These individuals are selected by their peers to represent the students enrolled in particular courses. They participate in appropriate course meetings and can place items on the course meeting agenda for discussion. They serve as a liaison between the students and course faculty, bringing information and concerns from the students to the faculty in a professional manner and channeling information from the faculty to the students. They are expected to be knowledgeable about course matters and to establish and maintain a viable communication system with the students so that they can speak on their behalf.
This faculty member is responsible for the overall organization and administration of a particular course. He/she orients students to the courses, establishes a system of faculty/student communication, makes all arrangements for the theoretical and clinical components of the course so that they are consistent with course objectives, informs students of changes in University and/or School of Nursing policies and in course requirements and schedules, compiles and reports grades in collaboration with course faculty, develops a plan for course evaluation and meets with student course representatives to discuss ideas and concerns regarding the course whenever appropriate.
If these customary channels do not satisfy the need or concern under consideration, students may consult directly with the associate dean for academic affairs or dean.
All upper division traditional and ABS nursing majors must have access to a portable computer that they can bring to class. Faculty will be utilizing online resources for academic learning activities and examinations. Laptops must meet the University’s technology/software requirements for undergraduate students.
Participation in clinical laboratory experiences by nursing students necessitates that particular attention be given to protection of the health of both students and the public with whom they come in contact. Certain preventive measures on the part of nursing students are, therefore, required.
Each student must assume responsibility for meeting health requirements established by the School and/or the various agencies that are utilized.
All students must have a physical examination including required health professional immunizations and a PPD test before starting the program. A health appraisal form must be completed yearly. PPD must be repeated annually. If the test is positive or not done, a chest x-ray is required. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has declared student nurses to be one of the groups most at risk for Hepatitis B. Therefore, all undergraduate students are required to have the Hepatitis B vaccine. Students must start this series of injections prior to the deadline set in their admissions letter and complete it on track in order to start and participate clinical experiences. In addition, the School of Nursing requires documentation of a chicken pox titer or a documented history of having had chicken pox. Other immunization requirements may be required to meet health requirements of various health agencies and New York State Department of Health, such as influenza and COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements will be communicated to the students as necessary.
UB School of Nursing (SON) students are required to rotate through hospital-based clinics in order to complete the program. All SON students must comply with New York State Department of Health immunization requirements for hospital personnel in order to participate in hospital-based rotations.
A student may need to withdraw from nursing courses in order to allow time to receive treatment and improve his/her health condition and to maintain the safety of clients. Refer to leave of absence and withdrawal policies in the undergraduate policies section.
Patient confidentiality at the facilities used by the University at Buffalo, State University of New York School of Nursing is considered to be of primary importance. In addition to each facility policy, a federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires patient health information to be kept confidential. Patients and their families have a right to deal with their health information use in a private and secure manner, trusting that their privacy will be maintained. In order to protect this right to confidentiality and to comply with federal and state laws, students must agree to hold all information (including, but not limited to, patient names, their medical information and relevant agency information) gained through their clinical assignments at any facility used by the University at Buffalo, State University of New York School of Nursing in strictest confidence. Confidentiality includes, but is not limited to, not discussing patients or their medical conditions with persons who do not have a need to know and not removing any documents with individually identifiable patient data from the facility.
Students need to understand the terms of this Confidentiality Policy and agree to abide by the above requirements. Students also need to understand that any breach of a patient’s confidentiality may result in disciplinary action against them and possible removal from the clinical site to which they have been assigned.
The privacy rule of HIPAA requires that all agencies be able to demonstrate that they have trained their employees and others who do business with them so that they understand all the privacy procedures required by this rule. Clinical agencies require that we provide evidence that faculty and students have met this requirement. Students must complete the HIPPA tutorial provided by the School of Nursing. Clinical agencies require documentation of orientation to their facilities as well as completion of content related to HIPAA regulation.
