Clinical lab experience using critical thinking, problem solving, and clinical decision-making as a part of a preceptor/capstone experience in advanced care settings with application of leadership and management principles. Must be completed with a grade of “C” (2.0) or better. (Fall, Spring) Companion course to 4550. Prerequisites: 4300 level courses, 4430, 4440 pre or co-requisite.

None

1. Understands and utilizes leadership / management skills to provide patient centered nursing care and perform nursing interventions safely for a variety of settings; modify care as needed based on client characteristics and needs.
2. Develop collegial relationships with inter and multidisciplinary team members using management and leadership concepts and therapeutic communication skills while adhering to professional standards and behaviors.
3. Use appropriate processes and frameworks for care planning, solving problems, managing practice, providing leadership and helping to improve and change health care practice.
4. Use framework of nursing values and standards to build on knowledge from previous nursing courses to move along the continuum of practice from novice to expert.
5. Develop personal leadership abilities based on self- assessment and analysis of personal leadership styles.
6. Assume the role of generalist nurse within the structure of the preceptor experience.

Assignment Outline

Peer Teaching Hours - 10%

Nursing 4555 students spend at least 10 hours in teaching, coaching, facilitating and assisting level one, two and three students as they learn new skills. This teaching experience is expected to take place in the practice laboratory in the nursing department. Occasionally, opportunities in the clinical setting, classroom, or study groups may come up. With the permission of the course instructor, some of these opportunities could be used to fulfill some of the required 10 hours, but must be cleared with faculty. Participation is documented, signed by level one, two or three students and a faculty member or laboratory coordinator.

NURS 4555 students will also complete 12 hours of peer mentoring for an assigned level 3 student. Topics covered in this mentoring program include but not limited to, time managment, clinical expectations, delegation, communication, problem solving, and stress and wellness strategies. NURS 4555 students will be expected to act as a mentor and leader in these required hours.

Precepting Clinical - 35%

Nursing is a practice discipline and cannot be learned solely in the classroom. Through supervised clinical practice, students apply their nursing knowledge base, gain further competence in skills, and utilize leadership and management abilities to plan, deliver, and evaluate care to a variety of clients in a variety of settings. As graduating nurses, students demonstrate expected professional behaviors of a baccalaureate nurse, and function as members of the health care team. The preceptor experience consists of eleven 12 - hour shifts with assigned preceptor.

Documentation for Precepting

• Students prepare, present, and review with preceptor a written list of student specific goals to be achieved during the precepting experience.
• Students provide a written schedule to faculty member at least 24 hours before the first clinical shift begins. Any change in schedule, nurse working with student, or any other unexpected event is reported directly to clinical faculty member. If a student is not able to contact their clinical faculty member within 30 minutes, the alternate faculty member is contacted. Strict communication is necessary.
• Students will send an email/text no later than Sunday evening at 1800 hours to their assigned clinical faculty which includes...
  • 1. Briefly how the preceptor experience is going
  • 2. Weekly student preceptor schedule for the upcoming week (If there are no shifts, send an email/text anyway indicating no shifts scheduled.) - Update should include the number each shift is out of the 9 and the date of the assigned shift
  • 1. Example: Shift 9, 10/2
• Students maintain a clinical log of all precepting experiences, addressing goals, daily progress, learning, and challenges as well as student perceptions of the experiences. Clinical logs are submitted to clinical faculty members at the end of the precepting experience, as part of the career portfolio so be professional about these entries.

Evaluation of Clinical Performance

Evaluation of clinical performance is based upon the program outcomes. Each preceptor will be asked to perform a mid-term and a final evaluation on the student and fax it to the nursing instructor. Students receiving scores of 3 or less on the final evaluation will have a remediation conference with their clinical instructor to discuss their performance and decide if further clinical time is needed. The course instructor will share with each student the results of their mid-term, final evaluation and student progress and provide an opportunity for a face to face meeting to review results and progress as needed. At the completion of the preceptor experience, the student will be asked to fill out an evaluation on the preceptorship experience (found in canvas)

NCLEX Prep Testing - 10%

Preparation for taking the NCLEX examination needs to take priority for students as they approach graduation. Students will prepare for and participate in NCLEX preparation class weekly to improve skills and ability to successfully take the NCLEX. Students will provide proof of taking from 50 to 200 NCLEX type questions weekly (this could vary depending upon the week). In addition, test questions may be taken in class and testing skills and human response to testing will be discussed and practiced. There will also be a few in class assignments that for scoring purposes will fall under this heading.

ATI Testing - Comprehensive Predictor - 25%

ATI testing for this class includes the “Comprehensive Predictor” and will account for 25% of the total grade. The student will take this test two times during the semester. The first time will be considered the mid-term for the class and the second time will be the final. Both scores are figured into the student’s grade. Students are expected to take the examinations at the scheduled and appointed time (see schedule below). As permission for the student to take the first exam, they will bring to the exam an ATI Comprehensive Predictor practice exam with a score no lower than 90%.

