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Practicum Site Placement Process

In document Graduate Nursing Student Handbook (Page 47-50)

GRADUATE PROGRAM CONCERN FORM

6. Staff members at practicum agencies are not obligated to participate in student appeals Some practicum agencies may not allow their staff to participate in such matters If the

4.2 Practicum Site Placement Process

Off-campus practicum placement decisions are the responsibility of faculty and are made with concern for the best learning experience for the student according to faculty judgment of the

SHS Graduate Handbook 2013-14 Page 48 of 67

student’s past performance. Students can assist in this process in collaboration with faculty, but faculty retain the responsibility for all practicum placements. Students must follow these steps if they wish to collaborate with faculty about clinical placement:

1. An initial conversation may be initiated by the student with a potential preceptor or clinical site. This conversation is informational and brief in nature and rather superficial. This is only used when you already know of a preceptor you want to work with or someone has referred you to as a preceptor. Randomly phoning clinical sites or providers to request a placement is not allowed and is a detriment to the student. Students can discuss with faculty any ideas and refer them directly to the faculty who will pursue and serve as the contact between a potential site/preceptor for a practicum.

2. All contact information for the preceptor and site, a record of contact made, and hopes for placement are forwarded by the student to the internship practicum faculty, the Director of the NP Program, using the “Contact Information-Potential Preceptor” form or by email. “Contact Information-Potential Preceptor” forms are available from the Graduate Program Assistant. This is the extent of student involvement in the placement process. After this initial information is provided to faculty, the following negotiations and legal steps will be completed by SPU. It is not likely that a student will hear any report of progress until sites are confirmed. Students should not intervene in this process in any way as this often will delay completion rather than help the process. Each site has a specific clinical placement policy that needs to be followed or the site will not allow placement of any student. Typically, the clinical site wants only to work with a single designated person from the academic site (not individual students) and has a preferred or designated contact procedure that is announced to academic programs for use during the academic year. There are many other programs that compete for clinical placements and it is important that the SHS graduate program follow the appropriate process for each clinical site or agency.

A specific educational agreement/contract must be signed and valid between SPU and each clinical site a student is in practicum. This contract is negotiated through the legal and managerial staff of the clinical site and SPU. This requires signatures specific to the clinical site that only an assigned legal representative from the clinical site/agency can authorize. Preceptors are not involved in this aspect and are often unaware of their site’s process. It can be lengthy process depending on the site or agency and involves multiple administrative and clinical preceptor involvement. In general:

• Preceptors, clinic manager, or supervisor, in addition to the legal educational agreement/contract, must agree to accept the student during a specified time frame.

• SPU validates that the site/agency/preceptor is acceptable and valid for the practicum experience. • Faculty convey confirmed sites to students by email or phone as soon as it is programmatically

feasible. Until the majority of students are placed, students are not generally notified of their placement because often changes need to be incorporated due to changes that occur.

• Students must acknowledge that they must be prepared to travel distances of up to 100 miles from Seattle Pacific University for their internship.

• SHS cannot guarantee any requests for specific days of the week for internships, location, or confirmation of placements by a certain date. It is hoped that placements will be confirmed early,

SHS Graduate Handbook 2013-14 Page 49 of 67

but many times, an initial confirmation is later revoked, canceled, or changed with time for faculty to notify students. Therefore, faculty and students needs to remain in close

communication (email or phone) during the placement process.

Faculty welcome collaboration with graduate students, however placements are at the decision of the faculty. When making practicum assignments, SHS faculty review each student’s academic and practicum record to determine the fit between student learner needs and available practicum

opportunities. In addition, faculty takes into consideration the conditions, needs, and requirements of the practicum agency and clinical site capabilities when making practicum assignments.

4.2.1 Changing Practicum Placements

Once the faculty decides on student placements, there will be no student initiated change of placement due to the complexity of meeting specific agency and student requirements. Students who wish to change their practicum site must submit in writing a request to faculty that describes rationale for the request. Students do not discuss with any clinical preceptor, site, or agency a potential wish to change. All communication about changing site is negotiated by faculty with the preceptor and site/agency. In the event that a preceptor requests to the student a change of site is needed, the student must immediately phone and email the faculty and the faculty will assume primary communication about changing the preceptor and site.

4.2.2 Mandatory Site Orientation

Prior to attending practicum, students must complete all required specific practicum site requirements and training as instructed by the clinical site and SHS faculty. Re-scheduled orientations are not available in practicum agencies. Students who have not completed these requirements as instructed may not attend class, practicum, or orientation at the practicum agency and will not be permitted to progress in the program.

4.2.3 Clinical/Practicum Absences

Attendance at the internship orientation is mandatory. Failure to attend any practicum orientation results in non-progression in the program. Attendance at all practicum sessions, skills lab presentations, scheduled supervised practice groups, clinical sessions, and scheduled conferences with the instructor is required unless illness or other emergency prevents otherwise. It is the responsibility of the student to know the specific agency and preceptor requirements related to attendance and absence and to follow those requirements throughout the practicum. In addition to attendance, the student must demonstrate satisfactory completion of internship learning objectives and safe practice as determined by the preceptor and faculty.

4.2.4 Drug Screening

Students may be required to undergo drug screening at selected agencies as a pre-requisite to practicum. Positive test results may result in a student’s exclusion from practicum and dismissal from the program. Assignment to alternate facilities to avoid requirements is not an available option.

SHS Graduate Handbook 2013-14 Page 50 of 67

4.2.5 Standard Precautions

Students must practice Standard Precautions during all patient contacts. Health agencies provide personal protective equipment such as gloves and gowns; agencies may require students to provide their own eye safety goggles.

4.2.6 Illness

If the student becomes ill or is injured during a practicum experience, the “Protocol for Illness/Accidents/Critical Incidents Related to Practicum” (see below) must be followed. 4.2.7 Communicable Disease

If the student is exposed to or has a communicable disease, such as herpes, chicken pox,

hepatitis, strep throat, etc., the student must notify the faculty as soon as possible to determine if it is safe to be in a clinical area.

4.2.8 Safe Practice

Students cannot practice “while affected by alcohol or drugs or by a mental, physical or emotional condition to the extent that there is an undue risk that he or she, as a nurse, would cause harm to him or herself or other persons” (WAC 246-840-710 [5][b]).

In document Graduate Nursing Student Handbook (Page 47-50)