Supporting Students...

The preceptor calls with clinical concerns, either mild or severe.

• Obtain specific examples.

• Problem-solve.

• Inform the CFD and/or CC.

The student is unprepared (either by their own report or that of the preceptor). 

• Discuss the situation with the student and preceptor.

• Inform the CFD of your findings as the student may need the support of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The student is receiving scores of 2 on their CETs beyond Midterm.

• Contact the student and preceptor to gain a better understanding of the situation.

• Identify learning needs and goals.

• Inform the CFA and/or CC.

• Develop strategies to meet goals (this may or may not require a focused intervention such as an MOU)

There is a discrepancy in the student and preceptor ratings in the CETs consistently and/or without further explanation.

• Contact the student and preceptor to gain a better understanding of the discrepancy

• If an error in entry, advise the student to correct by a given deadline.

If the discrepancy is not an error, inform the CFD of your findings. 

The student’s CET ratings are not improving over the term. 

• Discuss the areas of concern with the student and preceptor.

• Set reasonable goals and strategize about how to achieve them.

• If issues persist or there is significant concern that emerges during this process, consult the CFD.

The student is not submitting clinical documentation (SOAP notes and/or Typhon) within the 2-week allowance.

• Work with the student to set a plan for submission.

• If ignored or recurring issue, email the student with a deadline for submission and cc: the CFD and/or CC.

• Students may be withheld from clinical until their work is complete OR clinical work that remains unlogged will be discounted and will need to be repeated.

There is no documentation by the preceptor regarding competency on the evaluation forms (CETs, Midterm, or Final Evaluation). 

• Call the preceptor and discuss.

• Document your conversation.

• Inform the CFD of your findings. 

The student’s logged clinical experiences seem lower in one or more categories than anticipated. 

• Check in with the student to make sure that they are documenting all of their clinical experiences correctly and in a timely fashion.

• Be sure that students are linking encounters appropriately.

• Have the student update/correct within the week.

• If numbers are low due to limited opportunity at the site or if the student is not taking advantage of clinical opportunities, consult the CFD.

The student’s SOAP notes contain repetitive errors and/or raise the same issues each note. 

• Ask the students if they are reading your feedback; If not, encourage them to do so.

• You can ask students to resubmit their SOAP notes to Typhon (either a corrected version or a new note altogether)

• You can request that your student continue to submit SOAP notes throughout the term until competency is demonstrated.

• If you require additional guidance, consult the CFD.

The case logs and time logs for a given shift(s) do not correspond. 

• Check in with the student to understand what is occurring.

• Advise the student to correct the issue by an agreed upon deadline.

• Refer the student to the Guide to Clinical Documentation and the NM/WHNP & WHNP Clinical and OCI Prep Course in 2GU where they can find Typhon Tips on the course wall.

• Verify that the correction has been made.

• If issues persist or recur, consult the CFD.

There are no goals set forth in the CETs. 

• Encourage the student to set goals routinely on their CETs. 

• They can use their syllabus and clinical skills checklist to do so.

• In your meetings with the student, work with them on goal setting.

• If issues persist or recur, consult the CFD. 

The student requests a change in the standard clinical schedule as stated in the course syllabus.

• If it is more than a one-off schedule change that is being requested, consult the CFD. 

The student’s clinical hours are lower than expected.

• Check in with the student to make sure they are documenting clinical hours correctly and in a timely fashion.

• Ensure that the student has ample opportunity to attend clinical at their assigned site.

• Have the student create a plan for how they will obtain the hours by the end of term.

• Consult the CFD and/or CC. 

A beginning student is seeing more than 10 patients a day. 

• Suggest identifying 6-8 patients that meet their learning needs to focus on a given clinical day so they have time to integrate their knowledge, write a proper SOAP note, and debrief with their preceptor. Quality over quantity!

• Students may increase the number of patients they see as they become increasingly more comfortable/competent/confident.

• If the student meets resistance from the preceptor and cannot resolve, check in with the preceptor directly.

• Consult the CFD if all of the above are unsuccessful.

The student does not return your communications or does not do so in a timely fashion. 

• Remind the student that communicating in a timely fashion is part of professional behavior required in this program.

• Establish a mutually understood method and time frame for all communications OR establish standing appointments.

• Make sure that students are utilizing their GU accounts for all email exchanges related to the program.

• If issues persist or recur, consult the CFD.

You are unable to reach the preceptor to discuss the students progress, or otherwise. 

• Ask the student to inform the preceptor that you will be calling.

• Contact the Clinical Placement Specialist and the CFD for additional support in doing so. We may have alternative contact information.

Your student is having difficulty with communication with patients/clients, staff, or preceptors.

• LinkedIn Learning: A free GU service that provides tutorials and courses on communication, writing, leadership, and diversity & inclusion. This is available to all staff, faculty, and students!

Georgetown University’s graduate nursing program is offered online. University-based tracking, testing, isolation and quarantine services are not offered for the online graduate nursing students.  

