direct client care under the supervision of faculty in multiple agencies.
These agencies are primarily located in Victoria, but one is in Seguin to accommodate students who live near the Gonzales campus. They provide the cornerstone of the varied learning experiences necessary to support the purposes of the A.D.N. curriculum and to assist students to achieve program outcomes. A summary of the accreditation status clinical services, bed capacity and average daily census for each of these facilities is presented in the table below.
Table 13 Agencies Utilized for Clinical Experiences
Victoria, TX 77901
DNV-NIAHO Victoria, TX 77901
TJC 101 Medical Drive Victoria, TX 77904
TJC 2550 N Esplanade Cuero, TX 77954
TDHS Obstetrics
Pediatrics Medical/Surgical
49 20
Agency Name Victoria, TX 77901
TDHS TDFPS
Adult and Pediatric Mental Health
Seguin, TX 78155
TJC Victoria, TX 77901
TDHS Long-Term Care 200 175
Texan Nursing &
Rehab. West 3007 North Navarro
Victoria, TX 77901
TDHS Long-Term Care 152 40
Texan Nursing &
Rehab. East 3103 East Airline Victoria, TX 77901
TDHS Long-Term Care
Rehabilitation
Victoria, TX 7790
TJC
102 Medical Drive Victoria, TX 77904
TJC
Affiliation agreements are also maintained with several other agencies, which provide observational clinical learning experiences for students. These observational experiences provide additional clinical learning opportunities which expose students to varied learning experiences. The A.D.N. Program is not utilizing preceptors at the present time.
The faculty is collaboratively involved with the Dean of Allied Health Division in the process of selection and coordination of clinical learning experiences. Selection of clinical practice sites is guided by the program and course objectives. Level Coordinators coordinate clinical agency scheduling. This helps ensure that the learning needs of the students in specific
clinical courses are being met. Every summer and Fall the A.D.N. Program Chair, in response to the Level Coordinators requests for clinical agencies and practice areas, forwards clinical placement requests to the Dean of Allied Health Division for inclusion in the affiliated facilities.
Faculty-Agency Committees are held annually at each of the major affiliating agencies to assess the student experience from multiple perspectives. Representatives include faculty members responsible for clinical instruction in the respective agency, the A.D.N. Director, A.D.N. Chair, as well as the Director of Nursing, Nursing Managers, and Staff Nurses on units where students are assigned. The discussion helps to validate that learning experiences are both adequate for students to achieve stated objectives and non-intrusive to the effective functioning of staff and patients. Students also formally evaluate their clinical experiences after each clinical rotation. The results are reviewed as a part of the curriculum evaluation process and have been positive.
Criterion 4.8.1: Student clinical experiences reflect current best practices and nationally