Undergraduate students are expected to maintain a professional appearance in the Clinical Skills Lab, Health Assessment Lab, and clinical settings. Students are also expected to comply with agency policy, which may vary from site to site:
Note: Clinical facilities may have specific requirements in addition to those listed above (e.g. tattoos, jewelry, etc.) Students are expected to follow the guidelines of the clinical facility under those circumstances. It is expected that students will comply with the above dress code and maintain high standards of personal cleanliness and always groomed when they are in the clinical area or are representing the School of Nursing. The clinical faculty/preceptor has the right and responsibility to use discretion in advising students that they are out of compliance and may request a student to leave the clinical site.
The complete student uniform consists of the following:
Note: UB School of Nursing scrubs should only be worn during assigned educational clinical experiences on or off campus. UBSON scrubs may be worn during travel to and from clinical experiences; however, they should not be worn when working for pay in a community agency, when engaged in social activities in commercial settings, or other public venues.
Some clinical agencies may require students to wear an agency ID badge in addition to the Nursing ID. In the event a cost is associated with an agency ID badge, the School of Nursing will pay a one-time fee for the badge. Students will be responsible for any replacement cost in the event an agency ID badge is lost.
The complete student uniform consists of the following:
Scrubs are a clinically based uniform and not appropriate in most community settings.
Students will receive specific information, from the course coordinator, regarding day and time for clinical placements prior to the start of each rotation. Clinical placements may occur any day of the week (including weekends) and shifts will vary, but will not interfere with other required learning activities.
Clinical assignments are arranged in several community agencies and settings. These placements require individuals to have access to transportation (car or public). Students are responsible for their transportation to assigned clinical settings and any parking fees on site. Carpooling is recommended when possible.
Based on direct observation, records will be utilized by individual instructors to formulate an evaluation of the student's performance at the completion of each laboratory experience. Evaluation is as follows:
Submit the form for registration in graduate courses for graduate credit.
A student must achieve a minimal final course grade of 75% (C+) for successful completion of all undergraduate courses in the nursing program. A student must achieve an 83% (B) for all graduate level courses taken in the nursing program.
Students must achieve at least a 75 average on all exams within the course before points from other graded course requirements will be included in the final grade. Each individual examination score is reported to the hundredth place and not rounded up. Individual assignments and test grades will be carried to the second decimal place throughout the semester. Only the final grade is rounded to the nearest whole number using standard mathematical rounding. If the student does not achieve a 75 average on the exams, the student’s final course grade will be the unrounded exam average.
Individual assignments and test grades will be carried to the second decimal place throughout the semester.
Exam 1 = 74.27; Exam 2 = 83.49; Exam 3 = 79.16; Final = 80.26
Individual grades are then added and weighted for a final grade.
74.27 + 83.49 + 79.16 + 80.26 = 317.18/4 = 79.25
Only the final grade is rounded to the nearest whole number using standard mathematical rounding.
79.25 = 79
Standard mathematical rounding requires the first digit after the decimal to be at least 0.5 to round up.
74.6 would be recorded as 75 and 74.49 would be recorded as 74.
Students must maintain the required C+ or “Pass” (P) or higher in all upper-division nursing courses*:
*Upper-division nursing courses are those required for graduation, taken by a student following acceptance as an approved nursing major.
**Academic days are defined as weekdays when classes are in session, not including the summer or winter sessions.
While some courses satisfy the requirements of multiple programs, students must enroll in the course sections specified for their official program. While the course description and learning outcomes are the same, in some cases the planned learning activities are specific to a population’s educational plan and experience. In particular, online RN to BS sections are geared toward the licensed professional nurse while the seated section is for pre-licensure nursing students (traditional and ABS programs). Pre-licensure ABS students may petition the Undergraduate Program Committee to take a section not designated for their official program but for another pre-licensure program if the course is not full. Traditional students will not be permitted to take summer ABS accelerated format course. ABS students would not be eligible to take fall semester one coursework in traditional cohort.
Progression is also dependent upon acceptable professional behavior. All rules of the Board of Trustees of SUNY, and all of the laws of the City of Buffalo, the Town of Amherst, the State of New York and the United States of America apply on campus and are considered part of the Student Code of Conduct. Additionally, students must immediately notify the assistant dean for undergraduate programs of all criminal arrests and convictions. While criminal proceedings will not automatically bar a student from participating in clinical situations, the academic field assistant dean must assess each individual set of circumstances to determine if the student will be allowed to participate in such clinical situations. In some circumstances, a student with a pending criminal matter may be required to refrain from participating in clinical situations until the criminal matter is resolved.
