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All students must have all compliance requirements met in American DataBank (ADB) before attending clinical/practicum or continuing in clinical/practicum. Please refer to “Professional Compliances” in the DNP Program Handbook for more information Students should keep copies of these documents. When sharing documents at clinical/practicum sites, write “copy” on any forms dispersed; this is a safety measure for the protection of your professional identification.
The student is responsible for tracking the required clinical hours per semester. At the end of each semester a summary of clinical hours should be provided to the Clinical faculty member. A copy of the students documented clinical hours will be maintained in the student’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing permanent file.
During the semester, students must communicate their clinical schedule to their Clinical faculty member. This can best be done by emailing or faxing a monthly calendar depicting the proposed schedule for clinical hours for the upcoming month. Any changes must be reported prior to the date of the change.
Professional development includes experiences the student pursues to develop as a D.N.P. leader. Each student is required to have 1000 practicum hours to complete the program. The practicum hours include activities that align with the D.N.P. Essentials. This does not include completing a literature review or writing/editing. Practicum hours do include planning and implementing the D.N.P. project. 450 hours are built into the required course work. 550 hours of practicum may be accepted from the master’s program if applicable to the D.N.P. Essentials. Leadership courses (NURS 832 and NURS 833) include a total of 150 hours of prescribed practicum experiences. The project development course, NURS 837, includes 75 practicum hours and the Project course (NURS 835) includes a total of 225 hours related to the project. The remaining practicum hours will be fulfilled within an individualized plan based on the student’s area of interest and are scheduled in NURS 834. Please note, practicum sites may be locations of employment, but the practicum hours may not be what a student does routinely as part of their job requirement. All practicum hours must be approved by the course faculty as part of the course expectations. It is expected that practicum hours in various courses not be repeated, but rather unique experiences intended to broaden the students development.
Students are required to wear appropriate professional conservative attire. Professional attire includes dress slacks or skirt and conservative top (no shorts or open-toed shoes). Students need to wear a lab coat* with a name tag. Both can be purchased at a uniform shop. Students attending summer intensives in Hershey will also need to wear a PSU Student ID in addition to the name tag and lab coat.
Note that some sites prefer students do NOT wear lab coats. Each student should check with the preceptor regarding this. If lab coats are not required by the site, a name tag should be worn at all times.
Some clinical facilities may have other requirements for their dress code. Students should check with their clinical faculty or the site to identify variations in the dress code. Non-compliance with the dress code policy will result in clinical failure.
PSU has changed to primarily issuing mobile student ID's, however some facilities require that you wear a student ID when attending as a student. This is currently a requirement for summer intensives in Hershey. A physical student ID card can be requested the following ways:
In person at NSO or at any operating campus.
ID Badge Office campus locations and contact information can be found here: Office Locations | id+ Office
Remote requests.
Steps to requesting a physical ID is done in 2 steps:
Step 1 - Follow steps listed here to upload your ID photo
Step 2 - Contact the University Park Badge Office via phone or email. Explain that you are a nursing graduate student and that you require a physical student ID and request that one be printed and mailed to you. Be sure to provide the mailing address you would like it sent to.
The name tag is always worn and should have the following lines:
Full name and currently earned educational credentials (Ex. RN, B.S.N.)
Nurse Practitioner Student
Penn State University
The lab coat may be ordered through the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s vendor for the current Penn State Logo, sewn above the breast pocket. They may also be purchased at the vendor of your choice. The logo is not required. The lab coats should be mid-thigh to knee length. (NP students do not wear the hip/waist-length jackets that the medical students wear as NP students are already licensed, professional RNs.)
New Look Uniform Shop
800 South 20th Street and Pleasant Valley Blvd.
Altoona, PA 16602
Phone: 814-944-5515
Toll Free: 800-752-7986
Website: http://newlookuniforms.com/
Email: NewLookUniform@yahoo.com
To order with New Look Uniform Shop, fill out this order form and email it to the email address listed above.
**Lab coats, name tags and PSU Student ID Badges are to be worn during summer intensives. TO ALLOW ENOUGH TIME FOR ORDER PROCESSING AND SHIPPING, YOU SHOULD PLACE YOUR ORDERS AT LEAST 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO WHEN YOU NEED THEM.
Graduate students choose their own clinical sites and preceptors when able, although faculty assist when needed. All preceptors must be approved by the course coordinator and clinical faculty member. Preceptors for nurse practitioner students can be nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physicians, or physician assistants but ideally, the graduate nurse practitioner student will spend more than 50% of their time with a nurse practitioner preceptor.
