KapiolaniCommunity College

Respiratory Care Program

RESP 312

Clinical Expectations/Clinical Contract

The following policies pertain to RESP 312. Failure to follow these policies may result in termination of clinical practice at the assigned clinical sites(s). Department managers, supervisors, preceptors, and program faculty have the right to terminate clinical practice if the student fails to conduct himself or herself in a prudent and professional manner, or continues to practice in an unsafe manner which jeopardizes patient safety. The student is also required to follow established departmental and hospital rules and regulations.

Attendance

Attendance at every clinical experience is mandatory. Absences must be reported to the faculty, the agency involved, and the student’s preceptor (if applicable) prior to the expected time of arrival at the clinical site. Clinical absences may result in failure of the course. Specific arrangements for clinical makeup will be individualized to the students’ needs and will be at the discretion of the clinical faculty and course instructor. All clinical time missed must be made up in the clinical area.

Failure to complete the minimum hours of clinical practicum experience will result in failure of the class. Missed days must be made up prior to the end of the semester. Students with a documented medical or family emergency will be considered for granting an incomplete grade for the class. Granting of the incomplete grade is at the discretion of the instructor and is not automatic. An incomplete grade will only be granted if there is reasonable expectation the student will complete the requirements for the course.

Students should schedule all non-emergency appointments (dentist, doctor, other) and classes outside of clinical hours. Students are not to leave clinical sites early for work. Work schedules must not interfere with clinical time. In the event of a conflict, the clinical takes precedence. Accommodations may be made, but are not automatic and are dependant on clinical and clinical instructor/preceptor schedules.

Procedure:

  1. if a student must be absent or late (tardy) on a clinical day, the student will call the clinical preceptor or representative no later than 2 hours before the start of the clinical or shift. Students must notify Aaron Koseki at 734-9224 or via email at on the day of the absence or late arrival.
  2. Within three (3) days of an absence, the student will notify Aaron Koseki of his/her plan for completing the missed clinical time. Failure to notify Aaron Koseki of an absence and/or the plan for completing the missed clinical time may result in failure of the class.

Note: tardiness is defined as arriving to the designated clinical unit or meeting place anytime after the designated start of clinical.

Dress Code

Professional appearance is required for all clinical areas. A student may be dismissed from the clinical setting for unprofessional dress. The student will be required to make up the clinical.

Professional attire is defined as Respiratory Care student scrubs, KCC patch on lab coats, and ID badges (KCC badges and hospital issued ID badges if required).

Additional guidelines: follow the policies outlined in the student handbook.

Behavior

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner when in the clinical area and all other public places when representing the Kapiolani Community College Respiratory Care Program. A student may be dismissed from the clinical setting for not meeting the standards of professional behavior. Action taken at the time of the incident will be at the discretion of the clinical instructor and course instructor.

The welfare and safety of the patient should be of first concern. Information acquired from patient interaction or from the patient’s chart is strictly confidential.

Clinical Failure

Clinical failure is the inability to meet one or more clinical objectives and behaviors at a satisfactory level. Failing the clinical portion of a course will result in failure of the entire program for which clinical is a component.

A student demonstrating unsatisfactory, unsafe, or unprofessional performance during a semester will be notified in writing by the course instructor. A learning contract directed at correcting unsatisfactory performance is not automatic and will be negotiated between the student and the course instructor.

Clinical Performance Which Threatens Patient or Staff Safety

If, in the judgment of the course instructor, the student’s clinical performance constitutes a threat to patient or staff safety, the student will be removed from the clinical area and may be subject to dismissal from the program.

Clinical Placement

Clinical placement decisions are made by the Program Director and the Clinical Director based on clinical site resources and clinical instructors/preceptors, individual learning needs of the students, site availability, and student preferences in this order of priority. Placement policy ensures appropriate experiences are integrated with the didactic portion of the program while still recognizing individual student differences.

Students are generally not assigned to facilities for which they have been and/or are currently employed and/or have had a previous close affiliation. Students are only placed in facilities in which an active affiliation agreement is in place.

Clinical Notebook

Students are required to maintain a clinical education notebook throughout the entirety of the course. The notebook must be accessible during clinical practicum assignments and must contain up-to-date information of time logs, procedures completed, daily diary/reflection, and instructor evaluations.

The notebook will be reviewed on May 10, 2006 with Aaron Koseki starting at 0800 hours at KCC, Kauila 217.

Clinical Facility Information

Students are provided with current information about clinical placements, primary contacts, and primary phone contacts.

Students are expected to call the clinical facility prior to the first clinical date for that rotation in order to confirm the expected arrival time and clinical preceptor.

Each clinical site and rotation has a primary contact who is responsible for coordinating your clinical rotation for that facility. You may or may not be assigned to this person as your immediate clinical preceptor. The preceptor to whom you are assigned is a voluntary instructor. Together with the course instructor, the preceptors and primary clinical contact persons plan and implement the clinical education portion of the students’ education and contribute to the assessment of the students.

I have read this clinical expectations document and understand the policies.

NameSigned

DateKCC faculty