Students should be prepared to budget for additional costs inherent in the nursing program, beyond tuition and usual fees. Additional costs and fees are approximate only and subject to change; some may be covered by financial aid, including scholarships.

Clinical is pass/fail and based on the satisfactory performance as documented using the Clinical Evaluation Tool and the “5 Ps”—Professional Appearance, Professional Behavior, Preparedness, Punctuality and Performance. Clinical performance is based on the Clinical Judgment Model and course specific student learning outcomes and rated using a five (5) point Likert-type scale ranging from “Exceeds Expectations” to “Unsatisfactory.”

Defined categories: each course-specific criteria is measured based on the following:

Evaluation occurs at the clinical site and in simulation. Each Clinical Evaluation Tool describes the required course outcomes which are used as guidelines by all clinical instructors. These are reviewed with students at the beginning of a clinical course. If it is determined that a student “Needs Improvement” or performance is “Unsatisfactory” on the Clinical Evaluation Tool, or has repeated “Unsatisfactory” evaluations on the 5 Ps, they will be asked to complete a Clinical Improvement Plan outlining the steps that they will take to meet the indicated learning objectives to the instructor for approval. Evaluation tools are kept on file and may be reviewed by faculty, administration, or accrediting bodies. If the student does not meet expectations by the end of the clinical course, they cannot progress in the program.

Criteria for Evaluation

• To pass the clinical rotation, a student must meet ALL essential course outcomes with minimum of “Meets Expectations” and maintain competencies achieved in all prior nursing courses.
• Students MUST successfully demonstrate safety in medication administration including accurate dosage calculations in NUR 103 Skills Lab in order to participate in medication administration in NUR 103 clinical. Failure to pass the dosage calculation requirement will prevent the student from engaging in medication administration in NUR 103 and lead to clinical failure for that course.
• Meeting a competency requires demonstration of steady and progressive improvement towards its attainment.
• Clinical failure can occur at any time during or at the end of the rotation in the event of lack of progress toward course outcome attainment.
• Regardless of any previous evaluation, if a student makes a critical error in the care of a patient, jeopardizes patient safety, violates HIPPA/confidentiality/facility policy, or appears impaired they shall be dismissed from the clinical agency immediately and will not be allowed to return unless cleared by the Dean Nursing and the Coordinator of the Practical Nursing Program