Nursing Student Clinicals:

 As the hospital maintains the ultimate responsibility for patient care, ongoing communication between the student nurse and the Methodist Hospital staff caring for the patient is critical.  Each clinical day, the nursing student must receive patient report from the clinical nurse when arriving on the unit.  The nursing student is required to communicate to the clinical nurse pertinent observations/problems throughout the day, including a thorough report before going on break or leaving at the end of the clinical shift.  Completion of the online orientation is required for all student nurses at the start of their first clinical rotation and is considered current for one year. Content must be completed yearly. Nursing Student Responsibilities:

 Complete the Methodist Hospital on-line orientation and submit the four signed consents prior to the first clinical day. Give the four signed consents to your nursing school instructor.  Perform direct patient care in accordance with Methodist Hospital’s policies & procedures.  Always act in a professional manner when preparing for and/or providing patient care.  Comply with the Methodist Hospital dress code policy. The nursing student must wear their school nursing uniforms and their nursing school student badge whenever providing direct patient care, unless surgical scrubs need to be worn in designated areas (e.g., OR/Surgery, Labor & Delivery, Cath lab, etc.).  Report to assigned unit/department on time to verify patient assignment and review bedside report with the Methodist Hospital clinical RN caring for the patient.  Maintain confidentiality following HIPAA and Indiana state law. May not remotely access, photocopy or print from the electronic medical record (EMR) any patient specific information. Also the student may not remove any identifiable patient specific information from Methodist Hospitals.  Perform responsibilities within the scope of practice commensurate with their course objectives and their level in the nursing curriculum.  Convey to the staff/preceptor information regarding skill level and ability in performing assigned intervention based upon level in the nursing program and previous school clinical experience.  Perform all new skills under the supervision of their clinical faculty or appropriate Methodist Hospital staff member.  Promptly report any changes in the patient’s condition to the patient’s primary nurse.  Initiate appropriate BLS interventions and call clinical RN immediately in emergencies.  Complete required documentation for patient assignments. Before “Filing” documentation in the EMR, it must be reviewed by the clinical faculty instructor or RN preceptor and then co-signed by them as well.

Nursing Students SHALL NOT perform the following at any time:

 Initiate or monitor blood, blood products or chemotherapy  Serve as one of the two required authorized personnel when obtaining blood or blood products or identifying patient to receive blood or blood products.  Be the primary initial contact informing patients/families of change in patient status or emerging health problems.  Witness consents  Independently admit, discharge, or transfer a patient  Call a physician  Receive phone or verbal physician orders  Transcribe or “sign off” orders  Perform internal or vaginal exams in Labor & Delivery  Initiate or interpret cardiac or fetal monitors  Perform glucometer testing  Sign out narcotics  Serve as one of the two authorized personnel performing the independent double check at the patient’s bedside when preparing or administering high-risk medications by any route (e.g., insulin, heparin, PCA medications, etc.).  Administer the initial dose of medications given by the IV route (A nursing student may administer subsequent doses of IV medications only when directly observed at the bedside by the clinical instructor or clinical nurse preceptor).

Nursing Students may perform, only with direct observation/supervision by their clinical faculty or clinical RN preceptor, the following procedures/tasks:

 Administer, but not independently sign out narcotics from the Omnicell. Narcotics must be obtained from the Omnicell by the staff RN.  Perform venipuncture to establish peripheral IV site with proper dressing applied.  Perform peripheral IV care and maintenance including flushing or locking the peripheral IV with normal saline.  Perform central venous catheter dressing change.  Insert Foley catheters and NG-tubes