Students are encouraged to seek mentors who will provide a mentoring opportunity and are appropriately prepared academically. Examples of possible practicum mentors may include nurse administrators, organization administrators, licensed clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, coordinators of care, and licensed physicians. The mentor provides a curriculum vitae to the student and the mentor is approved by course faculty. Mentors who are educationally prepared at the doctoral level or hold an advanced degree in business such as a master's in business administration (MBA) are preferred. This mentor may not be a family member or close friend.
Students will need to evaluate the preferred practicum site for the requirement for an affiliation agreement. This is an agreement between the site and Penn State University/Penn State College of Nursing. Some sites require that an affiliation agreement be reached before any practicum hours, including the D.N.P. project, may be started. This also applies to students who are employees of the potential practicum site. Affiliation agreements may take up to 12 months to complete so identifying the site early in the academic plan of study is essential. Students will email the Clinical Placement Coordinator with the name of their preferred practicum site. If an affiliation agreement does not exist between the site and Penn State, the student will submit a Site Affiliation Agreement Request Form to the Clinical Placement Coordinator. Once the form is submitted, Penn State College of Nursing will initiate contact with the site to determine if an affiliation agreement is required. Students will be advised throughout the agreement process. In some instances, an agreement may not be reached between the site and Penn State. In that case, the student will be required to select another option for the practicum/clinical site. It is important to have a primary site choice identified for the practicum courses and alternate sites in mind.
Below are examples beyond the core project objectives. Please note that each of the items below must align with 1) a D.N.P. Essential and 2) a current D.N.P. class which has allotted practicum hours.
D.N.P. program practicum experiences are designed to provide (AACN, 2015):
Systematic opportunities for feedback and reflection.
In-depth work/mentorship with experts in nursing, as well as other disciplines.
Opportunities for meaningful student engagement within practice environments.
Opportunities for building and assimilating knowledge for advanced nursing practice at a high level of complexity.
Opportunities for further application, synthesis, and expansion of learning.
Experience in the context of advanced nursing practice within which the final D.N.P. Project is completed.
Opportunities for integrating and synthesizing all of the D.N.P. Essentials and role requirements necessary to demonstrate achievement of defined outcomes in an area of advanced nursing practice.
Topical areas for practicum may include:
Processes of care
Safety/Quality
Organizational leadership
Professional leadership
Health policy
Healthcare economics
Ethical issues
Population health
Interprofessional care
The College of Nursing uses a third-party service known as Typhon to track student progress in real time in clinical settings. All clinical and practicum experiences will be logged in the Typhon system. You will receive information about Typhon in the Canvas onboarding site and orientation. There is a one-time fee for use of Typhon and students are expected to pay the fee upon registering. An email will be sent during your first year with the student’s unique Typhon login and temporary password, and a link to the platform. The link is only active for 7 days from the date it was sent; it is recommended to set up the Typhon account as soon as you receive the email.
Several forms are found in Typhon that are used during clinical and practicum experiences. Forms include: 1) Preceptor Request, 2) Preceptor Agreement Form, and 3) Preceptor Evaluation of Student Performance. These forms and instructions can be found at https://www.nursing.psu.edu/ graduate-forms/. Be certain that the CURRENT course is used when completing the forms.
Nurse administrator
Organization administrator
Licensed Clinical Nurse Specialist, licensed Nurse Practitioner, Coordinator of Care
Licensed Physicians
Certified Nurse Midwife
Graduate students choose their own clinical sites and preceptors when able, although faculty assist when needed. All preceptors must be approved by the course coordinator and clinical faculty member. Preceptors for nurse practitioner students can be nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physicians, or physician assistants but ideally, the graduate nurse practitioner student will spend more than 50% of their time with a nurse practitioner preceptor.
Health policy internship
State Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
State Coalition of Nurse Practitioners
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Professional organization involvement
Department of Health
Ethics consultation/committee
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) epidemiology program
Institute for Healthcare Improvement online courses on systems safety and quality
Examples for practicum hours may include:
Key Informant/Stakeholder Interviews
Executives, non-profit leaders, committee chairs, community leaders.
*This is a great way to network and determine problems within a practice setting.
Windshield Surveys
Complete a full analysis of a neighborhood, school, clinic, healthcare, legislative district
*Helpful early on to understand a setting, population, needs, and problems.
