Additional Nursing Requirements

Student Orientation

All students are introduced to the online classroom and the resources that support the nursing programs during orientation. In this interactive course, students are given an opportunity to learn more about what it means to be in their chosen programs and how to approach the courses within them. Orientation covers the following:

• How to navigate the online classroom - Moodle™. 
• How to register for courses, check grades and plan courses.
• Time management and weekly planning.
• Introduction to APA formatting and the writing center.
• How to format and upload an assignment to Moodle™.  
• Tutorials on common computer skills and http://TurnItIn.com.
• How to contact advisors and professors.
• Course expectations.
• How to use the 24/7 virtual librarian service.

Students are guided through the academic catalog and other resources to better understand the  academic processes. They are given access to the forms they may need when communicating with the registrar.  At the end of orientation, students work with their Student Success Advisors to create schedules for the remainder of their programs.

Nursing General Education

The general education courses promote an integrative academic experience to support the students' acquisition of the abilities, skills, and knowledge-sets fundamental to life-long learning and enhancement of their professional and civic lives in our global society. This policy is applicable to undergraduate programs.

The general education courses serve the RN to BSN, RN to BSN Powered by SIMPath®, RN to BSN/MSN, and RN to BSN/MSN Powered by SIMPath® programs. 

General education courses are specifically developed to provide students with exposure to a variety disciplines. This assists them with internalizing key concepts in the subject area and applying these concepts to problems and issues in their personal lives and coursework.  Area disciplines include English, human communications, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

The general education courses have the following student learning outcomes:  

• Critical Thinking
• Communication Competency
• Knowledge Acquisition

The following procedures establish the requirements for the general education courses within nursing programs. Critical thinking, communication competency and knowledge acquisition are threaded throughout the general education courses with additional opportunities to augment these abilities, skills, and knowledge-sets in the students' major fields of study.  

To support students, an integrative "vertically designed" program was identified and developed to realize expected student capabilities across the curriculum rather than within one specific course. This approach provides students with flexible points of entry.  Our skills-based courses enable students to draw clear connections between skills developed in general education and those developed in their majors. 

The current requirements for general education are divided into four categories: Communication Competency, Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Science, Mathematics, and Information Technology.

Required Credits for General Education by Category

Programmatic General Education Curriculum Requirements - Individual academic programs may set additional general education requirements, including specific requirements for courses and the minimum numbers of credits in courses designated to focus on specific competencies (such as writing, statistical methods, or analytic reasoning).

General education courses are specifically developed to provide students with exposure to a variety disciplines.  This helps them internalize key concepts in the subject area and apply these concepts to problems and issues in their lives and in their coursework. Area disciplines include those that address English, human communications, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

The Dean facilities the recruitment of subject matter experts and faculty members to develop and enhance the general education courses in conversation with the instructional designers, Dean, and faculty leaders. All general education courses must adhere to rigorous criteria that include but are not limited to the following:

• Development according to University Policy AA7.04 Program and Course Development.
• Course review by a designated faculty reviewer.
• Course approval by the Curriculum Committee. 
  • Approval requires that outcomes are appropriate at the course and program level.
  • Verify that hours of engagement and preparation supplied by the course developer meet credit hour requirements.
• Two-thirds of the overall course content meets the criteria outlined to meet a course category.

All courses in general education are expected to address at least one identified core principle to align with RN to BSN, RN to BSN Powered by SIMPath®, RN to BSN/MSN, and RN to BSN/MSN Powered by SIMPath® program outcomes and objectives. The following table outlines the four core principles and/or values.

Practice Experiences

The programmatic accreditors for the RN to BSN, RN to BSN/MSN, MSN, and DNP programs require they include practice experiences to enable students to achieve the required educational competencies (AACN White Paper, Oct. 2012; DNP Essentials for Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice, 2006; ACEN 2013 Standards).  These practice experiences have specific objectives, expected outcomes, and competencies. Students completing these experiences are evaluated by the Practicum Coordinator.

Practice experiences are not like the clinical experiences that are completed to obtain a degree as a registered nurse. They are designed to provide you with the opportunity to apply the concepts and knowledge taught in the nursing courses.

Practice experiences in the nursing programs include a combination of practice learning experiences (PLE), precepted practice experiences (PPE), simulation experiences (S), and capstone hours (CH). Different nursing programs have different types of practice experiences embedded in the curriculum:

• Practice learning experiences (PLE) are embedded course assignments (interviews, shadowing, etc.) that occur at the workplace or other healthcare setting. PLEs do not require that students obtain an affiliation agreement or preceptor. Example: A student in the community health nursing course interviews a community health nurse to learn more about their role in the community.

