Contacts and inquiries
Faculty rules

Contacts and inquiries

Student Advisers

Provide information and advice to students on administrative and related matters.

Student Officer (Undergraduate)

Provides advice to students experiencing more complex difficulties with their program. The Faculty Student Office refers students if necessary to:

Student Adviser (Clinical)

Allocates the nursing practice placements for first- and second-year students. Any requests or problems in relation to nursing practice should be directed to:

Student Adviser (Clinical)

Allocates the nursing practice placements for third year students. Any requests or problems in relation to nursing practice should be directed to:

Student Officer (Clinical)

Administers the nursing practice placements for third-year students. Any requests or problems in relation to nursing practice should be directed to:

Student Officer (International)

Provides advice to international students requiring detailed assistance. The Faculty Student Office refers students if necessary to:

Team Leader, Student and Course Support

Manages the Student and Course Support team. Major concerns or problems regarding administrative and academic services should be referred to:

Technical Officer (Kuring-gai campus)

Maintains the Faculty's laboratories and other student technical resources. Bookings for and queries about the laboratories and resources, as well as queries regarding safety issues, should be directed to:

Technical Officer (City campus)

Maintains the Faculty's laboratories and other student technical resources. Bookings for and queries about the laboratories and resources, as well as safety issues, should be directed to:

Director of Studies, Undergraduate

Provides academic advice to Nursing students on their program, and other assistance such as helping students who experience difficulties coping with their academic work.

Director of Studies, Midwifery

Provides academic advice to Midwifery students on their program, and other assistance such as helping students who experience difficulties coping with their academic work.

Director of Clinical Practice

Manages policy and procedures related to clinical practice.

Academic Liaison Officer (ALO)

Provides advice on alternative assessment to students with short- or long-term disabilities and with English language difficulties.

Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning

Responsible for the overseeing and quality of academic activities and the coursework programs.

Faculty rules

Attendance
Class allocation
Nursing practice policy (clinical placements)
Midwifery practice policy (clinical placements)

Attendance

For students admitted into the Kuring-gai intake of the Bachelor of Nursing (C10122), most subjects are taught at Kuring-gai campus, however, students are required to attend City campus for Science subjects one day per week. For students admitted into the City intake of the Bachelor of Nursing (C10122), all subjects are taught at City campus. The third year of the program is currently taught only at the Kuring-gai campus with limited on campus attendance. For students admitted into the Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10123), most subjects are taught at City campus. For students admitted into the Bachelor of Midwifery (C10225), all subjects are taught at City campus.

Class allocation

Students are allocated to particular groups or classes within a subject. This class determines when they attend laboratory sessions as well as tutorial times. Students must state their preferences for classes at enrolment. Students are allocated to classes and may then make changes to their allocation (subject to available places). For further information on this process, see My Subject Activities at:

Some class changes may be limited by nursing practice restrictions in some years of the undergraduate courses, or by cohort management.

Nursing practice policy (clinical placements)

As part of their studies, students are required to undertake clinical practice in a variety of health facilities. This involves students being placed in a clinical environment in accordance with the Nursing Practice Ladder. Students are accompanied by a Clinical Facilitator or allocated an Academic Liaison Officer who supports their clinical learning and undertakes their assessment.

The Faculty makes every effort to place students in a health facility in close proximity to their home and close to public transport. However, this is often very difficult to achieve given the limited number of student placements, and students are asked to take this into consideration when they receive notification of their placement. Students with special needs may make a request to be placed in a particular health facility, following discussions with the subject coordinator, by emailing the Student Adviser (Clinical) at:

Midwifery practice policy (clinical placements)

As part of their studies, students are required to undertake clinical practice. This involves students being placed in a midwifery practice environment in accordance with the Midwifery Practice Ladder. Students are supported by a Midwifery Practice Facilitator or midwifery educator. The Faculty makes every effort to place students in a health facility in close proximity to their home and close to public transport. However, this is often very difficult to achieve given the limited number of student placements, and students are asked to take this into consideration when they receive notification of their placement. Students are required to complete a request form in the first week of semester to identify their preferences.

Students with disabilities

Students in the Bachelor of Nursing, the Bachelor of Nursing Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, or the Bachelor of Midwifery must undertake nursing and/or midwifery practice placements as a prerequisite to satisfactory course completion. For details regarding the practice placement procedures for students with disabilities, see University-wide General information.

Accident and incident reporting

Any student or staff member involved in an accident, injury or incident while on clinical placement must complete a standard Accident/Incident form, available from their Facilitator, midwifery educator or Academic Liaison Officer. Completed forms should be forwarded to the Student Adviser (Clinical) for nursing students or to the Bachelor of Midwifery Course Coordinator for midwifery students. This form is to be completed in addition to any forms which the health facility requires.

The Subject Coordinator should also be notified immediately of any injury, accident or incident which requires medical attention.

