Standards

Technical Standards

Nursing education requires that the accumulation of knowledge be accompanied by the acquisition of skills, professional attitudes, and behavior so that the graduate may assume specific role responsibilities in a safe and competent manner. LSUHNO School of Nursing provides graduates with a broad and basic preparation for professional nursing practice.

The LSUHNO School of Nursing complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and has determined that certain technical standards must be met by prospective candidates and students. Reasonable accommodation will be made for otherwise qualified persons with disabilities. All individuals must be able to perform independently; therefore, an applicant to the program, or an enrolled student, must possess and be able to demonstrate the skills, attributes, and qualities set forth below, without unreasonable dependence on technology or intermediaries.

Observational Ability

Observation necessitates the use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities. The student must have visual acuity and perception to make accurate observations, both close at hand and at a distance. The student is expected to be able to observe the patient holistically to accurately assess the presence of any illness or an alteration of health.

To provide quality nursing care, the student is expected to possess functional use of the senses of vision, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. All data received by the senses must be integrated, analyzed, and synthesized in a consistent and accurate manner. Examples of observational ability are, but are not limited to, the abilities to measure intake and output accurately; work with multiple tubes, drains, and monitoring equipment; visually assess patients and machines, including color recognition; make fine discriminations in sound and be able to hear alarms, emergency signals, patient requests, or cries for help; and assess by palpitation, auscultation, and percussion. In addition, the student is expected to possess the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, equilibrium, and movement.

Communication

The student is expected to be able to effectively communicate, both verbally, and non-verbally. This requires the ability to see, speak, hear, read, write, and effectively utilize the English language. The student must be able to relate to others regardless of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds. The student must elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. The student must be able to communicate effectively, therapeutically, and sensitively with patients, in oral and written form, and with all members of the health care team. Examples of communication are, but are not limited to, the ability to explain treatment procedures, initiate health teaching, document and interpret nursing actions and patient responses, and maintain composure when discussing a serious situation(s).

Motor Function and Coordination

The student is expected to have the psychomotor skills necessary to perform or assist with procedures, treatments, administration of medications, and emergency interventions. The student is expected to be able to perform gross and fine motor movements required to provide holistic nursing care, to maintain consciousness and equilibrium, have the physical strength and stamina to perform satisfactorily in clinical nursing experiences, and to have the functional use of the sense of touch, hearing, and vision. Examples of motor function and coordination for patient care include, but are not limited to, turning, transferring, transporting, exercising the patients, performing CPR, administering medication, applying pressure to stop bleeding, suctioning of obstructed airways, performing physical examinations, clean and sterile procedures, specimen collection, and venipuncture(s). All students must be able to sit, walk, stand, and maneuver in small spaces. Assessments may also require the student to bend, squat, reach, kneel, or balance. The student must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads.

Behavioral and Social Attributes

The student is expected to have the emotional stability, maturity, and self-discipline to fully utilize intellectual abilities, exercise sound judgment, complete assessment, intervention activities, and develop sensitive interpersonal relationships with patients, families, and others responsible for health care. The student is expected to have the flexibility to function effectively under stress and to competently function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical setting. Compassion, integrity, honesty, accountability, altruism, autonomy, and motivation are necessary personal qualities.

Intellectual-Conceptual Ability

The student must possess critical thinking for sound clinical judgment, develop problem-solving skills, and demonstrate the ability to establish care plans and priorities. The student must possess cognitive skills and learning abilities to acquire, assimilate, integrate, and apply information. Intellectual-Conceptual abilities includes, but is not limited to, the ability to identify cause-effect relationships in clinical situations; apply the nursing process; read and comprehend health care information; learn materials presented in class and apply it to patient care; measure, calculate, analyze, and categorize; apply data based on conclusions arrived through critical thinking; synthesize objective as well as subjective data; and make decisions that reflect consistent and thoughtful deliberation of the appropriate data.

Each student must meet and continue to meet all of the TECHNICAL STANDARDS set forth above. If a student fails to demonstrate all of the required TECHNICAL STANDARDS, the student may be denied permission to continue in the educational programs of the School of Nursing.

E-mail and Computer Literacy

The LSUHSC email is the principle method of communication. All students are issued an LSUHSC email address once the admission process is complete. Students are required to access emails within a 24-hour period for school-related communication and respond to school-related communication within a 24-hour period. All students must use their LSUHSC email for school-related communication. All students are required to create an email signature. The email signature must include, student’s first and last names, program enrolled in, level in the program, and emplid#.

Students must have computer literacy and must possess the skills to perform basic computer, software, editing, internet, and browsing skills. Literacy skills are, but not limited to:

• Locating, opening, and closing files
• Using a word processor to create, edit, and save documents
• Cutting, copying, and pasting text from one document to another
• Toggling between two applications
• Uploading and downloading files
• Finding and using the Internet Explorer browser on our computer
• Configuring computer browser to send e-mail
• Locating web sites when using a www address (URL)
• Searching the internet for specific topics

Compliance with American Disabilities Act Standard

The LSUHNO School of Nursing adheres to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Public Law #93-112, S504 as amended in 1997). The Assistant Dean for Student Services of the School of Nursing is the point of contact for initiating, receiving, and monitoring referrals for evaluation, treatment, and accommodation requests.  Any student needing special accommodations to complete a course, must submit written documentation outlining the accommodations required. The student must submit the accommodation request within five (5) working days of the beginning of each semester while enrolled. Students meet with the Assistant Dean for Student Services or the Dean to process the documentation of disability, as outlined in the recommendations of the Psychoeducational evaluation. The student must submit accommodation request within five (5) working days of the beginning of the semester. The student must send an email with courses enrolled in and the names of the course coordinators.

If the student has a change in accommodation needs during the semester, the student must meet with the Assistant Dean for Student Services or the Dean to submit outlined accommodation needs. Please refer to SS-3 American Disabilities Act Standards.

Compliance with HIPAA

The Administration Simplification Subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires that identifiable patient information is only disclosed on a need to know basis. Only minimal amounts of information necessary to accomplish the task is disclosed. Every effort to minimize incidental disclosures must be taken. The minimum disclosure standard does not apply to requests for information by a healthcare provider for treatment purposes. For example, if one must administer a medication, full access to the medical record is allowed and covered by the patient’s consent for treatment.

In order to protect patient/client privacy, all personal identifiable information must be removed from student papers, care plans, and case studies. The individual’s name, initials, address, phone number, fax number, and social security number, must be removed. Written documents containing private health information must be either carefully stored or shredded to prevent the circulation of confidential patient information (photo copying is not allowed). Confidentiality and privacy also includes oral communications beyond the need to know for treatment and/or educational purposes.

HIPAA regulations require students to meet any and all of the clinical agency’s requirements as part of the clinical affiliation. Wrongful disclosure could result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Policy on Student Evaluation of Courses

Students are required to evaluate courses, faculty, and clinical agencies at the end of each semester. Students failing to complete the evaluation process will receive an “Incomplete” grade and will be unable to progress in program until the evaluation is complete.