When the student passes the comprehensive predictor at the current level of proficiency (which is equivalent with a 95% NCLEX passing predictability) or higher they will receive 12.5% of the 25%. This is the same on both tests. Those obtaining a lower score than the level of proficiency set by the nursing program, will be awarded points according to a scale developed to reflect the level achieved (see below). Students must pass at least one of the comprehensive predictor tests at the level of proficiency stated or they will need to do remediation. If a student scores between 90% - 94.9% predictability on either test as their highest score, they will have to remediate as discussed with and outlined by the course instructor. If a student does not score 90% predictability or above on either test, they will receive an incomplete “I”, for NURS 4555 and will be required to, at their own expense, complete an NCLEX test preparation course (i.e. Kaplan or other nursing program approved course) and present to the course instructor or designated faculty, proof that they have successfully completed the course. Once proof of completion is presented, the lowest test score will be changed to the 12.5% and the new score will be submitted to replace the “I”. Any student receiving an “I” in any course is required to present a contract between the student and the faculty giving the incomplete and a future plan for improvement and success will be constructed.

ATI NCLEX – RN Comprehensive Predictor Point System

Career Portfolio - 7.5%

The career portfolio is a collection of material documenting a nurse’s competencies and expertise. All nurses should maintain a career portfolio reflecting professional growth. The portfolio is developed over time and reflects the continuing professional growth of the nurse. Uses vary from monitoring personal professional progress to obtaining new employment or promotions to applying for graduate school (7.5 hours of clinical time allotted for assignment).

Personal improvement project - 7.5%

The student will pick 1 area for self improvement that they will work on throughout the semester. 7.5 clinical hours is given for this project. Student will identify a personal improvement focus, such as daily meditation, daily gratitude reflection, graduate school investigation, health and wellness improvement, or student’s choice with approval from course instructor. This project shows the importance of self-awareness and personal growth as nurses and promotes students to be active in holistic health and wellbeing.

Attitude/Attendance - 5%

As judged by course instructor and clinical faculty based on classroom, clinical, and general performance. The students attitude should reflect at all times the attitude of becoming a professional nurse. The awarding of these points is based on a rubrics found in canvas.

Attendance will be kept for all class periods. 5 points for each class period.

Grade Scheme

Grades will be determined in the undergraduate programs using the following grading scale. To progress in the undergraduate program, students must pass each course with a C (74%) minimum.

Papers/assignments are due at the time designated by faculty either in the calendar, syllabi, or in class discussion. If you know you will miss a class in advance of the due date submit materials early or ask a colleague to submit them on the due date. With unforeseen circumstances, you may not be able to submit an assignment on the designated due date, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor and negotiate a reasonable alternate due date prior to missing class when possible or as soon as it is feasibly possible. For this class, late assignments will lose 2 (two) points each day they are late up to 10 points When extenuating circumstances have been discussed with the instructor, it will be left up to instructor discretion on how to award points as circumstances vary. The instructor will decide when late work is no longer accepted. Emailing assignments to the instructor is NOT accepted unless arranged with the instructor. Many assignments are used for in-class discussion and group work so they should be completed prior to class and are due at the end of class. Faculty members retain the option of not accepting late papers/assignments and may deduct points for late work. Individual faculty maintains final determination in situations related to late work.

Regular attendance is required at all classes, clinicals and course-related experiences. Absences and tardiness will result in participation points being subtracted from grade. Attendance is also reflected in coming late to class, leaving early and missing parts of class for other reasons. A roll will be sent around sometime toward the beginning of class and may be circulated a second time to assure full class attendance. If you are not on it, you will not get credit for that day attendance. If you sign it late, you are considered late. Signing in behalf of others will result in all parties involved losing attendance for that day. The course instructor retains the option for deducting participation points for the above offenses. This should not be a difficult process. Please plan to attend all classes and stay throughout the entire time. If situations arise, discuss this professionally with the instructor.

For your preceptorship: please note that you must communicate your schedule by Sunday each week to your assigned clinical faculty. If you attend a precepting clinical without telling your clinical faculty prior to the clinical starting then the clinical faculty holds the right to not count that clinical as part of your required precepting shifts and the student will need to make it up.

When students use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process for this course, students should only use these technologies to improve readability and language, or to generate a basic skeleton of ideas for assignment content. Applying these technologies should be done with careful oversight, and students should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate good-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. SUU Policy#6.33 on academic integrity should be followed when using AI. If you are unsure to what extent to use AI as part of an assignment, please reach out to me before the assignment is due. If a student uses AI-assisted technologies, the student should disclose in their assignment the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the assignment by following the instructions below. This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement. Any assignment which has been determined by the professor (using the tools provided by SUU to monitor academic integrity) to have been created using these technologies which were not disclosed by the student is subject to failure.

Disclosure Instructions:
Students must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding this statement at the end of their assignment:

Statement: During the preparation of this work [THE STUDENT(S)] used [NAME TOOL /SERVICE] in order to [REASON].