• Precepted practice experiences (PPE) are practice experiences embedded in courses that occur in the workplace or other healthcare site. PPEs require students obtain a preceptor that meets the stated requirements for a preceptor and is employed at the site of the PPE. PPEs may require that students obtain an affiliation agreement if required by the workplace or the healthcare site.

• Simulations (S) are practice experiences that involve participation in a variety of virtual settings. Example: A student participates in a windshield survey of a virtual neighborhood. These hours count toward the total practice hours for the RN to BSN program.

• DNP Project Hours (DH) are practice experiences in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program that occur during students' scholarly work on their project and in courses. Example: A student in the Executive Leadership specialization explores and examines organizational initiatives to implement strategic changes initiated to purposely change organizational culture, thus impacting organizational outcomes.   These hours count toward the total practice hours for the program.

Practice Experience by Program

*The MSN-Nurse Practitioner specializations include 540-630 hours of required precepted (clinical) practice hours in population specific areas. This is in addition to non-precepted PE hours: 45 from N515PE and 45 from N522PE for a total of 630-720 depending on the specialization.

Examples of Practice Experiences

• IDENTIFY a trouble area in your healthcare organization and assemble a plan to address it such as developing a plan to reduce the number of patient falls in a unit.
• EXPLORE "Sentinel City^®" by riding a virtual bus and cataloging social and environmental issues in the community.
• USE your skills to assess a virtual patient and create a discharge plan for that patient based on your observations.
• SHADOW a nurse leader with experience in your specialization, paying special attention to how they apply nursing theory in their daily work.
• DEVELOP an educational session that focuses on evidence-based practice in the nursing field.
• INTERVIEW someone in upper management about the stewardship activities of the organization.
• REVIEW the structure of your organization and note both the formal and informal power structures and alliances that influence decision making.

Clinicals

Precepted clinical experiences provide an opportunity for students to apply concepts and demonstrate clinically advanced, master's-level competencies in real-world, face to face patient practice settings. Precepted clinical experiences are completed in clinical specialization courses, under the supervision of an approved preceptor. The nurse practitioner clinical courses are designed to provide nurse practitioner students with hands-on clinical experience in a variety of clinical settings that align with the course, program outcomes, and certification concentration area. The clinical coursework allows students to demonstrate the competencies and communication skills required of a nurse practitioner.

All students in the Master of Science in Nursing program students will complete precepted clinical experiences in their selected specializations.  There are 540 required hours in the Adult Gerontology and Family Nurse specializations and 630 required hours in the Psychiatric Mental Health specialization.  For all clinical courses in the Master of Science in Nursing, in addition to participating in the online classroom modules each week, the students participate in hands-on patient care under the direction and supervision of an approved preceptor. This clinical hour component involves direct patient care under the direction and supervision of an approved preceptor.  

Each Master of Science in Nursing student in a nurse practitioner specialization is responsible for selecting an appropriate clinical site and preceptor for each clinical experience.  The student is responsible for ensuring the required documents are completed and submitted to the Clinical Coordinator in a timely manner. The Clinical Coordinator must approve the selection of the clinical site and preceptor. Students are not eligible to enroll in a clinical course until the required documentation is completed. Additional documents include a fully executed Affiliation Agreement with the clinical sites. CastleBranch compliance must also be maintained throughout the program.

State boards of nursing may have requirements that must be met before starting a clinical experience in that state.  The student is advised to be aware of this in the timing of their clinicals as some nursing boards require a notification of a plan for clinical experience up to 60 days in advance.  It is the responsibility of the student to review specific state requirements related to clinical preceptorship experience.  

It is essential that a student to select a primary care location for their clinical site.  Family Nurse specialization students will complete all of their clinical hours in a primary care setting.  Adult Gerontology specialization students will complete most of their clinical hours in the primary care setting but may spend a limited amount of time upon approval of the Clinical Coordinator in other sites as listed below. Psychiatric Mental Health specialization students will select mental and behavioral healthcare sites that provide mental healthcare to a wide variety of patients across the lifespan.   

Students will be removed from a clinical course term if all requirements (listed below) are not met by the end of Week 1 (Monday of Week 2). The Clinical Coordinator reviews and makes the decision regarding participation in all clinical courses.

