Clinical Learning Experiences

Clinical Site Placement

Clinical learning experiences afford students the opportunity to further use the theory and skills they have learned in their didactic course work. The Clinical Placement Office (CPO) functions as liaison between the graduate programs of the School of Nursing and the many clinical agencies and other entities with which it collaborates to provide appropriate placement sites.

Students are assigned to faculty-approved clinical learning sites  based on the learning objectives of the course. All students who participate in clinical education must be prepared to be flexible with scheduling requirements for placement rotations that  potentially include evening, nights, and weekends. This is particularly important for master of science in nursing (MSN) and post-graduate certificate (PGC) students who are placed in individually precepted clinical or systems sites. Although faculty and staff will make every effort to identify sites for precepted rotations as close to the student’s place of residence as possible, statutory regulations, requirements of health care provider sites, competition for sites, etc., may limit the location and selection of sites. MSN and PGC students may be required to attend a site in a state other than their resident state and/or to travel a significant distance within their resident state or another, depending on the availability of suitable sites. In most cases, the travel will be less than 120 miles or two hours. However, some students may be required to travel farther. MSN and PGC students should also be aware that in very rare instances, in order to finish the clinical requirements of a degree and graduate, they may need to relocate to North Carolina to finish the clinical or systems course requirements.

Students are expected to be responsive to the CPO and to actively participate in the process of securing clinical or system sites and/or preceptors. This means, at a minimum, that students will complete and submit all clinical placement information requested from the CPO staff by the designated due dates. It also means, to the extent possible, that students will assist the CPO staff by providing them with potential locations for site placements. Failure to be responsive may result in a delay of clinical sites.

Students are responsible for notifying their faculty advisors, Student Services (via Duke HUB) and CPO of residence changes in writing. Students contemplating a change in residence during the program should notify clinical faculty or faculty advisor to discuss implications of the change. The notification must occur as soon as possible in order to allow the CPO time to search for a new site. Depending upon the timing of the move and/or the location of the student’s new residence, the School of Nursing may not be able to guarantee that a clinical placement in any one location or state can be secured. Students are also responsible for changing their contact information (name, address, telephone numbers, etc.) in DukeHub.

Relocation to a state in which the School of Nursing is not authorized to operate may make it impossible to secure clinical placements within the new state. Although every effort will be made to work with students relocating to these areas, it may either delay or make it impossible to find a site in proximity to the new place of residence. Information regarding the states in which the DUSON is authorized to operate is available on the School of Nursing website.

Expectations/Requirements for Clinical Learning Experiences

The ABSN and MSN Programs provide detailed information about their expectations and requirements for student clinical experiences in their respective Student Handbooks. In order to participate in their required clinical learning experiences, students must comply with all requirements of their program.