Expectations for each nursing clinical course are stated on the evaluations and aligned with the course outcomes. Successful completion of clinical/practicum courses depends on demonstration of these outcomes.

In addition, all students are required to follow Code of Conduct standards of behavior as outlined in the Chamberlain University Academic Catalog and Student Handbook while fulfilling the clinical/practicum requirements of the program. Failure to demonstrate integrity, ethical conduct, professional standards or any violations of the responsibilities identified in the Student Handbook may result in disciplinary sanctions as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.

All students are expected to demonstrate professional nursing behavior and abide by Chamberlain University Expected Student Behaviors as noted in the Student Handbook, the Student Commitment to Behaviors and/or the Code of Conduct Commitment. Students are recommended to refrain from personal activities/schedules that may interfere with clinical learning.

Nurse Practitioner track students must also demonstrate advanced practice provider behaviors, as noted below, in all clinical/practicum settings and must follow all standards of conduct outlined in the Chamberlain Academic Catalog, Student Handbook, Practicum Handbook, clinical grading rubrics, Student Commitment to Behaviors found in the clinical practicum compliance packet and according to student’s state nursing license requirements for both RNs and APRNs.

Failure to abide by student clinical/practicum expectations may result in an unsatisfactory performance rating, removal from the clinical/practicum site, failure of the clinical/practicum and/or failure of the course.

A pre-licensure or RN-BSN nursing student who has failed the clinical/practicum component of a nursing course by the withdrawal deadline will be administratively withdrawn and awarded a grade of Withdrawal (“W”). A Withdrawal (“W”) grade is recorded for science and nursing courses when the student is failing the course at the time the withdrawal is requested.

A post-licensure graduate nursing student who has failed the clinical/practicum component of a nursing course by the withdrawal deadline will be administratively withdrawn and awarded a grade of Withdrawal Failing (“WF”). A Withdrawal Failing (“WF”) grade is recorded for graduate nursing courses when the student is failing the course at the time the withdrawal is requested.

In addition, students may be immediately dismissed from the program when failure to fulfill the below expectations has been determined, by an institutional committee, to rise to the level of egregious.

The following are student general clinical/practicum expectations: (Nurse Practitioner track students also refer to the below general expected advanced practice student behaviors).