• Final passing grade from prerequisite didactic course      
• Preceptor approval letter
• Affiliation agreement
• CastleBranch compliance
• Plan for nurse practitioner precepted clinical experience

Preceptors

Preceptors are professional role models and mentors that students need for practice and clinical experiences in certain courses. Preceptors are chosen by students and must meet the following requirements:

• Preceptors must have a minimum of a degree the same or higher than the student's degree program.  Example: Master of Science in Nursing students will need a preceptor with a master's or higher.  If the student is in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the preceptor must be a nurse and hold a doctoral degree. 
• The preceptor must be currently licensed to practice as a registered nurse in the state where the preceptor practices nursing.
• Preceptors cannot be in a direct reporting relationship with the student at his/her place of employment or someone who is related to the student.
• Preceptors cannot hold student status in the same degree program or in the same graduate certificate program.

NOTE: If you are unable to find a preceptor who meets these requirements you may petition for an alternate preceptor. You must submit the CV or resume of your proposed alternate preceptor along with the Exception to Preceptor Requirements form (found under Required Documents in the course) to the practicum coordinator.  

Nurse Practitioner Preceptors

Nurse Practitioner Clinical Preceptors are professional role models who are active in clinical practice.  They act as mentors to nurse practitioner students as they complete their precepted clinical experiences.  Preceptors are chosen by students and approved by the Nurse Practitioner Clinical Coordinator.  All Nurse Practitioner Clinical Preceptors must meet the following requirements and receive prior approval:

• Nurse Practitioner Clinical Preceptors must have a current unencumbered state license and national certification, as appropriate, in the population-focused or specialty practice area. Advanced practice nurse preceptors must be master's or doctorally prepared.
• The Nurse Practitioner Clinical Preceptor must have one or more years of experience in an area of practice relevant to the student's clinical need.
• It is recommended that students complete at least two of the clinical courses with a nurse practitioner preceptor (50%). It is preferred that students complete all clinical courses precepted by a nurse practitioner. However, there may be circumstances where the qualified practitioner is other than a nurse practitioner (MD or DO).
• Due to the difference in the focus of training, a Physician's Assistant is not eligible to precept nurse practitioner students in this program.
• Additional information about preceptors and the precepted clinical experience can be found in the current Nurse Practitioner Clinical Guidelines.

Nursing Programs Requiring Preceptors

Approval of a Preceptor

Every preceptor will need to be reviewed and approved by the Practicum or Clinical Coordinator before students begins their practicum hours. Once students find a preceptor that meets the requirements for their degree, they will complete the following forms to begin the approval process:

• MSN (all specializations except Nurse Practitioner) and DNP preceptor approval form
• Nurse Practitioner specializations preceptor approval form

Students will begin the preceptor approval process by completing the appropriate form and providing information to contact their preceptor. Preceptors are notified to complete their section of the form and provide information on the facility with which they are associated. They will also need to provide documentation in the form of their resume and RN license for practicum experiences. The Practicum and Clinical Coordinator are only able to review each preceptor once all the necessary documentation and information has been received.

Upon approval, students will receive notification from the Practicum and Clinical Coordinator. Student should save this documentation as it will be requested in each precepted course.

Preceptor Disclaimer

Students are encouraged to seek experiences/preceptors that will broaden their experience and knowledge. Start with personal or professional contacts, and then expand your search as needed. Our programs allow students the privilege to obtain their own preceptor. We recognize that you may know and have a professional relationship with a healthcare provider in your community willing to participate in your learning experience. Similarly, securing your preceptor allows you to find a location convenient to your home and work schedule.

CastleBranch

For students enrolled in the RN to BSN/MSN, MSN or DNP programs, they will need to establish a CastleBranch account. If they are enrolled in the RN to BSN program, it is unnecessary to establish a CastleBranch account.  Students in the nurse practitioner specializations must maintain a current CastleBranch account for the entirety of their program.  Nurse practitioner students may not engage in activities without a compliant account.   

CastleBranch provides a secure document tracking and repository service that collects, tracks and monitors required documentation for the practice experiences or clinicals students complete during their nursing programs.  This is a "one-stop" site for students to upload all of the required documents necessary for compliance. Students continue to have access to their documents after graduation. CastleBranch monitors the posting of the required documents and contacts students automatically if they need to update a document.

CastleBranch Requirements

NOTE:  This list is subject to change based on any other current requirements.   

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The program requires a scholarly evidence-based quality project. The subject area is determined by the student in consultation with the Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Committee Chair/Mentor and must meet the academic standards of the College. All research is subject to the review and supervision of the American Sentinel College Institutional Review Board. The Doctor of Nursing Practice program is designed with both the coursework and project in mind. As students progress through their program, they will also be working on the project.

