School of Nursing Clinical Placement Team
Clinical hours are the required education components of many of the University of Indianapolis' (UIndy) online nursing programs. Our clinical placement team will work with you providing assistance throughout your clinical experiences.
FAQs
Hands-on patient care in clinical settings is a requisite component of any nursing degree. During your clinical rotations, you will be participating in care with board certified nurse practitioners, physicians, or physician assistants. This includes:
- Students provide holistic care for patients in a variety of settings.
- Students assess patients, take histories, and develop treatment plans.
- Students make referrals to other community services and specialists as needed.
Based on your goals, the course objectives, competencies, and where you live, your placement coordinating team will work with you as you identify an appropriate clinical site within a reasonable driving distance. The UIndy placement team will then work with you and your clinical site to ensure an appropriate preceptor has been identified and finalize facility-based requirements.
Most healthcare systems will only place students that are their current employees. Therefore, if employed, students are required to apply through their employers' office of education to obtain placement through their organization.
If you're not currently employed or if your facility does not have advanced practice, then you can be placed through your own personal healthcare network. Examples include your healthcare provider, neighboring healthcare facilities, or your own personal contacts.
Whether you are employed or not, you will work with a dedicated UIndy placement team who will assist you throughout the process and provide guidance.
You will be working with your UIndy placement team prior to each clinical start date. Once the placement has been confirmed and you have completed any onboarding requirements for the facility, then you are ready to begin working directly with your preceptor to establish a schedule.
Clinicals are very similar to an internship or being an apprentice. You provide care for real patients while benefiting from the supervision and guidance of your preceptor along with indirect supervision and support from UIndy faculty. All clinical nursing experiences are slightly different because students work in a variety of health care facility environments. You will begin your clinical rotations after the required background checks and other clearance requirements have been successfully completed. You will be given specific instructions to follow while keeping clinical practice guidelines in mind.
