I. Students will be assigned clinical rotation/practicum base on the student’s course of study by the Clinical Placement Coordinator (CPC) and Simulation Lab Coordinator (SLC).

II. Students will receive their clinical schedule 30 days prior to the start of the next quarter. In the event that a clinical site requires additional training or orientation, students will be notified of these dates as soon as the specific clinical site communicates them.  While Platt College strives to have the clinical schedule 30 days prior to the start of the next quarter, due to changes from clinical sites, it is possible for a clinical schedule to be altered.

III. Clinical schedules may be altered or changed by the CPC and/or SC based on clinical agency requirements up to 24 hours prior to the clinical or rotation start date.

IV. Completion of clinical practicum experiences must be a priority in order to achieve success in the nursing program. Therefore, students are expected to commit to 100% attendance for their clinical assignments during a quarter. Students are advised not to enroll in a clinical practicum course if students have knowledge that vacations, weddings, child care arrangements, or employment obligations may conflict.  The CPC and SC will not be able to accommodate individual preferences for clinical schedules.

V. Students may not switch or manipulate their assigned clinical schedule at any time.  Students may not contact clinical sites for placement.

VI. Students may be assigned to a clinical site where they are employed.

VII. The clinical hour requirements of 840 is considered a minimum.  Students may be scheduled additional clinical hours based on clinical site requirements or interprofessional education opportunities. Up to 20 clinical hours for NSG 451P may be granted for students who are actively volunteering with the Student Veteran Organization and/or Platt College Student Nurses Association throughout their program enrollment with a completed log signed by the Platt College oversight faculty member for the student organization.  NSG 452P clinical placement is unique.  Current NSG 452P placement information may be accessed at Capstone Experience on the webpage.

VIII. A clinical agency has the authority to cancel the clinical prior or during the scheduled clinical and reschedule the clinical according to site availability and clinical block out days.  An example might be: When a State Health Department or The Joint Commission survey is conducted. Agencies are not given advanced notice for these regulatory visits. Students are not allowed in the agencies during these times as stated in our Educational Affiliation Agreement.

IX. Students may not be enrolled in two courses with practicums at the same time, except during quarter eleven (11). In some rare instances this may be required to ensure the concurrency of practicum learning with didactic learning experiences and will be determined by the Clinical Placement Coordinator, the Dean, and the Registrar in conjunction with the clinical agencies. Students will not be permitted to take more than one nursing core course with a practicum to attempt to progress through the nursing program faster than the established program length of 36 months.

Attendance for clinical orientation(s), and all clinical rotations, is mandatory.  Inability to attend required clinical orientation will result in a failure for the entire clinical course.  Students that are more than 10 minutes late to their clinical orientation, will be dismissed from the clinical learning environment, resulting in clinical course failure.  A failed clinical course will constitute a course failure and the student will be required to repeat the course in its entirety (didactic, laboratory, and clinical) to achieve a passing grade. Students that are more than 10 minutes late to their clinical rotation, will be dismissed from the clinical learning environment, resulting in a daily clinical failure.  Clinical start times will be designated by the clinical instructor and/or clinical site.  Students who receive a daily clinical failure will be charged to make up the missed clinical experience. A failed clinical day will result in a charge of $600 per clinical experience.

Students who receive one daily clinical failure will have the opportunity to remediate their failure with a make-up. However, if the student receives a second daily clinical failure within the same quarter, the student will receive a failing grade for the clinical component of the course, resulting in a failing grade for the course in its entirety. This is necessary because clinical evaluation and progress is dependent on the student attending the entire allotted clinical time. See Policy 02:06:00 Uniform Grading Policy.

A student may be excused from a clinical learning experience for the following two reasons:

• Acute illness (fever of 101°F or above, nausea and/or vomiting, diarrhea, or any other condition classified as contagious, such as conjunctivitis)
• Attendance at the funeral of an immediate family member

In the event of illness or an unusual circumstance, students are required to notify the clinical instructor, clinical placement coordinator, simulation lab coordinator (if applicable), and clinical agency (if applicable) of an absence or tardy at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the clinical day. Failure to notify the applicable individuals will result in a daily clinical failure, failing grade for the day, and a charge of $600 will be assessed to make up the missed clinical experience. Documentation from a medical provider stating the date and time you were seen must be provided to the CPC and/or SLC by fax or in person within 72 hours of the missed clinical experience. In the case of a funeral, the funeral program must be provided to the CPC and/or SLC within 72 hours of the missed clinical experience clinical.

If the student has an excused absence(s) totaling more than two (2) days of the assigned clinical or simulated clinical, the student will be removed from all components (didactic, laboratory, and practicum) of the nursing course, per Policy 02:24:00 Satisfactory Academic Progress, and retake the course components the next time the course is available. This is necessary because clinical evaluation and progress is dependent on the student attending the entire allotted clinical time. See Policy 02:06:00 Uniform Grading Policy.  Exceptions include documented active military orders, reviewed and approved title IX accommodations and/or documented required court service for students.

Make-up hours are scheduled and assigned by the CPC and/or SLC.  Make-up hours are assigned when the earliest appropriate placement slot is available. This may mean that these hours extend into successive quarters of the program. The student will receive  the letter grade of F  on their transcript until the required clinical hours are successfully completed. The clinical hours must successfully be completed with a passing grade before progressing forward in nursing courses. Students may not take two clinical courses in the same quarter except for Quarter 11.

Please be advised that missing (excused or unexcused) clinicals could mean that graduation dates will be delayed until the required make-up clinical learning experience is successfully completed.

