Contents
Catalog Links

Selection Criteria for MSN or BSN Clinical Practicum Sites

MSN Nurse Educator

MSN 578:Students will complete 100 clock hours of teaching activities with guidance from a university approved specialty nurse educator preceptor or nursing faculty preceptor nursing over an eight-week period.  Learning goals will be mutually agreed upon by preceptor and graduate student, documented, and approved by course faculty. Clinical practicum hours will be submitted online by students on a weekly basis to Project Concert and approved by course faculty. 

Students will work with the Office of Field Experience (OFE) at USU (ofe@usniversity.edu ) to select a teaching preceptor and complete all required paperwork 16 weeks before entering MSN 578. Students may not complete clinical practicum hours that are part of their current employment position/work-related roles and responsibilities. 


Examples of nursing clinical specialty areas include but are not limited to: 

  1. Acute Care: ICU (adult or pediatrics), Cardiac Care, Medical-Surgical (adult or pediatrics), Orthopedics, Oncology, Emergency Department; Psychiatric, Veterans care or Pulmonology and,  

  2. Out-Patient and Chronic Care: Specialty focused such as dialysis, renal, hematology; cardiac, oncology, ambulatory care (specialized); home-based skilled nursing care (adult, geriatric or pediatric), hospice, palliative care; skilled nursing (geriatric long-term care), rehabilitation, psychiatric; prison nursing, addictions, holistic nursing/wellness/health promotion. 

Examples of Recommended Academic Settings

  1. Community College pre-licensure A.D.N. program leading to RN Licensure

  2. Pre-licensure BSN program or RN to BSN Program


Examples of learning activities include but are not limited to: developing lesson plans, teaching in a classroom, clinical  lab, simulation lab, or clinical setting; providing supervision of direct patient care by nursing students or nurses, assisting with developing lectures, grading quizzes or papers, analyzing exam statistics or other creative assignments; working on special course projects and attendance at faculty and/or curriculum meetings with preceptor permission.  Students may also assist preceptors with course development activities.  

This course assures learning by engaging the student using strategies that  include face-to-face meetings with preceptor classroom lectures, demonstrations, case studies, simulations, discussions, and other interactive and group activities. The clinical practicum component of the nurse educator program is designed to provide experiences for teaching practice development in the nurse educator role.  Students interact with nurse educator preceptors, clients and other members of the healthcare team and with school of nursing faculty and nursing students in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating nursing education activities. Students are encouraged to discuss their clinical practicum experiences with their clinical practicum preceptor weekly.

The 100 required hours of precepted clinical practicum practice time affords the student clinical practicum decision-making opportunities in the nurse educator role through the application of theoretical concepts and strategies for a diverse patient population in a variety of clinical practicum settings. The clinical practicum role for the nurse educator will be analyzed and applied in collaboration with a master's or doctoral prepared nurse preceptor with experience in the clinical practicum specialty. Evidence-based strategies will be developed into a comprehensive learning plan to engage learners in active learning and implemented to meet mutually determined outcomes. Clinical practicum evaluations will be performed using evaluation rubrics. Project Concert will be used to track students’ clinical practicum experiences. *Nurse educator graduate students licensed and practicing in the state of Tennessee need to choose a teaching preceptor in a clinical practicum specialty area. Others may choose an academic or clinical practicum specialty setting.

 

MSN Health Care Leadership

MSN 587, Residency in Nursing Leadership and Systems Management (100 Clinical practicum hours)


MSN 587: Students will complete 100 hours of clinical practicum leadership residency with guidance from a qualified nurse healthcare leader-preceptor employed in a healthcare leader role in a healthcare setting. Clinical practicum experiences will engage the student in a customized leadership opportunity of the students’ choice. The student will be expected to use current leadership strategies to connect their previous coursework, leadership goals and capstone project. Clinical practicum hours will be entered by students into Project Concert.

Goals could focus on, but are not limited to, the following:

• Committee meeting observations

• Assisting with developing & conducting staff meetings

• Meeting with local, state or federal policy makers

• Attendance at nursing organization meetings

• Working on special projects identified by mentor or designing special projects

 

RN-BSN

NUR 378 & NUR 499: Students will complete 45 hours of community clinical in each course  in collaboration with a university approved and qualified agency/organization leader whose agency provides services to community dwelling residents of vulnerable populations in the student’s local community. Students will need to identify a potential agency leader with whom they wish to collaborate starting in NUR 378 and continuing in NUR 499. The OFE will provide coordination with the agency leader and student. All documentation is due 16 weeks before the NUR 378 course and is the students responsibility. 

Examples of local agencies/organizations who provide services to vulnerable populations include but are not limited to: the Red Cross, Salvation Army, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, local centers on aging, church out-reach programs, Boys and Girls Clubs, Meals-on-Wheels. The agency/organization needs to be open to the public, readily accessible for students.