1. Students are responsible for compliance with all health and safety requirements and for providing required documentation prior to Healthcare Compliance deadlines. Students not in compliance with all requirements will not be permitted to begin their clinical/practicum rotations.
2. All students must abide by the Student Commitment to Behaviors and/or the Code of Conduct Commitment. Students must meet all College of Nursing Technical Standards with or without accommodation.
3. The student is a guest of the sponsoring agency and nurse preceptor and must meet professional standards of both Chamberlain University and the clinical site/agency and must adhere to all clinical/practicum agency policies while participating in clinical/practicum experience.
4. Student dress on-site must be appropriate at all times and abide by the clinical/practicum site’s Chamberlain Professional Appearance Policy.
5. Students must arrive to all clinical assignments 15 to 30 minutes prior to faculty/preceptor scheduled start time and complete the entire shift. Any unforeseen tardiness or absence must be reported immediately to the clinical instructor/nurse preceptor, the contact for the clinical agency (if different than clinical instructor/nurse preceptor) and course faculty. A student is expected to attend all scheduled clinical assignments, including clinical orientations. Refer to the Attendance Policy in the Chamberlain Academic Catalog for more information regarding standards of attendance and the consequences of violating standards of attendance.
6. If a clinical/practicum day is canceled, the student must notify the course faculty prior to the start of the scheduled clinical/practicum day.
7. Pre-Licensure students are expected to be prepared to deliver nursing care to assigned patients as applicable. The student is responsible for planning patient care; planning may occur in advance of the scheduled shift, dependent of clinical site/agency expectations and availability.
   ​Preplanning should include but is not limited to, the following:
   • Review of patient history – Past medical/surgical, present illness and psychosocial
   • Medications – Review use, administration, side effects and calculate safe dosages
   • Treatments – Already received and scheduled
   • Current orders – Care to be delivered
   • Nursing plan of care – Including outcomes/evaluation
8. The student must abide by the lunch/break policy of the clinical/practicum site or agency. A Pre-Licensure student may not leave the premises during a clinical experience without approval from their clinical faculty and must make their whereabouts known at all times.
9. A student shall, in a complete, accurate and timely manner, report and document nursing assessments or observations, the care provided by the student for the patient and the patient’s response to that care.
10. A student shall, in an accurate and timely manner, report to the appropriate practitioner, preceptor, nurse, clinical faculty and/or healthcare provider, errors in or deviations from the current valid order.
11. A student shall not falsify any patient record or any other document prepared or utilized in the course of or in conjunction with, nursing practice. This includes but is not limited to, case-management documents, reports, time records, clinical/practicum related course documentation or any other documents related to billing for nursing services.
12. A student shall practice within the appropriate scope of practice as set forth in all applicable state laws and regulations for a registered nurse.
13. A student must not provide care outside of the standards of the healthcare site, the policies of the program and/or the level of study the student is currently enrolled. All care provided must be approved by the supervising clinical/practicum faculty or preceptor/mentor.
14. A student shall implement measures to promote and/or maintain a safe environment for each patient or client.
15.  A student shall delineate, establish and maintain professional boundaries with each patient, client and/or staff.
16. At all times, when a student is providing direct nursing care to a patient, the student shall:
    • Provide privacy during examination or treatment and in the care of personal or bodily needs
    • Treat each patient with courtesy, respect and full recognition of dignity and individuality
17. Students are expected to be aware of and in compliance with all infection control policies and standard precautions regarding hand washing and other PPE.
18. A student shall use universal blood and body fluid precautions established by any applicable state laws and regulations.
19. A student shall not:
    • Engage in behavior that causes or may cause physical, verbal, mental or emotional abuse to a patient/client and/or others
    • Engage in behavior toward a patient/client and/or others that may be reasonably interpreted as physical, verbal, mental or emotional abuse
20. A student shall not misappropriate a patient’s/client’s and/or other’s property or:
    • Engage in behavior to seek or obtain personal gain at the patient’s/client’s and/or other’s expense
    • Engage in behavior that may be reasonably interpreted as behavior to seek or obtain personal gain at the patient’s/client’s and/or other’s expense
    • Engage in behavior that constitutes inappropriate involvement in the patient’s/client’s and/or other’s personal relationships
    • Engage in behavior that may reasonably be interpreted as inappropriate involvement in the patient’s/client’s and/or other’s personal relationships
      For the purpose of this paragraph, the patient is always presumed incapable of giving free, full or informed consent to the behaviors by the student set forth in this paragraph.
21. A student shall not participate in the act of/or completion of any and all theft of property from a clinical site/Chamberlain colleague/preceptor/patient/staff or other students.
22.  A student shall not:
    • Engage in sexual conduct with a patient/client
    • Engage in conduct in the course of practice that may reasonably be interpreted as sexual
    • Engage in any verbal behavior that is seductive or sexually demeaning to a patient/client and/or others
    • Engage in verbal behavior that may reasonably be interpreted as seductive or sexually demeaning to a patient/client and/or others
      ​For the purpose of this paragraph, the patient is always presumed incapable of giving free, full or informed consent to sexual activity with the student.
23.  A student shall not, regardless of whether the contact or verbal behavior is consensual, engage with a patient/client other than the spouse of the student in any of the following:
    • Sexual contact, as defined in any applicable state laws and regulations
    • Verbal behavior that is sexually demeaning to the patient/client or may be reasonably interpreted by the patient/client as sexually demeaning
24. A student shall not self-administer or otherwise take into the body any dangerous drug, as defined by any applicable state laws and regulations, in any way not in accordance with a legal, valid prescription issued for the student.
25. A student shall not habitually indulge in the use of controlled substances, other habit-forming drugs, alcohol or other chemical substances to an extent that impairs the student's ability to practice. A student shall not have impairment of the ability to practice according to acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care because of lack of stamina, habitual or excessive use of drugs, alcohol or other chemical substances that impair the ability to practice. If students are found to have impairment, they will be removed from the clinical learning setting immediately.
26. A student shall not have impairment of the ability to practice according to acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care because of habitual or excessive use of drugs, alcohol or other chemical substances.
27. A student shall not assault or cause harm to a patient/client or deprive a patient of the means to summon assistance.
28. A student shall not misappropriate or attempt to misappropriate money or anything of value by intentional misrepresentation or material deception in the course of practice.
29. A student shall not participate in criminal behavior whether violent or non-violent, directed against persons, property, public order or decency. This includes federal and state laws governing billing and documentation and advanced practice provider care.
30. A student shall not have been adjudicated by a probate court of being mentally ill or mentally incompetent unless restored to competency by the court.
31. A student shall not aid or abet a person in that person’s practice of nursing without a license, practice as a dialysis technician without a certificate issued by the board or administration of medications as a medication aide without a certificate issued by the board.
32. A student shall not prescribe any drug or device to perform or induce an abortion or otherwise perform or induce an abortion.
33. A student shall not assist suicide as defined by applicable state laws and regulations.
34. A student shall not submit or cause to be submitted any false, misleading or deceptive statements, information or documents to the nursing program, its administrators, faculty, teaching assistants, preceptors or the state board of nursing.
35. Personal electronic devices including but not limited to, cell phones, tablets and multifunction watches, may not be used for taking pictures, social media activities, personal conversations or checking personal email/text messages during a clinical/practicum shift. Adhere to agency policy regarding utilization of electronic devices.
36. A student shall maintain the confidentiality of patient information. The student shall communicate patient information with other members of the healthcare team for healthcare purposes only, shall access patient information only for purposes of patient care or for otherwise fulfilling the student’s assigned clinical responsibilities and shall not disseminate patient information for purposes other than patient care or for otherwise fulfilling the student’s assigned clinical responsibilities through social media, texting, emailing or any other form of communication.
37. To the maximum extent feasible, identifiable patient healthcare information shall not be disclosed by a student unless the patient has consented to the disclosure of identifiable patient healthcare information. A student shall report individually identifiable patient information without written consent in limited circumstances only and in accordance with an authorized law, rule or other recognized legal authority.
38. A student shall not use social media, texting, emailing or other forms of communication with or about a patient, for non-healthcare purposes or for purposes other than fulfilling the student’s assigned clinical responsibilities.
39. A student must not demonstrate a lack of good professional character as evidenced by a single incident or an integrated pattern of personal, academic and/or occupational behavior, which, indicates that an individual is unable to consistently conform their conduct to the requirements of the state nurse practice act and advanced nursing practice rules and regulations, the state board of nursing’s rules and regulations and generally accepted standards of nursing practice, including but not limited to, behaviors including honesty, accountability, trustworthiness, reliability and integrity, in all forms of behavior and communication.
40. If a student is participating in a scheduled clinical experience at a facility where they are also an employee, the student shall only perform in the role of the student and not as an employee during the scheduled student clinical experience and must abide by Chamberlain policies and procedures. In addition, the student must wear their Chamberlain identification badge and uniform as per Chamberlain policy, and clearly identify and communicate to staff on the unit they are in the role of a student nurse for that scheduled experience. During non-student scheduled experiences, the student wears employer required dress/uniform and performs only those skills/tasks permitted as an employee of the facility.

