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NURS 427 Clinical Preceptorship

NURS 427: Clinical Preceptorship

Required For: Nursing BS Students

Course Description: Precepted clinical experience in selected health care settings. Focus on management of care, priority setting, delegation, managing and leading teams, resource management and utilization.

NURS 427 Student Feedback Form

Course Objectives

  • Synthesize theoretical and evidence-based knowledge from the sciences, humanities and nursing when planning and/or providing care in collaboration with individuals, families, groups and communities.
  • Apply clinical reasoning and critical inquiry, as a generalist, when planning and/or providing care to diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities across the lifespan, in a variety of community-based and institutional settings.
  • Synthesize thoughtful, focused reflection and reasoned judgment in the delivery and evaluation of nursing care, to improve nursing outcomes and nursing practice.
  • Evaluate and revise effective and respectful communication strategies (written, verbal, electronic, and other appropriate technologies).
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of communication skills with clients, groups and organizations, while maintaining appropriate confidentiality of information.
  • Use information systems effectively to manage and evaluate care for diverse clients, families and groups and communities.
  • Participate actively in effective relationships with diverse clients, interprofessional teams, community agencies, and other stakeholders.
  • Serve as a health educator for the purpose of developing attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors to promote, protect, and restore health and assist the client in making informed health care choices.
  • Institute activities to prepare for licensure and professional nursing practice; manage 75% of patient load.
  • Demonstrate cultural competence when providing care for diverse individuals, families, groups and communities.
  • Advocate for social justice, including commitment to the health of vulnerable populations and the elimination of health disparities.
  • Manage nursing care in collaboration with clients and an inter-professional team through coordination, delegation, consultation and referral.
  • Model the professional nursing role based on acceptable standards of practice, including accountability for one’s personal and professional behaviors and development.
  • Analyze the financial, legal and ethical implications of professional decisions involving individuals, groups, communities and organizations.

Clinical Competencies

What the students should be doing during clinical experiences:

  • The Student will perform under the direct, or indirect supervision of the Preceptor/Faculty at all times. The Preceptor is responsible for assessments made, judgments rendered and tasks performed by the Student. However, the Student is not practicing “on the nurse’s license.”
  • The Student should refuse to perform a task that s/he does not have the skills to perform without supervision. The Student is accountable to ask for help and supervision as needed.
  • The Student will not be left in situations that require that s/he function independently of the Preceptor i.e. the Student will not be the nurse in charge during the Preceptor’s lunch or breaks.
  • The Student is expected to adhere to the dress code of the Boise State University School of Nursing and the clinical agency-partner whenever s/he is in the clinical setting. Professional behavior befitting a Registered Nurse is also expected at all times.
  • As a Senior, the Student will act increasingly autonomously in preparation for the role of Graduate Nurse. This learning experience focuses on “doing” and “thinking like a nurse” rather than “shadowing.”

In addition to regular nursing duties, the following items are situations in which the Student will be permitted to perform with provisional conditions (unless prohibited by agency-partner policy)

  • Administer medications, including IV push meds after meeting skill assessment with the Preceptor and in the presence of the Preceptor (unless prohibited by individual partner-agency policy). The Student must have all medications checked by a RN before administration of any medication to a patient.
  • Take verbal or telephone orders from the physician under direct supervision of the Preceptor.
  • Hang blood or blood products under direct supervision of the Preceptor.
  • Setup/change PCA under direct supervision of the Preceptor.
  • Assist the Preceptor with epidural interventions.
  • Assist the Preceptor with removing and verifying orders.
  • Administer heparin and insulin, after dosage verification per agency policy and under supervision of the Preceptor.
  • Document care as required under direct supervision of the Preceptor.
  • General info: Documentation entered on a client’s chart must be completed with the student’s signature and designation of “SN” (Student Nurse). Student signatures must be sufficiently legible to read. If answering the unit telephone the Student must identify him/herself by name and designation of “student nurse.”

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.