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University of Wyoming

Clinical Guidelines
for NURS 4875 - Senior Residency

 

 		  

For Current Students
RN/BSN Completion Track
(Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

General Information

Clinical is completed in a public health nursing agency, and the focus is on health promotion, care of a family, and leadership competencies. This is the only clinical course required in the RN/BSN Completion Track and is taken in the last semester of the program. Prerequisites: All required courses in nursing major, NURS 4240, 4250 or concurrent enrollment, enrollment during final semester.

Plan your clinical experience far in advance, starting the semester before you plan to take NURS 4875. Clinical contracts can take several months to be completed with individual agencies. The contract must be in place before you can begin clinical.

Clinical sites are limited to the United States, and RN licensure is required for the specific state in which you plan to complete your clinical. International sites including United States military bases on foreign soil cannot be approved for clinical. Travel to clinical site and living arrangements (if needed) are your responsibility.

Clinical Contract Required

A contract with the clinical site is necessary for students to attend clinical.  Students are responsible for locating a clinical site and initiating discussion with the manager and preceptor in their area.  Once you have given the RN/BSN Online Coordinator the contact information for the person representing the agency, a contract will be sent to them or existing contract will be verified.

Contact Information that you need to forward to the RN/BSN Online Coordinator:

  • Agency Name

  • Agency Address

  • Agency Phone Number

  • Email Address

  • Name of the person to contact

Preceptor Required

Information you need to know and share with the agency and the preceptor prior to starting clinical:

  • You are a licensed professional responsible for your own practice (versus a new student nurse who does not have a license.)

  • The preceptor acts more as a mentor, helping you to take advantage of the learning experiences in the agency and helping you to follow agency policies.  (We will provide a Preceptor Manual once you are registered for the course.)

  • You are completing this course as part of a distance program with qualified nursing faculty overseeing your work.

  • The focus of the clinical experience and the learning activities that the student is expected to complete include (but are not limited to):

    • Completing one or preferably more newborn assessments.

    • Home visiting a family routinely over time to actively assess, plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care for this family.

    • Making a variety of home visits with experienced nurses when available and independently when ready.

    • Identifying a high-risk population (with your assistance) and developing, implementing, and evaluating a population-based health promotion project.

    • Presenting an in-service to staff about the health promotion project that the student completed.

    • Participating in any clinics available such as immunization, well and/or ill child, family planning, WIC, STI, parenting, breastfeeding, free, etc.

  • This is a 4 credit clinical course, which equates to 180 hours of clinical  and coursework time.  Usually students spend approximately 8 hours per week for a semester (120 hours) on site at the agency. The remaining hours (60) are spent working on projects, assignments, and participation in online post clinical discussions (approximately 4 hours per week.)  

  • Summer clinicals, when offered, are condensed and therefore clinical hours will need to be adjusted accordingly. Students may need to spend 16 hrs/week on site over an 8-week block of time.

  • You are responsible for determining what the agency requires for CPR, MMR, HepB, TB, and other policies.  You need to provide proof to the agency as requested.  You do not need to send proof of immunizations to the School of Nursing.

  • In order to attend clinical you must have current documentation of your malpractice insurance policy certificate and your nursing license on file at the School of Nursing.

  • You do need to have a nametag and uniform according to the standards in the School Handbook. Click on the link below, choose the WORD or PDF links for the "Composite Program Handbook" and find the RN/BSN Completion Track section in the Table of Contents. Click on "Student Uniform."

    Composite Program Handbook

Additional Requirements

  • RN Licensure

    You need to keep your RN licensure current with our office by providing updated copies of your active, unencumbered RN license for the state in which you plan to complete clinical.

  • Malpractice Insurance

    You must carry your own malpractice insurance to level of RN licensure throughout the NURS 4875 clinical course. The University of Wyoming also provides limited liability coverage for nursing students when they are in clinical settings. To verify insurance, submit copy of page(s) from policy (usually "Certificate of Insurance") indicating insurance provider, your name, policy number, dates and amount of coverage to the School of Nursing. Copies of insurance cards or payment receipts are NOT acceptable. The insurance company can take up to 6 weeks to issue a policy, so apply early. The School of Nursing does not accept verbal verification.

    Agency Suggestions:

    • Healthcare Providers Service Organization
      www.HPSO.com
      Phone Numbers: Toll-free: 1(866) 269-4793 or 1(800) 982-9491
    • Proliability (Chicago Insurance Company)
       www.proliability.com
      Phone Numbers: Toll-Free 1(847) 803-3100 or 1(800) 503-9230
    • Your Home Owners Insurance Agency or Other Agencies
      Beware! Some agencies that do not deal with nursing students on a regular basis may charge too much. Please comparison shop!

  • Physical Requirements

    All students must be able to perform the essential functions of a student nurse. Reasonable accommodations will be afforded to student nurses with disabilities as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Faculty and staff from the School of Nursing will work with staff from the University Disability Support Services to determine what constitute reasonable accommodations.

  • Registration

    You can register online for this course. There is a $11 technology fee and a $10 clinical placement fee for this course. You can also use the toll free number 1-800-448-7801 to contact the Outreach School directly or to be transferred to the School of Nursing as well other departments on campus.

Last updated 3/24/2008