The following are additional advanced practice student clinical/practicum expectations for Nurse Practitioner track students:

1. Attendance and Tardiness: Students must arrive to all clinical assignments at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled start time and complete the entire scheduled clinical day. Any unforeseen tardiness or absence must be reported immediately to the course faculty and preceptor prior to the scheduled practicum day. Advanced practice students are highly encouraged to set out all clinical days with preceptors prior to the beginning of clinical and to have consistent clinical days throughout each week to allow clinical sites the flexibility and planning to take on more students (i.e., scheduling every Monday and Tuesday or Monday and Wednesday of each week).
2. Preparation for Clinical: Students are to come to clinical practicum with a good foundational knowledge in pharmacology, pathophysiology and advanced health assessment. Students must be able to conduct a complete history and physical on all age groups and bring appropriate references to clinical. Students are expected to have done weekly reading prior to clinical attendance each week.
3. Mandatory Clinical Toolkit: Lab coat, stethoscope, student Chamberlain ID, pharmacology reference and clinical guideline book at minimum. Other references as deemed appropriate for the clinical site and patient population are encouraged. See individual clinical practicum course recommendations.
4. Professional Appearance: Students should wear business casual clothing to clinical with closed toe shoes and mandatory clinical toolkit items above. Students must abide by Chamberlain and clinical agency dress code policies at all times.
5. Professional Conduct: The student is a guest of the sponsoring agency and preceptor and must meet professional standards of both Chamberlain University and the clinical site/agency.
6. Cell Phones: Cell phone use in clinical for personal email, gaming or social media is not allowed. Cell phone use for medical applications and patient care is encouraged. Communication with preceptors, clinical staff, practicum team members and faculty should occur through email or scheduled phone conference, not via text messaging.
7. Documentation: Documentation at clinical practicum sites and in clinical software should be timely and accurate. This includes all patient records, billing and clinical logs.
8. Scope of Practice: The student is responsible to practice according to the scope of practice of both the nurse practice act and any advanced practice laws and regulations according to their state of clinical practicum and any current states of license.
9. Relationships: The student is expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all clinical and classroom settings; this includes not using patients, preceptors, other students or faculty for personal gain or inappropriate involvement. Students should not engage in sexual conduct with preceptors, faculty or patients nor conduct themselves in any manner that may reasonably be interpreted as sexual or sexually demeaning.
10. Theft of Property: A student shall not participate in the act of/or completion of any and all theft of property from a clinical site/Chamberlain colleague/preceptor/patient/staff or other students.
11. Integrity: A student shall not submit or cause to be submitted any false, misleading or deceptive statements, information or documents to the nursing program, its administrators, faculty, teaching assistants, preceptors or the state board of nursing. The student must adhere to all clinical agency policies while participating in clinical experience. Students shall hold in confidence all personal matters committed to their keeping and all family affairs coming to their knowledge during their clinical experiences.