Unit Policy
Title
School of Nursing: Policy on Prelicensure Program Clinical Attendance
Introduction
Purpose
This policy sets expectations for on-campus clinical and off-campus clinical attendance as well as make-up procedures. Simulation experiences are considered clinical experiences so are also covered by this policy. This policy provides guidelines for clinical attendance, outlines the procedure for reporting tardiness and absences, describes the process for the completion of missed clinical time, and describes the potential consequences of clinical tardiness and absences to the student.
Scope
This policy applies to all students in the Prelicensure Program.
This policy should be reviewed by all Prelicensure students, faculty and staff.
Policy
Policy Statement
Introduction
Clinical, lab, and simulation experiences are essential to nursing education, providing the hands-on learning needed to build clinical judgment and professional competence. Attendance is expected and should be a top priority. The number of clinical hours is regulated by the North Carolina Board of Nursing (NCBON) to ensure graduates meet competencies and NCLEX eligibility. The UNC School of Nursing utilizes high quality simulation to replace a portion of clinical hours in the prelicensure program, so simulation absences equate to clinical absences.
Securing clinical sites and faculty is complex and resource-intensive, making make-up opportunities very limited. When available, make-up experiences will be prioritized for students with documented emergencies or serious extenuating circumstances. Students are expected to plan accordingly. Unexcused absences, patterns of tardiness or repeated absences in clinical for any reason may jeopardize course completion and progression in the program. Off-campus and on-campus clinical attendance will be tracked across each student’s program and may also influence the student’s capstone clinical assignment.
Off-Campus and On-Campus Clinical absences
The following pertains to off-campus clinicals, simulation experiences and on-campus clinicals.
Students are required to be present for all clinical and lab experiences and are expected to be present for the entire experience, beginning to end.
Excused clinical absence
The recognized grounds for an excused absence include:
- Authorized University activities
- Disability/religious observance/pregnancy or short-term military service as required by law and approved by the University Compliance Office, or in the case of short-term military service, the Dean of Students, Jury Duty or other Court related obligation that cannot be rescheduled to an alternate date and time;
- Significant health condition and/or personal/family emergency
Note: an official UAA is not necessary for students who miss clinical due to illness as long as proper notification of the Clinical Instructor and/or Preceptor is provided as described below.
Unexcused clinical absence
A planned or unplanned clinical absence for any reason not included in the definition of excused clinical absence. Examples: vacation, slept late, job interview.
Consequences for unexcused clinical absences
More than one unexcused clinical absence will result in clinical failure, which will also result in course failure.
Notification Procedure
Students must personally notify the clinical faculty/preceptor and/or clinical site where they are placed if tardiness or absence from a clinical day is necessary for any reason, as soon as they know they will be tardy or absent. Specifics of this notification process will be provided by the clinical instructor assigned to the student prior to the first day of clinical.
Clinical warning
Any unexcused absence or two instances of tardiness (arriving 15 minutes or more past the clinical start time) without the appropriate prior communication to the clinical instructor will result in a clinical warning for that course.
Consequences for Clinical Warnings
All clinical warnings will be documented on the students’ clinical evaluation and tracked across the program by the student’s Program Director. They will remain on the record even if a make up day is completed for an unexcused clinical absence.
More than one clinical warning in a clinical course will result in clinical failure, which will result in course failure.
A pattern of clinical warnings may impact a students’ ability to receive their first choice of clinical capstone assignment during the final semester of the program.
Attendance Limits
In a 42 hour clinical course , missing more than one day - after subtracting any approved make-up hours - will result in failure of both the clinical component and the course.
In an 84-hour clinical course, missing more than 2 days - after subtracting any approved make-up hours - will result in failure of both the clinical component and the course.
The attendance limits apply regardless of whether the absences are excused or unexcused.
Make-up
Make-up clinical experiences will be prioritized for students who missed an experience due to an excused absence. Those with unexcused absences will not be guaranteed make-up days but may be offered a make up experience if available based on faculty discretion.
The Clinical Course Coordinator will provide one (1) clinical make-up day per semester. During this make-up day, the course faculty will facilitate a clinical or simulation experience to meet course objectives. The faculty facilitating this make-up day may be different from the students’ usual clinical faculty. The clinical make-up day is according to the Clinical Course Coordinator’s discretion, will be scheduled based on instructor and unit availability, and may be scheduled during final exam week. Therefore, the date and time may not be available until the final exam schedule is released.
Exceptions
If an instructor is absent due to illness or other emergency, an alternative clinical experience will be arranged at the discretion of the course coordinator. This alternative experience will count as a regular clinical experience and will not be considered a missed day of clinical for the student.
Capstone clinical absences
The following pertains to capstone clinical experiences specifically. Students are expected to attend every session of a capstone experience. The prelicensure capstone experience is highly regulated by the NC Board of Nursing. The NC Board of Nursing requires the capstone experience be completed before graduating and taking the NCLEX examination. Should an absence occur for any reason, including inclement weather or preceptor illness, the student must make up the missed experience. The specific nature of the make-up assignment is at the discretion of the student’s assigned N697 course clinical instructor or assigned preceptor. Arrangements for making up clinical time are based on the availability of the clinical site, faculty, learner needs, and preceptor availability.
Students must personally notify their clinical instructor and preceptor if they will be late to a capstone clinical shift or if absence from a capstone clinical day is necessary. The clinical instructor will provide specifics of this notification process. Students who miss more than one capstone clinical day are subject to a clinical warning and may require evaluation by the Program Director or Assistant Dean of the prelicensure program.
Definitions
- Off-campus Clinical: Clinical experiences hosted off-site at a site appropriate for each clinical course including but not limited to hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, community settings, and mental health facilities.
- On-campus Clinical: Clinical experiences hosted on-campus including but not limited to lab and simulation activities.
- Tardy: Arrival 15 minutes or more after the clinical start time as specified by the Clinical instructor without any prior communication to the Clinical Instructor. *Note: students who demonstrate a pattern of more than two late arrivals < 15 minutes after the start of clinical – that do not qualify as “Tardy”- will still have this noted in their clinical evaluation and may still be at risk of not meeting the clinical objectives related to accountability and professional behavior.
- Clinical Start Time: The time by which students are expected to be present and prepared at the clinical or on campus clinical site, as determined by their Clinical Instructor
- Absence: A clinical absence is defined as any of the following:
- Failure to attend a clinical experience;
- Two instances of tardiness without any prior communication to the Clinical Instructor equate to an unexcused clinical absence. Whether the student remains in clinical or is sent home after their second tardy without communication is up to the discretion of the Clinical Instructor in collaboration with the Clinical Course Coordinator.
- Clinical Warning: a method by which Clinical Instructors document student absences, which also provides a method for tracking and reporting within the clinical evaluation and across the student’s prelicensure program. A clinical warning should be issued by the Clinical Instructor for all unexcused clinical absences and for two episodes of tardy arrivals. The clinical warning will either be documented in the LMS (Canvas) or in Exxat, based on Course Coordinator Preference.
- Clinical Course Coordinator: The didactic course faculty responsible for coordinating the clinical component of the course.
- Clinical Instructor: the faculty providing direct supervision for a specific clinical or on campus clinical (lab) group. During the capstone semester, the Clinical Instructor provides indirect supervision of the student and their unit-based preceptor.
- Preceptor: The registered nurse working at the clinical partner site (i.e., hospital, clinic) who works 1:1 with students during their capstone semester