Major illness, injury, surgery, communicable diseases, and pregnancy require a physician or mid-level provider's documented medical clearance using the Physical Exam Attestation form in the appendix of this policy.

In order to attend clinical, the student must attest to his/her ability to meet the Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodation.

Students with casts, splints, or a condition that inhibits movement also need a physician or mid-level provider's clearance.  Individual clinical agencies may not allow the student to provide direct patient care in certain instances necessitating a course withdrawal. Students not meeting the physical and/or emotional requirements of agencies may request a leave of absence.

Students with a fever of 101°F or above, nausea and/or vomiting, diarrhea, or any other condition classified as contagious, such as conjunctivitis (pinkeye), may not attend clinical. The excused absence policy will apply and will require medical documentation.

Illnesses occurring at the College or clinical site may require transport by emergency medical services (EMS). Students are financially responsible for their own medical care, including emergency transportation from the College or clinical site.

Any behaviors that place a student, patient/client, or others at risk for injury because of failure to follow safety regulations, or that jeopardize the present and continued use of a clinical facility may result in dismissal from the program.

All assignments for the clinical experience must be completed by the assignment due date.  Failure to complete assignments will result in a daily clinical failure, and may result in failure from the entire clinical rotation.  Assignments may be assigned by the CPC, SC, clinical site, and clinical instructor.

Students are expected to abide by Policy 02:17:00 Academic Integrity when completing all assignments.

Clinical settings include all assigned clinical sites outside of Platt College as well as the Platt College Skills Lab and Simulation Lab. Professional appearance and attire is important in the nursing profession and is required in all laboratory and clinical activities. Platt College has adopted the following standards established by the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE) for students and faculty. Individual clinical sites may have additional requirements to which students must adhere. The standards required for attendance at clinical and laboratory classes are as follows:

Hair

• Clean, well-groomed, and off the shoulders.
• Beards, mustaches, and sideburns are neat, trimmed, and well-groomed.
• Extreme hairstyles and unnatural/exotic colors are not acceptable.

Nails

• Artificial nails and overlays are not allowed in patient care settings, skills lab and simulation lab.
• Nails must be kept short and clean. Absolutely NO nail polish, clear or otherwise, is permitted in patient care settings, skills lab and simulation lab.

Tattoos

• All visible tattoos should must be covered in patient care settings, skills lab and simulation lab.

Jewelry

• One stud earring (non-dangling) per ear and one wedding band. If possible, wedding bands should be smooth and not have protruding stones.
• All visible body piercings must be removed. Plugs are allowed if they are flesh color

Cosmetics

• Heavy use of makeup, lotions, perfumes, colognes, and aftershaves is not appropriate.
• Heavy scent of tobacco, food, and other products may be offensive and is not acceptable.

Smoking/Gum Chewing

• Most agencies are tobacco-free, including restrictions on use of electronic cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
• Agency policy is to be followed regarding locations for tobacco use, if permissible by agency.
• Chewing gum is not permissible when interacting with patients.

Clothing

• Platt College photo identification must be worn and visible at all times when in all clinical areas.
• Clean, pressed, Platt College uniform scrubs are worn for all clinical experiences; professionally attached school patch affixed at the top of the left sleeve of lab coats or scrubs.

Note: Mental health, rehabilitation, and certain clinical sites in the community may have their own dress code (e.g., business casual with or without a lab coat). However, if a clinical experience is scheduled in the Simulation Laboratory, the Platt College Uniform is required and the clinical dress code applies.

Footwear

• Footwear includes shoes and socks and must be one solid approved color. Approved colors are white, black, navy, brown and burgundy. No patterns, striping or objects should be on the footwear.
• Footwear must be of a nursing uniform type. Resources: there are many nursing uniform vendors, companies and shops. You can find them on-line and throughout the Denver Metro area.
• Per OSHA requirements, footwear must have a non-skid sole, enclose the entire foot, and be made of a non-penetrable material (as to not be penetrated if a sharp object is dropped on the foot.) Canvas shoes are not permitted.

Personal Communication and Entertainment Equipment

• Personal electronic devices such as cell phones, headphones, radios or other such devices are not allowed unless specifically permitted by the agency. Cell phones may be used where permitted but must be on silent and under no circumstances may the camera function be used.

Students will follow Policy 02:26:00 Student Standards of Conduct during clinical experience.

Confidentiality and Patient Privacy: Patient privacy is governed by HIPAA. Information about patients and/or their circumstances will not be shared with others or appear on social media sites.

• Substance Abuse: Students are expected to maintain a safe practice environment for patients, colleagues, faculty, and staff. Attending class or clinical under the influence of controlled substances is a violation of Policy 03:07:00 Drug-Free Campus.
• Professional Attire: When participating in clinical, the Platt College uniform should be clean, pressed, and well- maintained. Students are expected to wear the uniform in its entirety unless otherwise directed.
• Time and Attendance: Punctuality is essential in the clinical environment. Missing a clinical is not acceptable – Emergencies must be reported to clinical faculty immediately.
• Patient Safety: A student who recognizes that s/he has made a clinical error is obligated to report the situation to their instructor immediately and to take necessary measures to ensure subsequent patient safety.

Clinical instructors have the authority to dismiss any student from a clinical experience if found to be unprepared and/or unsafe. A failing grade for the day will be assigned and the student charged to schedule the clinical make-up.

At no time is a student permitted to transport patient/client or their family members in personal vehicles. Students are expected to adhere to all clinical site rules and regulations, to include limitations of clinical practice.