Examples of projects completed by past students can be found in the Library.

General Overview of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Project

The Doctor of Nursing Practice Project is based on applying an evidence-based practice intervention to address a problem/issue and evaluating the impact of the intervention on an identified outcome. This is known as Implementation Science.

• Discuss project ideas
• Assigned a Doctor of Nursing Practice committee Chair/Mentor
• Research background information on project idea
• Begin writing project section I
• Select committee members
• Begin writing project section II
• The proposal defense
• IRB approval
• Complete conduction of project
• Begin writing project section III
• Final defense

Research Paper

• Section I - Introduction

The introduction covers information about the problem/area of interest and what has already been researched in the literature.  In addition, why (purpose of the project), how important (significance of the project), and the foundational theory on which the project is based are addressed.

• Section II - Methods

The Methods section covers the conduction of the project.  A detailed description of the project including the design approach, potential participants (sample), estimated sample size, place (setting), tool (survey/questionnaire) used to measure the outcome are included.  In addition, the method of data collection, analysis, and management are addressed.  Considerations to ensure ethical protocol and factors that could threaten validity are essential elements of the project conduction methods.

• Section III - Results and Discussion of Findings

This part of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Project reports on the research methods and actual procedures used to conduct the project.  The participants and the setting are described in detail, and the major findings are discussed with the background of Literature and Theoretical Framework.  The implications for nursing practice, recommendations, and contributions to the nursing profession are highlighted in this section.

Practicum Workrooms

Students who need to make up practice experience requirements may need to enroll in a practicum workroom to complete the work. A fee of $400 per 8-week term will be charged for students who need to enroll in one or more Practicum Workrooms to complete practice hours because they received transfer credit for one or more Master of Science in Nursing courses that did not contain the required practice hours or enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Executive Leadership or Informatics specializations and did not complete 400 practice hours during their master's program. This allows students to earn the practice hours required to complete a Master of Science in Nursing program (400 hours) or the Doctor of Nursing Practice program (1,000 post baccalaureate hours). This fee is non-refundable once the 8-week term has commenced.

Program Switches

Students may change their program of study or specialization after consultation with Student Success Advisors. Changing a program of study or specialization will require a new degree plan. In addition, students changing a program of study will be assessed a program switch fee.

Students requesting a change of program must meet all admission requirements for the new program and any specialization. The registrar's office completes an evaluation of all admission requirements to determine eligibility prior to completing any program or specialization switches.

Students in the Master of Science in Nursing program who desire to switch specializations after completing N580 (FNP/AGNP) or N560 (PMHNP), must repeat all nurse practitioner patient population focused courses to address the patient focus for the new specialization. This is in accordance with the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty (NONPF) Nurse Practitioner Program Criteria that requires "a clear curriculum plan consistent with nationally recognized core role and population-focused competencies and educational standards."  A specialization switch will require the following courses to be repeated in the new specialization as per the listing below.  

• Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization: N580,581,582,583,588,589,598 and 599
• Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Specialization: N580,581,582,583,584,585,598, and 599
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialization:  MHNP: N560,559,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568, and 569

3P Exam

The 3P exam must be taken while the student is in the last "P" course or if the student has completed all of the 3P courses.  The student may defer only one testing period or will be asked to switch to a non-NP program.   To be eligible, the student must have a GPA of 3.0 and have complete and compliant CastleBranch account. To pass the 3P exam and move forward into the Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse Practitioner Specialization, the student must score a 67% or higher. If the student does not score a 67% or higher, they will be enrolled in the N523 Diagnostic Reasoning course and must re-take the 3P exam in Week 7 of that course. Failure to pass the N523 course and score a 67% or above on the second 3P exam attempt will prevent further advancement into the Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse Practitioner Specialization.  The student must pass both N523 and the repeat 3P exam to advance.  

Affiliation Agreements

An Affiliation Agreement is a contract between American Sentinel College and a student's chosen facility where they would like to complete precepted practice experience hours. Most (but not all) facilities require this agreement, and American Sentinel College  will work with the facility to complete one. The College, however, does not require an Affiliation Agreement.

An existing Affiliation Agreement between American Sentinel College and a healthcare facility does not guarantee that a student will be allowed/approved to complete Precepted Practice Experience Hours within that facility. Both the facility and American Sentinel College must agree to the terms or an agreement will not be fully executed.

American Sentinel College enters into Affiliation Agreements with third party facilities in order to allow students to complete Precepted Practice Experiences at said facility. Precepted Practice Experiences apply to all Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice students.