Professional Conferences
Present, help organize, serve on the board, or attend
*Provide your advisor with objectives. If solely attending, please receive advisor permission to receive approval for practicum hours. Complete a reflection of your experience. Conferences are a great way to network, expand professional knowledge, and it’s a gateway to future service.
Professional Leadership
Serve on a professional organization, health department, school or service board.
Complete an internship
Sit on a board of directors meeting
Serve on a committee
Start being a peer reviewer for a journal
Book Group/Journal Club
Start or participate in a professional reading/journal club and discuss evidence-based practice and research findings
Complete a Fellowship
Certification
Attend/participate in review activities that are moderated
Earn a specialty certification
Certification Boards
Write items/review test questions for a certification board
Serve on the board for a certification
Knowledge Translation in Healthcare
Quality improvement pilot/small projects: physical, communication, culture, safety, medications, infection control, etc.
Alternative Clinical Experiences that are identified by students may be approved and included as accepted hours for clinical courses. Students must complete The Alternative Clinical Experience Request Form the semester before the alternative experience to obtain the necessary approval. Alternative experiences may include, but are not limited to local, national or international service projects specific to health care that serve to meet the course objectives. To qualify for these experiences students must: a) be progressing satisfactorily in the clinical course; b) receive approval from the Course Coordinator and Director; c) have identified an appropriate preceptor; d) obtain a signed Preceptor Agreement Form or Penn State CON contract prior to beginning the experience. Upon completion of the alternative clinical practicum work, students will provide a report as directed by Course Coordinator. The total number of direct patient contact hours that may be accepted for alternative experiences will be determined in advance by Course Coordinator but may not exceed 25% of the direct clinical hours for the course.
Approved by Graduate Affairs Committee 4/26/2010
The student enrolled in NURS 834 typically uses the practicum hours to advance clinical practice, explore potential areas of project interest and/or gain practicum experience that supports coursework required in the D.N.P. curriculum.
NURS 834 practicum experiences may include but are not limited to:
• Clinical practice experience
• Practice experience to determine where the project may be completed
• Practice experience internally within an organization for the purpose of networking (identifying key stakeholders) and planning a project
• Conference attendance (pre-approved by D.N.P. course faculty or D.N.P. adviser)
• Site visits
• Consultation with a national expert
• Participation on Boards, Professional Committees
• Participation in projects for professional organizations or other agencies
The NURS 837 and 835 practicum hours support the project and are directly related to the implementation of the student's unique area of project interest and completion of the project (implementation through dissemination).
The practicum hours are conducted in collaboration with a mentor. The mentor is located within the agency in which the project is to be carried out. The mentor agrees to collaborate with the student to facilitate the identification, implementation, and completion of practicum hours that support the student's successful completion of practicum hours and the final project.
NURS 837 and 835 practicum experiences may include but are not limited to:
• Planning meetings internal and external to the organization where the project will be implemented
• Meetings with the mentor
• Implementation planning within the organization
• Implementation of the project to include:
o Collecting project data
o Working directly with a biostatistician to interpret data
o Performing independent and/or collaborative quantitative data analysis using statistical programs
o Working directly with qualitative research experts to interpret data
o Qualitative data analysis
o Working directly with the IRB or leaders within the organization to achieve and/or maintain approvals to proceed with or carry out the project
o Providing the organization’s key stakeholders, administrators, IRB, etc. updates on project progress
There may be situations where the student is unable to complete the required clinical hours within the semester. If this occurs, the student can request a deferred grade (DF) in the course until the required hours are completed. The student must have the approval of their Clinical Faculty to extend clinical experiences and must arrange for supervision of these clinical rotations with a Clinical Faculty member. Approval of the Director of the program is also required.
For an NP student, it is important that the student inform the Clinical Faculty when the hours are completed and their Typhon log is updated, so that a completed grade can be processed for the student. Students have no later than 12 weeks after the course end date as noted on the Registrar's Schedule of Courses. These incomplete hours cannot be acquired during the break between fall and spring semesters and can only be acquired in the summer if the appropriate supervision can be arranged.
All nursing majors have clinical experiences in a variety of settings at Hershey Medical Center, University Park, and their local areas that will require travel to a clinical site. The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing requires that students assume responsibility for providing their own transportation to and from the clinical site. The use of a car and/or carpooling is a necessity.