Faculty Guidelines to

Collaborative Clinical Experiences and Student Success

Cone Health requires all newly hired clinical instructors, Cone Health employees new to the clinical faculty role, and those who have been out of the health system a year or more to complete the Faculty Orientation Program. Contact the Staff Education Department to coordinate the process 832-8173.

See the Clinical Placement web site for more information:

Cone Health Commitment to Community Schools, Faculty and Students

Cone Health is committed to providing quality experiences for students and faculty.

Some initiatives include:

A culture that values collaboration with our affiliate partners to provide exceptional clinical experiences

Welcoming Orientationsto incoming students

Pass Port clinical orientation process for students and faculty.

On-line Clinical Placement process

New-Faculty Orientation

Multiple clinical opportunities throughout the Cone Health system

Mosby’s Nursing Consultant resource on the Intranet

Frequent updates of new initiatives for clinical faculty

Faculty are invited to attend the annual Skills Fair and other continuing education classes

Faculty Commitment to Students

Student Supervision and Teaching.

It is the primary responsibility of the instructor to teach, supervise, and engage students while on the department. Staff is available to “help” the students; their primary responsibility is to patient care.

•Clinical day- No students are permitted on the department without instructor present.

Verify Orientation has been completed

•Ensure that students have completed both the Core and Cone Health orientation requirements

Provide Department Orientation

•Ensure each student has on proper attire (School and Cone Health dress code policy) and has a school photo ID on and visible while in clinical

•Verify orientation by sending the Clinical Orientation Agreement Form to Nursing Faculty Consultant (NFC). Due the first week of clinical

Provide private space for group meetings.

Faculty Commitmentto Staff

Maintaining open communication between faculty/student/and staff is imperative to patient safety and fosters a collegial relationship. It encourages a climate of collaboration and mentorship and adds to the overall positive clinical experiences between student, faculty, and staff.

Prior to the start of the clinical day,faculty must post a list of student patient-care responsibilities on the department and inform the patient’s primary nurse about these activities.

At the beginning of the shift and throughout the day,faculty should encourage collaboration between the student and patient’s primary nurse related to patient expectations and how the student can assist with patient care during the clinical experience.

Absence from clinical:If, for any reason, faculty finds it necessary to cancel a scheduled clinical day you must notify the department staff of your decision. They look forward to having your student’s and appreciate knowing when they will not be coming on the assigned shift.

Faculty Commitment to Department Leadership

Contact Department Directors/Leadership: Department Directors/Assistant Directors request that clinical faculty contact them prior tothe first day of clinicals. This information should be provided for out-rotations as well.

•Provide Leadership with clinical information

  • Type of Program, Clinical Course Objectives, Course Assignment info, Student group size and status (1st/2ndlevel ADN, LPN, NT, EMS), Jr/Sr level BSN, CMA)
  • Clinical calendar- days scheduled on department, start/end date of course and scheduled out-of-clinical rotation days, etc. beginning/end date (any scheduled off the dept. dates)

Conference and Storage Space: Space for pre/post conference and student meetings is limited throughout the system. Clinical faculty must arrange for a private meeting room for student pre/post conference or any group meeting. This can be done at every campus. You may want to ask the Department Leadership for space on the department, however, if there isn’t a room available on the department to accommodate your need please call the following room reservation contacts. MC- Mark Whitted 832-8176, MC Heart and Vascular Room- Robin Edwards 832-9999, WL- Krystal Williams 832-0140, WH- Contact Department Leadership, AP- Vickie Walker 951-4355.

•No group-meeting should be conducted in public areas.

Clinical Hours: Every effort must be made to begin the clinical day at the start of the “traditional” shift. 7A, 3P, 7P. Students should be available to participate in the reporting process. This eliminates the need for a second report from the nurse, miscommunication, and contributes to an overall smoother shift transition.

Faculty Commitment to Staff Education Department

If documentation and medication administration will be a required part of the clinical experience, please contact for information about how to request training and Cone Healthlink Access codes.

Faculty who intend students to use Cone Health’s computer charting system/pass medications must arrange training. Computer Access codes are required prior to the start of clinicals. Contact the NFC to arrange training and access to Cone HealthLink.

Submit the Clinical Orientation Agreement by the end of the first week of clinical

•This verifies that students have been oriented to the clinical department.

Have students completethe Clinical Exit Survey, for each department they have clinical experiences in. See Survey Monkey Link on the Clinical Placement Website.

Preceptor Guided Clinical

Collaborative Clinical Experiences and Student Success

Prior to the start of the clinical experience the Clinical Facilitator

Must request placementwith Nursing Faculty Consultant.

Must contactboth the preceptor and the Department Leadership to arrange orientation for the preceptor, and to provide student information.

Must provideorientation information to the preceptor.

•Overview of the preceptor relationship including each role and responsibility of preceptor, faculty, and student

•Goals and objectives for the clinical experience

•Specific preceptor responsibilities

•Method of clinical evaluation of student by preceptor and faculty

•Provide ongoing support to both the preceptor and the student

Must require student to contactthe preceptorbefore the start of the clinical experience in order to collaborate and to negotiate schedules, etc.

•Students are not permitted to just begin clinicals without having contacted the preceptor as instructed. This encourages a climate of collaboration and mentorship and adds to the overall positive clinical experiences between student, faculty, and staff.

We are looking forward to a wonderful collaborative relationship with your school.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns.

Contact Information

•Staff Education Department: 336-832-8173

•Andrea Bigelow, RN, MSN, 336.832.7386

•Connie Lewter RN, MSN, 336.832.4363

With our partnership, we can provide exceptional clinical experiences for students, faculty, staff, and most importantly our patients.