Precepted Practice Experiences take place at your workplace or other healthcare site. Precepted Practice Experiences require students to identify and obtain a preceptor who meets the stated requirements for a preceptor and who is employed at the site where they wish to complete the Precepted Practice Experiences.

For the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the Affiliation Agreement is required for all Precepted Clinical Experiences.  Each student must ensure that there is an active unexpired agreement between America Sentinel College and the clinical site.  Students are advised that the Affiliation Agreement must be fully executed for them to enter into their clinical site.  All correspondence surrounding the Affiliation Agreement and its completion should go through the Affiliation Agreement team at the email below.  

Things to remember when starting this process:

• Once the form (see link below) has been submitted, a member of the staff will reach out to the contact provided on the form and will copy the student on the email so they can follow along in the process. This initial contact will happen within 10 business days of submission.
  •  Affiliation Agreement Form
• American Sentinel College does not provide/publish a list of facilities where agreements currently exist.
  • It is the student's responsibility to reach out to the facility to determine if there is an existing agreement.  The student can  send an email to [email protected] to find out if a specific facility has an existing agreement.

Nursing Code of Conduct

Nursing students are expected to function within the framework of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses. Students may purchase the Code of Ethics for Nurses by contacting the American Nurses Association Publishing Company or by visiting the American Nursing Association Code of Ethics site. 

Penalties for Code of Conduct Violations

Penalties for violation of institutional policies, rules and regulations may be administered regardless of whether the actions of the student are civil or criminal violations. Whenever disciplinary actions lead to a student leaving American Sentinel College, grades will be assigned in accordance with grading policy stated in the catalog and dates set forth in the academic calendar. American Sentinel College may impose one or more of the following misconduct penalties upon individuals, groups, or organizations.

• Admonition: This consists of a verbal or written warning. Verbal admonitions do not become a part of the student's confidential record held in the registrar's office.
• Loss of privileges or imposition of certain tasks: Under some circumstances of misconduct, it may be deemed appropriate to take away certain privileges. The following penalties may be imposed:
  • Withholding of an official transcript or degree.
  • Blocking from enrollment for a specified period.
  • Failing or changing a test, course, assignment, or other grade.
  • Suspending library and internet access.
• The student may also be required to perform certain tasks, such as making restitution whether monetary or by specific duties, attending counseling sessions, performing additional academic work not required of other students in a specific course, complying with a behavioral contract, or paying special fees, fines or service charges.
• Probation: Probation is levied for a specified time, the duration of which will be determined by the seriousness of the misconduct. Probation carries with it a warning that any further violations of university regulations may result in more serious consequences, including suspension or expulsion. The two types of probation related to the Student Code of Conduct are:
  • Conduct probation - A sanction that will be removed from the student's confidential record at the end of the period of probation.
  • Disciplinary probation - A sanction that may or may not remain a permanent part of the student's record.
• Suspension: Continued and/or flagrant violations of the probation terms (or serious-offense cases) may result in suspension from American Sentinel College for a specified period. The student is blocked from re-enrollment until he/she applies for readmission to the university and is cleared by appropriate officials. Suspension becomes a part of the student's permanent record in the registrar's office.
• Withdrawal: Withdrawal is administrative removal of a student from a class or from the university and may be imposed in instances of unmet financial obligations to the university, for reasons of health or pending the outcome of competent medical evaluation. The withdrawn student may also be barred from re-enrollment until specific conditions are met.
• Expulsion: Expulsion is permanent severance from American Sentinel College.
• Revocation of degrees: The revocation of degrees may occur for misconduct of prior students.  Allegations of misconduct that may result in a revocation of a degree will be considered by the appropriate academic process.

Students may file an appeal regarding the Code of Conduct violation using the university appeal process.

Continuous Enrollment Policy

Continuous enrollment is defined as being enrolled in classes at American Sentinel College without a break of eight or more consecutive months. Re-admission is necessary for any student who wants to resume degree candidacy after any of the following situations occur:

• Withdrawal from American Sentinel College.
• Failure to begin a course within eight months.
• Interruption of continuous enrollment.
• Disciplinary suspension, indefinite expulsion, or expulsion.
• Returning for another undergraduate degree after completing an associate or baccalaureate degree.

If readmitted, students must follow the catalog in effect at the time of their re-enrollment. In cases when required courses are no longer taught, the appropriate Dean may designate a reasonable substitute. Any interruption in education may affect a student's eligibility for financial aid.