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NURS 343 Nursing in Health and Illness II Clinical

NURS 343: Nursing in Health and Illness I Lab

Required For: Nursing BS Students

Course Description: Advanced clinical application of nursing concepts, therapeutic nursing interventions, and clinical judgment in various health settings. Incorporates knowledge and skills from concurrent and prior courses.

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Course Objectives

  1. Apply the nursing process and clinical judgment in planning and implementing advanced interventions for select adult clients.
  2. Demonstrate standards of professional nursing practice, therapeutic communication, and patient-centered care.
  3. Prioritize client learning and discharge needs and employ strategies to promote health and a safe environment.
  4. Coordinate care delivery with an interprofessional healthcare team.
  5. Apply ethical and legal concepts to the care of adult clients in multiple care settings.
  6. Develop organization and independence in the performance of nursing care for 75% of typical patient load by the end of the Adult Health and Illness II clinical rotation.

Clinical Competencies

At the end of this clinical, the student should be able to plan, prioritize, implement, delegate appropriately and document care for Three to Four acute care patients and/or the clinical equivalent.

What the students should be doing during clinical experiences:

  • The student will perform all skills and procedures under the direct or indirect supervision of a staff RN/faculty. The RN is accountable for assessments made, judgments rendered, and tasks performed by the Student. The expectation is that Students review all procedures/agency policies prior to performing them.
  • Even at the risk of appearing insubordinate, Students should refuse to perform a task that they do not have the skills to perform without supervision. The Student is accountable to ask for help and supervision as needed.
  • The Student is encouraged to seek out additional learning opportunities with a staff RN/Faculty supervision, if the Student’s assigned patients are safe.
  • Students are not left in situations that require him/her to function independently of the RN. For example, the Student will not be the nurse in charge during the RN’s lunch or breaks.
  • Students may not fill in for patient sitters.
  • When documenting cares, students are to document under their own log-on. They are not to be documenting under the RN or faculty logins.

In addition to planning and providing basic nursing assessments and skills, the Student is permitted to perform these procedures with provisional conditions:

  • Administer IV push medications (with supervision) after meeting skill assessment for IV medication administration with the RN/Faculty.
  • Take verbal or telephone orders from the physician under the immediate supervision of the RN/Faculty.
  • Hang blood or blood products under the direct supervision of the RN/Faculty.
  • Setup/change PCA under direct supervision of the RN/Faculty.
  • Assist the RN with epidural interventions as the RN sees appropriate and in accordance with agency policy.
  • Assist the RN with verifying orders.
  • Administer heparin, dalteparin, enoxaparin, and insulin after dosage verification and under supervision of RN/Faculty.

The Student may not:

  • Be accountable for fetal or telemetry monitoring and interpretation.
  • Co-sign anything that requires nurse signature (blood, medication administration, wastage, admissions, etc.)
  • Witness or sign a consent document of any kind.
  • Hang blood independently
  • Independently pass medication, mobilize using lift equipment, any other skills that require nursing license (they can do these things assisted by licensed RN)
  • Independently receive a telephone or verbal physician order
  • Independently sign out medications from Pyxis, Omnicell, or similar dispensing system.