Professionalism - is expected from all nursing students at all times while in the nursing program. Professionalism is reflected by life-long learning, appearance and demeanor, respectful communication, punctuality in attendance and assignments, providing service to the community, and engaging in activities that promote nursing.
Punctuality - Is consistently demonstrating promptness when meeting scheduled class, clinical, lab, and simulated learning experiences. Demonstrates initiative, enthusiasm, and active engagement in learning assignments and clinical experiences. Students are expected to attend class regularly. Specific requirements for class attendance and consequences for tardiness/absences can be found in the Student Handbook. The clinical, lab, and simulated learning experiences, attendance as scheduled is required and tardiness is unacceptable. A reasonable expectation is to arrive at the clinical site a minimum of 15 minutes prior to the start of the assigned clinical time. Tardiness necessitates a plan of action initiated by the clinical instructor or preceptor that requires the student’s commitment to be punctual for subsequent scheduled activities. A pattern of tardiness may result in a failing grade for the class, lab, clinical, or simulated learning experience since a lack of personal accountability is inconsistent with professional nursing and safe patient care.
Conflict Management - Demonstrates collaborative problem solving skills in the event or conflict relevant to the course, clinical, lab or simulation experience occurs. Conflict management skills include: engaging in timely and constructive dialogue with the immediate participants to clarify the issue; consulting in a timely fashion with advisor, clinical scholar/instructor, or preceptor; accurately identifying the negotiable and non-negotiable issues; and determining an effective strategy to achieve mutual goals, and follow through respectfully with the decision.
Constructively uses opportunities throughout the course to communicate questions and concerns relevant to course/assignment outcome competencies. Comments on course, faculty, and preceptor evaluations are specific, and include constructive feedback on effective teaching and learning strategies, as well as recommendations for improvement.
Disrespectful behaviors, including making demands, blaming others for one’s own mistakes, or demeaning others, are considered unprofessional and are unacceptable in the context of a collaborative and positive learning environment. Unprofessional conduct will be referred to the Dean, who will consult with faculty, Lakeview College of Nursing administration, and representatives from the affiliating clinical agency, as appropriate, to determine subsequent action, which may include referral to the Student Affairs Committee.
Students of Lakeview College of Nursing are guests in affiliating clinical agencies or practice sites. A positive working relationship between the College and affiliating clinical agencies is imperative to assure quality placements in sufficient numbers for all students across clinical courses. Unprofessional communication or behavior reflects poorly on the Lakeview College of Nursing student body and jeopardizes future clinical placements. Deceleration, suspension, withdrawal are options for students who determine that clinical placements/schedules are unacceptable to them. Students are accountable for all information sent by the Lakeview College of Nursing email, and must commit to checking for updated information as frequently as needed to identify new and changing information.
Respect - Courtesy, consideration, respect and positive regard are conditions for learning. Demonstrates attentiveness, politeness, consideration for others in all learning environments and with patients, peers, health care providers, faculty, and staff. Refrains from intruding, interrupting, distracting, or otherwise limiting the opportunities for learning. Interacts with all others with demonstrations of respect, tolerance, and caring. Body language, nonverbal behaviors, including voice tone, and personal opinion must at all times demonstrate professionalism and collegiality. Demonstrates respect for diversity of race, ethnicity, religion, political opinion, sexual orientation, gender, age, socio-economic status of patients, peers, and other care providers.
A student may be removed from the class, clinical, lab, or simulated learning experiences for disrespecting the learning or working environment and interfering with the learning or work of others. Return to the class, clinical, lab, or simulated learning experience is dependent on commitment to demonstrate civility.
Confidentiality – Demonstrates respect for patient confidentiality within and outside the agency. Maintains patient confidentiality in all communication, including use of electronic media. Extreme caution must be exhibited in relaying information about clinical experiences in any social networking media (e.g. blogs, Facebook) by never referencing clinical information that identifies people, place, or specific events. Well-intentioned reflection can jeopardize patient rights and your professional standing if perceived as violating ethical and legal parameters of confidentiality, patient privacy rights, and health privacy laws.
Technical Standards
Lakeview College of Nursing has identified non-academic standards critical to the success of students in the nursing program. These standards are designed not to be exclusionary, but to establish performance expectations that will enable students to provide safe patient practice with or without accommodations. The standards are program requirements, not individual functional ability requirements.
Observation: Students must be able to observe lectures, demonstrations and patient situations in the practice of health care professions. Observation is necessary to perform competent health assessments and interventions and necessitates functional use of vision, hearing, tactile and somatic senses.
Communication: Students must have the ability to use multiple communication techniques (verbal, written, nonverbal, group processes, and information technology) that enable them to communicate effectively with patients, teachers and all members of the health care team. They must be able to speak, read and write in English. Candidates and students must be able to report to members of the health care team, express appropriate information to others, communicate with sensitivity and teach, explain, direct and counsel patients.
Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: Students must have the ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize data in a timely manner. Problem solving, a critical skill demanded of health care practitioners, requires all these intellectual abilities. Additionally, students must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.
Motor Skills: Students must possess fine and gross motor function necessary to perform patient assessment and therapeutic interventions. Such interventions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, stamina, equilibrium and functional use of touch and vision.
Behavioral and Social Attributes: Students must possess the emotional health required for full use of their intellectual abilities, demonstration of good judgment, prompt and safe completion of all responsibilities, and development of mature and effective relationships with patients. They must be able to work cooperatively with others, adapt to rapidly changing environments, think clearly and tolerate physically and mentally taxing workloads under stressful situations. Additionally they must demonstrate moral reasoning and ethical behaviors.
In addition to the standards stated above, students must be able to successfully complete all required components of the curriculum.
Tests and Evaluations: Periodic examinations, both written and practical, are an essential component of the curriculum. In order to progress through the curriculum students must successfully fulfill examination and evaluation requirements.
Clinical Assessment: Essential to the success of a student enrolled in a health care program is the demonstration of clinical competency. The process of evaluation of the clinical performance is an essential component of the curriculum. Participation in clinical experiences and evaluation of that performance is required.