Professional behaviors such as accountability, responsibility and promptness are expectations of all nursing students. These behaviors are monitored by faculty in each course and consistent patterns of unprofessional behavior will be documented and addressed with students through an action plan for improvement. Failure to meet professional behavior expectations may affect progression and retention in the nursing program.
Evidence of any of the following behaviors, which will be documented and kept in the student's file, may result in verbal admonition, action plan for improvement, reduction in course grade, failure and/or dismissal from the program. Those behaviors with an asterisk (*) are especially serious and can result in immediate suspension from the course and/or dismissal from the program.
A form will be utilized to document faculty concerns related to unsatisfactory professional behavior and/or inadequate performance. The form is to be signed by the student and the faculty member and placed in the student's file.
The course coordinator and associate dean for clinical programs will be notified of documented behaviors. The associate dean for clinical programs in consultation with the course coordinator and faculty may dismiss a student from a course and/or the nursing program if behavior is especially serious and flagged with an asterisk (*) in the Professional Behavior section.
A student who does not fulfill one or more of these requirements at any time will be notified in writing by the appropriate administrative officer of the School of Nursing:
A student who is dismissed may petition (in writing) the Undergraduate Program Committee through the director of student services within 45 academic days* from the date of dismissal. Petition procedures are as follows:
*Academic days are defined as weekdays when classes are in session, not including the summer or winter sessions.
Students who are on probation are not eligible to take further nursing coursework but are eligible to take courses outside of the School of Nursing. In making decisions regarding progression of students who are out of sequence in the nursing program, individuals will be allowed to continue on a space-available basis (in non-clinical coursework). Please see Program Specific Guidelines policy for details. Students in good academic standing within the School of Nursing who maintain continuous registration in required nursing courses will receive priority. The remaining students may be given priority based on their cumulative and upper-division nursing GPAs at the time the decision is made.
A student who is dismissed from the RN to BS program may petition (in writing) to the Undergraduate Program Committee through the director of student services. Petition procedures are as follows:
The competent and safe practice of medication calculation and administration is a critical component of professional nursing practice. The UB School of Nursing has the responsibility to prepare graduates to safely and competently calculate and administer medications and intravenous fluids in a variety of healthcare settings.
Each undergraduate student is required to pass a medication calculation/IV therapy examination comprised of 10 test items for each of the following clinical courses NSG 313, 317, 412, 416. A passing grade of 90% is required to pass medications. Students not successful after the initial attempt will be given remediation and a second opportunity to meet the 90% proficiency. Students who do not achieve 90% after a second attempt will receive an F in the clinical course. To further, evaluate students’ proficiency with medication calculation, each corresponding theory course (NSG 312, 316, 411, 415), will include medication, math, and IV therapy test items (3–5), which are relevant to the course content, on each examination given in the course.
To facilitate student achievement, the following activities are provided:
Students requesting leave from the University at Buffalo School of Nursing first must contact the Office of Student Services. Learn about leave of absence criteria.
Assessments and SSPs (Safe Skills Proficiency) ensure students are prepared to provide safe, quality nursing care. SSPs are tied to a student’s coursework and failure of these skills may result in failure of the course or dismissal in the program if the student is currently on probation. Students returning after a leave of absence from clinical due to a course failure or scheduled leave will be required to complete and pass all assessment(s) and required SSPs below, by the given deadline (at least 30 days prior to the 1st day of classes in the term they are returning). Approved leave of absence requests are only for the term listed. Failure to complete and pass all SSPs and assessments listed below by the stated deadline, will result in the automatic forfeiture of your returning seat in the program. Students are responsible for contacting laboratory coordinator well in advance of the stated deadline to arrange a time to meet assessment requirements. Returning students will be given access to courses containing the assessments and SSPs prior to coming to campus and are expected to come to the lab with adequate knowledge of the material. Returning students must demonstrate a commitment to learning and will not be retaught the assessment material. The assessment(s) will include:
*Unless repeating NSG 312 Science of Professional Nursing Practice/NSG 313 Science of the Professional Nursing Practice Practicum.
