Clinical Assignment Paperwork & Training Requirements
Before beginning any clinical assignment, students must complete required paperwork in addition to USM Health Requirements. These requirements will be communicated directly by the clinical coordinator once a student is assigned to a clinical site.
CCPS – Centralized Clinical Placement System Training
Most clinical sites require CCPS training, with the exceptions of St. Mary's Hospital and India Street.
Completing CCPS takes approximately 2–4 hours.
Before starting clinical, you must complete all required CCPS training modules and post-tests.
You will also need to submit an Electronic Acknowledgement Form (known as a "ticket"), which confirms completion. USM audits these tickets each semester to ensure compliance before students can attend clinical.
Once you receive your official clinical assignment, you will be given instructions on how to complete CCPS training and submit necessary paperwork.
Site-Specific Clinical Paperwork
In addition to CCPS training and USM Health Requirements, each clinical site may have its own paperwork and orientation requirements. These may include (but are not limited to):
Reviewing the clinical site's CCPS page, if applicable.
Signing hospital policy and confidentiality agreements, along with other required documents.
Completing in-person or online orientation/computer training, which may take place before classes start.
Attending in-person fit testing, which may also occur before classes start.
Applying for a parking pass and/or student badge.
The clinical coordinator will provide each student with specific instructions on what paperwork is required and how to complete it.
CMMC – Central Maine Health Care (Lewiston)
ED – Emergency Department
ICU – Intensive Care Unit
M2 – Orthopedics
M3 – Maternity
M4 – Adult Medical/Surgical
SSU – Short Stay Unit (Medical/Surgical, ICU)
T1 – Medical/Surgical/Telemetry
T3 – Cardiopulmonary
Y3 – Intermediate Care Unit (higher acuity than med/surg but lower than ICU)
MG – Maine General Medical Center (Augusta)
Behavioral – Mental Health
Combined Child/Repro Unit
Med/Surg
Mercy - Northern Light Mercy Hospital (Portland)
2B – Medical/Surgical
5B – Telemetry
Mercy Birthplace – Maternity
MMC - MaineHealth – Maine Medical Center (Portland)
BBCH - Barbara Bush Children's Hospital
Bean 2 – Ortho Post-Op
Bean 5 - Respiratory w/embedded IMC unit
CFT7 – Oncology
FBC - Family Birth Centre
MFT4B – CICU
MFT5 – Cardiac Telemetry
P3CD – Adult Medical/Surgical
R1 – Surgical Cardiology
R2 – Express Admission Unit, Telemetry Monitoring, and Acute Care
R3 – Adult Medical/Surgical
R4K – Surgical Oncology
R5 – Nephrology and Urology (including chronic multisystem diseases)
R6 – Neurosurgical/Trauma Unit and Neuro-Focused Intermediate Care
MMC Biddeford - MaineHealth – Maine Medical Center Biddeford (formerly SMHC – Southern Maine Healthcare)
MS3 – Medical/Surgical
MS4 – Medical/Surgical
MMC Sanford - MaineHealth – Maine Medical Center Sanford (formerly SMHC – Southern Maine Healthcare)
MHU – Behavioral Health
Mid Coast - MaineHealth – Mid Coast Hospital (Brunswick) (formerly Mid Coast Hospital)
FBC - Family Birth Center
MS – Medical/Surgical
Spring Harbor SH - MaineHealth – Behavioral Health at Spring Harbor (Portland) (formerly Spring Harbor Hospital)
Mental Health Nursing Clinicals throughout the facility
Stephens - MaineHealth – Stephens Hospital (Norway) (formerly Stephens Memorial Hospital)
Medical/Surgical
Riverview - Riverview Psychiatric Center (Augusta)
Mental Health Nursing Clinicals throughout the facility
St. Mary’s Hospital (Lewiston)
Behavioral Health
C3 – Surgical (and Medical Overflow)
NUR 325 Adult I Clinical - 112 hours
NUR 331 Mental Health Clinical - 56 hours
NUR 422 or NUR 428 Reproductive Nursing Clinical or Pediatric Clinical - 56 hours (students complete one or the other)
NUR 425 Adult II Clinical - 112 hours (if taken before spring 2024 56 hours)
NUR 480 Practicum - 154 hours (increasing to 168 hours effective Spring 2026)
Course Registration Instructions
Students enrolling in any clinical course (NUR 325, 331, 341, 422, 425) or most labs (NUR 313, 329, 413, 417, 418 but not including 301 and 307) should register for the TBD (to be determined) open section of these courses in Mainestreet.
