Expectations of All Students
Active Learning
It is our expectation that as a student, you identify your strengths and areas for improvement, set personal goals that address the areas for improvement, and actively seek learning opportunities to meet your goals. As active learners, it is important that you give critical thought to your learning needs and devise a plan to address them. As you get into clinical practicum areas, you might want to discuss your thoughts with your course faculty and ask for feedback. We also expect that you actively prepare for every clinical practicum day and set aside time at the end of each clinical practicum day to identify the things you need to review, and then take time during the week to get that learning done.
Time Management
You cannot socialize to the role you are learning if most of your energy is in other roles. If you haven’t already, look at your obligations outside of school and identify ways that you can be successful over the course of the program. You may want to seek resources and formulate a plan now so that you can get the most out of this experience.
Communication with Faculty
You will have a designated course faculty member who is responsible for the evaluation of the student’s performance. It is essential that you keep your designated course faculty member informed of any change in your clinical practicum site or schedule, as well as any unanticipated events that occur during the clinical practicum experience, e.g. illness or injury related to experience.
Professionalism
Good communication skills, a positive attitude, and respectful and productive interactions are part of being a professional. Being a great health care provider does not mean you possess manual skills, but that you possess the heart of a nurse who is compassionate, caring, and willing to lead with humility. Your professors can help you network and develop connections within the profession, so the impact of your professional image is important to consider. We hold faculty to the same expectations.
Clinical practicum time is also best spent seeking new learning opportunities and discovering your area of interest. Practice involves a variety of activities that include direct care and indirect care experiences. Direct care refers to care activities provided at the point of patient care. Indirect care refers to interventions that are provided on behalf of patients. What counts as clinical practicum experiences in your coursework is tied directly to the clinical practicum learning objectives for that particular setting and is part of meeting the overall program competencies based on the program standards. The standards provide an important framework for designing and assessing graduate education programs for professional practice.
Strong moral values and character are the backbone to the profession. It is imperative that health care professionals maintain collaborative relationships with patients, doctors, fellow health care providers, and other health care staff. If conflict arises, students must make an effort to resolve the situation in a way that supports the situation in positive way. Many of you are natural leaders and we encourage you to discover the power of positive leadership as you move toward your future. Faith, religion, and spirituality are distinct components of what defines many human communities and allows individuals to make sense of their experiences. Your ability to understand and support those beliefs is key to your role as a caring, compassionate health care provider.