Based upon each student’s performance on the above assessments and SSPs, students will be provided one opportunity to remediate and re-demonstrate. If the first attempt is not successful, the second attempt will be reviewed or evaluated by the skills/course coordinator prior to a final decision made. If the course coordinator does not find the repeated skill and/or assessment equivalent to passing the requirement the student will not be allowed to progress in the program and their seat will be forfeited.
Objective type examinations (true/false, multiple choice, etc.) are primarily evaluation tools. Because the items on these examinations are constantly being evaluated for reliability, difficulty level and discrimination ability, with appropriate refinements being made, it is essential that these examinations be retained by the faculty. Along with this right to retain all copies of the examination go certain responsibilities:
Students also have corresponding rights and responsibilities related to the review of objective examinations:
Essay type examinations, term papers, written care plans, etc., have significant potential for student learning and students can often utilize these long after the particular assignment has been completed. These examinations and assignments, which often contain the faculty member's written critique, should be returned to the students. This does not interfere with the students' right to discuss the examination or assignment with faculty nor relieve students of the responsibility for making appointments with faculty for these discussions.
Independent study is meant to allow students an opportunity to engage in individualized learning outside required curriculum, under the guidance of an appropriate faculty member. In some cases, an independent study may address a special topic area that the student in interested in developing, or may be related to an internship opportunity in the community. In order to participate in such an experience, the student must have a prior agreement with a faculty member who is willing to sponsor and supervise his/her work.
Outstanding undergraduate students can enrich their education and gain personal recognition through participation in a supervised teaching experience with a nursing faculty member. In concert with the faculty member, student teachers will have an opportunity to develop their leadership, management, teaching, technology and presentation skills in a course previously completed. Typically, instructors recruit students when they are in need.
Eligible students are those who previously completed the course and earned a grade of A or A- or have prior experience in the subject and have a GPA of 3.0.
Required student teacher activities:
A letter grading system will be used. Grading will be based on an established contract/rubric for the specific course.
The faculty mentor has the right to terminate the mentorship based on student teacher’s attendance, participation, dependability, quality of work and academic standing.
Errors in health care have been identified as the third leading cause of death in the US (Makary & Daniel, 2016). To promote student awareness and engagement in creating and promoting of an ongoing culture of safety, the following guidelines will be used when a student is involved in a miss or near miss.
A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage; in other words, a miss that was nonetheless very near.
For example, penicillin was ordered for a patient allergic to the drug; however, the pharmacist was alerted to the allergy during computer order entry, the prescriber was called, and the penicillin was not dispensed or administered to the patient. Or the wrong drug was dispensed by pharmacy, and a nurse caught the error before it was administered to the patient.
Steps to address:
A miss (error) is an unplanned event, situation or error that occurred (completed in that the patient was the object of the error). An injury, illness or damage may have occurred but had a high potential to occur.
For example, a patient is at high risk for falls and is placed on fall precautions (yellow blanket, yellow booties, bed alarm engaged and bed in low position). The patient got out of bed unassisted and fell resulting in a fractured hip. The bed alarm was not engaged.
Steps to address:
Makary, M., & Daniel, M. (2016). Medical error – the third leading cause of death in the US. British Medical Journal, 353, i2139. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2139
Students who participate in clinical experiences must maintain current documentation of having completed a course on Basic Life Support (including both adults and pediatrics) for health care providers while in the nursing program. This course, along with appropriate documentation, must be obtained through the American Heart Association. Online CPR certifications are not accepted.
If the student is unable to fulfill this requirement due to physical inability to perform the procedures, he/she must provide medical documentation from a health care provider. Although the student has a disability, he/she must still provide evidence that a course was completed. This is in case the disabled student finds himself/herself in an emergency situation in which he/she is the only health care provider available who can verbally guide another individual through the process of rendering basic life support measures.
Students are required to have a current BLS certification prior to any clinical nursing activity. Failure to provide documentation of BLS will prohibit the student’s participation in and passing of clinical nursing courses. Be sure to submit a copy of BLS card to the Office of Student Services, Beck Hall, to remain in the program and participate in clinical courses.
Jennifer Schreier
Senior Director of Student and Academic Services
Student Services