School of Nursing
Nursing degrees give students the skills required to work in hospitals, nursing homes, out-patient surgery centers, specialized facilities, industrial settings, and doctor’s offices. Nurses also work as visiting nurses in patient homes. Students educated as registered nurses (RNs) treat patients, educate patients and the public about various health related conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patient family members. RNs protect, promote, and optimize health; prevent illness and injury; alleviate suffering; and advocate for patients, families, communities, and populations. RNs also address policies and factors in healthcare systems affecting the quality of the healthcare delivered.
Program Information
Immunization Policies
Clinical sites may have varying requirements for the vaccination requirements of healthcare workers. Students working at such sites are required to comply with these regulations. If such vaccinations are contraindicated for medical or religious reasons, contact the designated representative of the nursing program to discuss possible resolutions to this problem. All Stratford nursing students are required, at their own expense, to provide documentation of Hepatitis B vaccination. The Center for Disease Control reports that between 15% and 25% of unimmunized persons working in the healthcare area will contract this potentially serious and sometimes fatal illness. Hepatitis B vaccination requires a series of two to three doses; the dosage series must be started before registering for clinical courses. (If the student already has immunity or if the vaccine is contraindicated for the student, this too must be documented.)
Students enrolled in a clinical course are also required to provide documentation of the following prior to the first day of class:
- Measles/Mumps/Rubella – 2 doses, 4-8 weeks apart
- Varicella Zoster (Chicken Pox) 4-8 weeks apart or reliable history of the disease
- Tetanus/Diphtheria Adult Pertussis TDAP – every 10 years
- Influenza Vaccine – Required yearly
- Tuberculosis screening by PPD and/or X-ray yearly (students with a positive PPD and an initial negative X-ray can be followed with an annual physician screening)
Drug testing
Drug screening is required prior to entry into clinical courses and some agencies may require additional drug screening. All drug screen testing is at the student’s expense.
Clinical Requirements
Attending clinicals is dependent upon meeting the following requirements and providing required documentation. Use the check list below to organize the process.
- Obtain student ID
- Obtain clinical uniform
- Affix patch to left sleeve of shirt and lab coat
- Provide documentation of immunizations
- Complete and maintain certification in basic life support techniques
- Submit evidence of recent physical exam
Challenge Exams
Nursing students who transfer into the program and wish to receive credit for previously taken nursing courses in nutrition and pharmacology must provide an official transcript and take the University-designated challenge exam. Students must pass level two of the challenge exam in order to receive credit. Challenge exams may not be taken for clinical courses.
Student Achievement
All nursing students must maintain a 2.8 CGPA on a 4.00 scale, achieve an 80% (B-) in all nursing courses (courses with the prefix NSG) as well as core science courses (microbiology and biochemistry), a 73% (C) in all non-nursing courses, and meet attendance requirements. Grades are carried out to two decimal points and are not rounded up; achieving a grade below 80%, including a grade of 79.99% in nursing courses results in a course failure. A failed course may be repeated once. Please refer to the Progression Policy #59-108 (Nursing) in the Policy and Procedures Manual. Students achieving less than 73% in non-nursing courses must repeat those courses. Students may request a grade review once and are to follow the grade appeal policy outlined in the University catalog. Students who do not meet these requirements are dismissed from the program. If a student’s CGPA falls below 2.8 after being accepted, but before beginning nursing courses that student is not permitted to register for nursing courses. If a student’s CGPA falls below 2.8 after beginning nursing courses, two terms are given to improve the CGPA before dismissal. Students may appeal this decision.
Students in courses that have theory and laboratory/clinical components must achieve an 80% in each of these course components. Failing one component of the course (either theory or lab/clinical) results in failure of the entire course.
All nursing students must take a comprehensive exam in addition to earning satisfactory grades in all required courses in order to graduate from the program. This exam is part of the program curriculum and must be taken in order for a student to graduate and obtain their transcripts and diploma. For Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, transcripts are not sent to the Virginia Board of Nursing prior to graduation.