Student Tracking

All students are expected to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms daily and before going to clinical. Students will follow the guidance of the clinical site for monitoring and reporting of status. 

Depending on site requirements, students may be required to purchase the Castle Branch COVID-19 Compliance tracker to provide screening. This will include twice a day temperature collections, monitoring students for high-risk indicators and discovery of COVID-19 exposure and infections. 

Student Reporting

Students will immediately report a positive test to the clinical site and the program. Students should notify the Clinical Faculty/Placement Director, their CFA, and their preceptor with this information, and follow the guidance of the clinical site.  

The university recognizes the importance of protecting private health information and the autonomy of the individual, and will limit to the extent possible what personal information is collected, who has access to it, how it is used, and how long it is retained to the extent possible consistent with its need to address the public health challenge presented by COVID-19.

Quarantine and Procedure for Student Returning to School/Facility

Following CDC Guidelines for quarantine procedures, students who come in close contact (see CDC definition in attached link) with someone who has COVID-19 will self quarantine at home for 14 days.  The quarantine period may be greater if the student lives with the person and cannot avoid further close contact. 

In order to return to clinicals, the following 3 criteria are generally used for decisions for return:

1. Fever free (without medication) for 3 days

2. Other symptoms improving

3. At least 10 days from the start of illness

4. Students in clinical rotations will follow the protocol of the facility.

The student has moral or religious objections to participating or engaging in specific aspects of clinical coursework.

• Connect the student to the CFD so that a plan can be made for assisting the student in meeting clinical course outcomes and communicating with the preceptor.

• See ACNM's position statement on conscientious refusal. 

• Refer the student to the NM/WHNP & WHNP Program Handbook Supplement:

"Mastery of Core Competencies and Exercises of Conscience 

Professional codes of ethics and position statements must allow room for the exercise of the individual conscience (See ACNM Code of Ethics and ACNM Position Statement: Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Services). If a student becomes challenged at this level, it will be the faculty’s obligation to come to the student’s defense and champion their religious, moral, and ethical interests, in accord with our Catholic and NHS/Jesuit values. 

Some students may feel that during their clinical experience they cannot prescribe, provide or refer a woman for hormonal or intrauterine contraception, contraception counseling or options counseling which are part of the core competencies for both midwifery and WHNP. See ACNM Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice (revised 2020) and WHNP Guidelines for Practice and Education (8th edition, revised 2020). 

It is the responsibility of our NM/WHNP and WHNP Programs and faculty: 

● to prepare our students with the competencies they need to practice the standard of care o To apply knowledge, skills, and abilities in providing the following: gynecological care that includes all available contraceptive methods and post-abortion care. 

● to respect and promote the integrity of our students 

● to respect and promote the integrity of Georgetown University 

Faculty will work with students to develop an alternative strategy to achieve competencies and efforts will be made to accommodate students’ religious, moral, and ethical standards with placement at clinical sites that are similarly aligned; however, such clinical placement cannot be guaranteed. Faculty will help students communicate their strategy to their preceptor. 

As a guest in the clinical setting, when a student is asked to participate in competencies such as those noted above, it is the students’ responsibility to defer care to their preceptor who is primarily responsible for care of their patient. Therefore, the student does not need to be directly involved in care, intervention, or referral to which they conscientiously object." 

The student bears witness to abusive situations (provider on provider, provider on patient, patient on patient, preceptor on student). 

• Advise the student to complete an Incident Report found on the Adverse Events page. 

• Forward to the CFD.

• Contact the CFD. 

The student has suffered a clinical-related injury (needle stick, other exposure, etc) or has witnessed a bad outcome while at clinical.

• Visit the Adverse Events page in CFA Home for the appropriate next steps.

Students often have two levels of clearances: for GU BSON through CastleBranch (baseline clinical requirement) and site-specific requirements (additional clinical requirements). Students must be up to date to remain enrolled and to attend clinical. If students are having trouble maintaining their clearances, please connect them to their Student Support Specialist. Some other points be aware of:

• Sometimes, sites require external fit tests for masks. Students may use vendors like Mobile Health.

• Students wish to decline vaccination through an exemption. GU does not offer exemptions to vaccinations as they do not require them for online students. Clinical sites may not accept vaccination exemptions. Students should reach out to their student support and placement specialist and CFD to discuss any potential impacts on clinical placement.

After graduation, graduates may need to provide proof of certification of insurance (COI) to their employers. You may cut/paste the following in response to these graduate requests:

To request a COI, please provide your credentialing institution's medical staffing office or credentialing office representative with the following link to the GU Office of Risk Management: https://riskmanagement.georgetown.edu/contracts/certificates-of-insurance/. The institution's representative must provide a copy of your signed authorization for GU to release this information for credentialing purposes. With your signed authorization, they must submit a formal request for COI using the process outlined on the Office of Risk Management website.