ADMINISTER MEDICATIONS
1. Medication Administration Check-off
STUDENTS CAN ONLY ADMINISTER MEDICATIONS WITH THE CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR. This includes the administration of any kind of medication by any route. Medications cannot be administered with a staff nurse. Failure to follow this rule will result in failure of the check-off, immediate dismissal from the clinical site and inability to pass NM 322.
The clinical instructor will give medications with two students per day. Students must pass the medication check-off by the end of the semester.
2. Clinical Performance Evaluation
The Clinical Performance Evaluation will be reviewed with the student as needed, at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Failure to satisfactorily meet core competencies on the Clinical Performance Evaluation can result in being sent home from the clinical site, an academic alert, a corrective action plan and/or dismissal from the nursing program.
Please review the Student Laboratory and Clinical Handbook, especially the sections entitled “Standards for Student Behavior in the Laboratory and Clinical Setting” and “Clinical Attendance Policy.”
Other Clinical Expectations
1. Timeliness
Students are expected to be in the assigned room ready to go for pre-clinical at 2:00 pm. Time will be determined via the instructor’s cell phone.
Students arriving after 2:00 pm will be given the opportunity to prepare for patient care. Failure to complete the Pre-Clinical Patient Care Form completely by the end of pre-clinical will result in the student being sent home from the clinical shift and losing all points associated with the clinical day.
Students who are able to complete the Pre-Clinical Patient Care Form will be allowed to stay for clinical, but will lose all points associated with the clinical day. All assignments must still be completed for the clinical day.
Failure to arrive on time will be reflected on your Clinical Performance Evaluation. Failure to meet core competencies on the Clinical Performance Evaluation can result in being sent home from the clinical site, an academic alert, a corrective action plan and/or dismissal from the nursing program.
Any student who is not at pre-clinical at 2:00 pm needs to have notified their clinical instructor. See the first page for how to notify instructor.
2. What You Can Do as a Student Nurse
Provide the best possible care for your patient that day. This includes assessing the patient, documenting your assessment and providing personal cares. Learn as much as you possibly can from this experience. Attend therapy or tests/procedures with your patient. Please notify the patient’s nurse, so they know where you and the patient are at all times.
Students should answer call lights when they are not providing care for their patient. The student should then check with the patient’s nurse regarding the patient’s request before carrying it out. For example, a patient may ask for water and be NPO. The student would not know this without checking with the nurse. A patient may say they can walk to the bathroom, but really need assistance with transferring.
3. What You Can’t Do as a Student Nurse (Per BSN Clinical Instructor handbook)
1. Administer Blood
2. Program a PCA pump
3. Manage Epidural Infusion, Tubing or Pump Settings
4. Do EKG or Fetal Monitoring Interpretation (it is crucial that students not document in a fashion that would suggest they have done any monitoring interpretation)
5. Take Verbal or Telephone Orders
6. Verify Informed Consent
7. Advance the plan of care (must be licensed professional)
8. Blood Glucose Monitoring
9. Blood draws from any line
10. Discontinue a central line
11. Administer IV push medications, including IV flushes
12. Start IVs
13. Administer chemotherapy
14. Insert a urinary catheter (Regions new policy)
4. What You Can Do as a Student Nurse, But Only with the Instructor Present
a. Administer medications by any route
b. Anything IV or tube feeding related (hanging a new bag, programming the pump, etc.)
c. For anything other than a patient assessment or personal cares, the student must connect with the clinical instructor. The clinical instructor will then determine if the student can perform the skill with the patient’s nurse or the instructor. Students can always observe a nurse doing anything for a patient, if it is okay with the patient.
Failure to follow the rules regarding what a student can/can’t do will be reflected on your Clinical Performance Evaluation. Failure to meet core competencies on the Clinical Performance Evaluation can result in being sent home from the clinical site, an academic alert, a corrective action plan and/or dismissal from the nursing program.