Placement Preference Surveys
Students will receive a Google survey via email to rank their clinical, partnership, and lab placement preferences as: Preferred, Acceptable, Not Preferred
While we make every effort to accommodate preferences, students may still be placed in "not preferred" sections and are required to attend the clinical, lab, or partnership to which they are assigned.
Survey Timeline:
Fall Clinicals – Surveys sent in April or May
Spring Clinicals – Surveys sent in late October or November
Summer Clinicals – Surveys sent in March
Clinical placements may not be finalized until shortly before the semester begins.
Final Placement & Registration Updates
Near the start of the semester:
Near the start of the semester, final clinical sections and relevant labs will be assigned, including date, time, and location.
Your Mainestreet registration will be updated to reflect your clinical placement.
Once placements are finalized for a specific clinical type (e.g., Mental Health Clinical), you will receive an email with details and action steps.
These requirements must be completed before clinicals start. In some cases, you may have less than a week to submit paperwork, so it is essential to check your email daily, including during breaks and holidays. Requirements may include: Online training modules, paperwork submission, In-person requirements (e.g., fit testing or computer training)
How Placement Decisions Are Made
Dr. Provost, along with the School of Nursing staff, determines clinical placements using the following process:
Survey Review - We receive and review survey responses. Students who fail to complete the survey by the deadline are placed last, in any remaining spots.
Data Processing - Survey results are exported to a spreadsheet for analysis.
Special Considerations - The comments section is reviewed for priority accommodations (example documented medical conditions affecting clinical availability).
Use of a Random Name Generator - in some cases, if a particular placement is overwhelmingly popular in order to be fair ab out who gest that placement we employ a random name generator to select students.
**Students DO NOT complete any of these hospital specific instructions until you receive an email from the department notifying you of your specific clinical placement day/time and instructor. **
Northern Light Mercy Hospital
Students are closely supervised by their clinical instructor throughout their clinical experience. Each time a student performs a new procedure or administers medication, the instructor observes and evaluates their technique and understanding until they are confident in the student’s ability. In addition to this supervision, patients assigned to students are also under the care of a staff nurse who remains legally responsible for their own assignment. Because of this, students must keep the staff nurse informed about their patient’s status at all times.
At the beginning of the clinical rotation, instructors will outline their specific expectations. Student assignments are determined at the discretion of the clinical instructor and may be posted in advance of the clinical shift. Once assigned, students begin their research on the diagnosis and patient care goals using the Clinical Report Sheet. This process includes identifying key areas of concern, planning appropriate care, and reviewing the patient’s medical record to understand prescribed medications and their implications.
During the clinical day, students will assess and monitor their patients, communicate with patients and their families, collaborate with other healthcare providers, and provide basic care such as bathing and feeding. They will also administer medications and, when appropriate, perform certain procedures in accordance with site policies and instructor approval. As students gain confidence and demonstrate proficiency, they may be assigned more than one patient, provided both they and their instructor feel comfortable with this progression.
For every clinical rotation students will get a clinical letters from their instructor. These are posted in Brightspace and typically come out about a week before the clinical begins.
Clinical letters include information on where to meet faculty on the first day, what to wear, where to park, and other information related to the first day of clincial.
Clinical attendance is mandatory.
If a student, due to extraordinary circumstances, must miss a clinical experience, the instructor must be notified prior to the time of the clinical. Clinical make-up and an alternative assignment will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Nonattendance at clinical for work or personal events such as travel or a vacation are not acceptable absences and will impact your grade.