Clinical Courses
A student enrolled in a clinical course may receive an immediate course failure up to dismissal, which will appear on the student’s transcript, for:
- Violations of personal integrity, academic standards, or any egregious safety errors;
- Absence from clinical/practicum without approval;
A clinical failure at the end of a 7 week rotation in a 14 week course constitutes a failure and will be recorded as a course failure, which will appear on the transcript. The student may not withdraw from the course. At mid-point of clinical, faculty will meet with student to review progress. If student is at risk remediation will be assigned. Remediation will include a study plan that addresses areas for improvement and a schedule to practice skills in the lab setting.
Transportation
Students are responsible for providing/arranging their own transportation to assigned clinical sites. Clinical sites may be located throughout St. Louis metro area. GSON admin/faculty are not able to assign clinical locations based on student preference.,
Attendance
Attendance is required for all clinical practice experiences, conferences, seminars, and simulations. Students must arrive at the assigned site and be on the floor, prepared to start the clinical experience at the assigned time. Any student who arrives late to clinical (1 minute or more) will receive a tardy for that clinical experience. 3 clinical tardies will be equal to 1 absence. Students arriving ≥15 minutes late to clinical (without prior approval) will be sent home which will be considered a clinical absence/dismissal.
Students who must miss a required clinical activity for an extenuating circumstance defined as illness, death of an immediate family member, jury duty, or military obligations, are to notify their clinical faculty and course coordinator using their official GSON email. The student will provide appropriate documentation of the absence before the next clinical experience. If a clinical experience is cancelled by the clinical faculty due to unforeseen circumstances students will be assigned a clinical make-up clinical experience (onsite, simulation, assignments, or a combination thereof).
All clinical absences will require a make-up experience (onsite, simulation, assignments, or a combination thereof) as determined by the clinical faculty and course coordinator. Any clinical time missed WILL be documented by the clinical faculty on the student’s clinical attendance record in MyClinicalExchange (MCE), regardless of circumstance.
A clinical absence for any reason will cause the student to receive a “not present” rating on the weekly clinical performance evaluation rubric for the clinical experience. Because of the limited number of clinical experiences, more than one clinical absence (≥9 hours for an 8-hour clinical; ≥13 hours for a 12-hour clinical), prevents a faculty member from having the opportunity to adequately assess that the student has successfully achieved the clinical course outcomes and will therefore result in a clinical failure and failure of the corresponding didactic course.
It is the responsibility of faculty to protect clients and students. Therefore, faculty members may remove students from the clinical area due to illness, injuries, tardiness, lack of preparation for practice, unprofessional behavior (see definition below), inappropriate attire, or any situation deemed unsafe. Any student dismissed from clinical for tardiness, lack of preparation, unprofessional behavior, or unsafe actions/performance will receive a “Dismissed during clinical day” rating on the weekly clinical performance evaluation rubric for that clinical experience. Dismissal from a clinical experience for illness and/or injury will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Accountability and Professionalism
All students are responsible for knowing and abiding by the rules of the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses. The student's practice demonstrates continuity in the responsible preparation, documentation, and implementation of client care. Under this guideline examples of unprofessional behavior include but are not limited to the following:
- If faculty finds a student is acting in a manner likely to cause serious harm to self or others; or
- Acts of omission or commission likely to cause harm to clients including but not limited to: physical abuse, placing in hazardous positions, conditions, or circumstances, mental or emotional abuse, and medication errors; or
- Failure to provide accurate, inclusive, written, and verbal communication or falsely documenting in a client record, written assignment, or student log; or
- Attempting activities without adequate orientation, theoretical preparation, assistance, or supervision; or
- Engaging in disrespectful behavior regarding a client's social or economic status, personal attributes, or health problems.
Addressing Behavior
Unsafe, unprofessional, and/or unaccountable behavior: When a faculty member has reason to conclude that a student has demonstrated unsafe, unprofessional, and or unsuccessful behaviors in the clinical setting, they will verbally notify the student at the time the behavior was observed and document the concerns in the weekly clinical performance evaluation rubric. The clinical faculty member will arrange to meet with the student privately to discuss the observed behaviors and actions needed to improve the student’s clinical practice and meet expectations. Development of a learning contract outlining behaviors to be demonstrated and/or avoided for successful completion of the clinical experience is mandatory.
Students who fail a course because of unsafe and/or unprofessional practice are offered due process through the student appeal procedure as outlined in Student Handbook.
Administrative Actions for Absence
Written Warning – If a student misses clinical time through absences, tardies, dismissals, extended break times, and/or leaving early during a scheduled clinical experience the clinical faculty will enter a notification in Slate.
Clinical Failure due to absence- If a student is absent for ≥9 hours for an 8-hour clinical; ≥13 hours for a 12-hour clinical, through a combination of absences, tardies, extended break times, and/or early leaves during a scheduled clinical experience the student will receive a failing grade for the clinical course and the corresponding didactic course.
Clinical Hours Make-up
Upper Division, Accelerated and WEO BSN Programs: If a student is absent from any clinical experience, the student will be assigned a required make-up experience (onsite, simulation, assignments, or a combination thereof) as determined by the clinical faculty and course coordinator that is roughly equivalent to the time missed in clinical. Clinical make-up time will be scheduled by the clinical faculty and course coordinator and could occur after the final examination due to instructor availability. The make-up assignment does not replace the absence on the student’s record. Failure to complete the make-up assignment will result in a clinical failure and failure of the corresponding didactic course.
Due to a lack of practice of nursing skill sets, students absent from clinical may be unable to participate in certain subsequent clinical activities for safety reasons.
Clinical Competency
Students must meet the Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) in each course (as outlined in the course syllabus). This may include the safe performance of skills and completion of all required course assignments (including make-up assignments) within the allotted term; failure to do so will result in a failing grade for the clinical course and failure of the corresponding didactic course. A failing course grade will prevent the student from advancing in the program until the didactic course and clinical have been successfully repeated.
Severe Weather
When the GSON campus is closed due to inclement weather, all on-campus activities of the School of Nursing and clinical experiences are canceled. Faculty will offer clinical replacement hours (onsite, simulation, and onsite or a combination thereof) to students before the end of the term. A make-up clinical experience (onsite, simulation, and/or assignment) will be provided by the clinical instructor and/or course coordinator.