If an injury sustained by a student raises doubts about the student's ability to attend subsequent nursing or midwifery practice experiences, the matter should be referred to the Director of Studies, Undergraduate for nursing students or the Bachelor of Midwifery Course Coordinator for midwifery students.

Attendance

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Board requires students to undertake a specified number of nursing or midwifery practice hours. One hundred per cent attendance on practice is required. Only cases of documented illness or misadventure, as per UTS Rule 8.3, are accepted as a reason for not undertaking all nursing practice hours. In the event of illness or misadventure, students must notify their Clinical Facilitator, Midwifery educator or Academic Liaison Person, the relevant health facility and the Clinical Practice Unit:

Students in this category may then be offered completion of nursing practice at the next specified time (see the Nursing Practice Ladder). Should a student fail to complete all nursing practice hours for any other reason, including work or social commitments, they will not be offered the opportunity to complete their nursing practice hours, and run the risk of failing the subject.

Students are required to attend designated shifts while on nursing practice. Shift times vary between facilities, however, common start times are 7.00 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. Students with carer responsibilities should ask for a document from the Student Office which outlines issues that students may face.

Completion of nursing or midwifery practice

When assessing whether students are eligible to undertake additional hours to complete their nursing or midwifery practice, the Faculty examines a student's nursing or midwifery practice history, taking into account past attendance as well as the requirements of the Nurses and Midwives Board New South Wales. Therefore, it is in the interests of students to ensure that they maintain a complete attendance record.

As indicated above, students may not be given the opportunity to complete missed nursing practice hours and consequently may fail the subject.

Conduct

Students undertaking supervised nursing or midwifery practice must follow the directions given to them by their Facilitator, Midwifery Educator of Academic Liaison Person, or in the absence of these, the staff of the hospital or agency concerned. Students are reminded that they are required to adhere to clinical placement facility policy and procedures.

Safety

While on practice placement, all students are responsible for promoting and maintaining environmental health and safety (EHS) by:

• looking out for hazards, reporting them to the supervisor of the work area and helping to fix hazards
• taking action to avoid, eliminate or minimise risks
• following safe work methods and using personal protective equipment as required
• seeking information or advice as necessary, particularly before carrying out new or unfamiliar work
• participating in orientation activities
• reporting accidents and incidents to the supervisor of the work area
• reporting emergencies in line with the facility protocols
• disposing of any hazardous wastes in a safe and approved manner
• not willfully placing at risk the health, safety and welfare of others, and
• exercising a duty of care toward others in everything undertaken.

All students must be aware of risk management policies and processes and be capable of implementing these within the clinical environments. Students must also comply with the policies and procedures of the relevant health facility.

Pregnancy on clinical placements

Pregnancy does not preclude students from clinical practice however some clinical placements may be potentially harmful to the developing foetus and to the student. Pregnant students are expected to notify the Faculty of their pregnancy, if they are working or studying in areas where there may be particular health and safety issues, e.g. radiation, working with infectious disease, cytotoxic drugs and anaesthetic gases. Students who are pregnant and in their third trimester of pregnancy or within the first six months of being post natal, must have the written permission of their Director of Studies to attend clinical placements. Students must also comply with health care facilities guidelines and recommendations when undertaking placements.

Student wellbeing advice

All students involved in clinical placements must be fit to do so.

Students who have health problems that might foreseeably render them unsafe during nursing or midwifery practice placement or who have a health problem that may be affected adversely during their placements should seek medical advice before undertaking a placement and should advise their subject coordinator.

Failure to do so may result in the Faculty accepting no responsibility for the consequences.

Each student is responsible to evaluate the foreseeable health risks before and during each clinical placement, and implement risk management strategies in consultation with the subject coordinator, and UTS Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines. Students must also adhere to policies and direction from workplaces where the clinical placement is held.

Uniform

Students are required to wear the official uniform of the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health during all nursing and midwifery practice placements. Academic staff will indicate any other occasions when students must wear their uniform. Some nursing practice placements, e.g. mental health, do not require uniform. Students are notified of this when they receive their nursing practice placements.

The uniform consists of:

• navy blue trousers (not low hipsters) or navy blue skirt (with stockings) [women]
• navy blue trousers [men]
• white polo shirt (UTS design) for Nursing students
• purple polo shirt (UTS design) for Midwifery students
• navy polar fleece jumper or vest (optional, but must conform to clinical agency requirements. Not to be worn whilst practicing)
• closed in shoes (navy or black).

Other requirements are as follows.

• Fingernails must be short and clean. Only clear nail varnish is acceptable.
• False nails must be permanent, not require any infill, and be short, non obtrusive, clean and with clear lacquer only.
• Hair must be worn off collars. Students with long hair must wear it up; long ponytails are not acceptable.
• Students are permitted to wear a wedding ring and one pair of small, plain studs in the ear lobes. No other jewellery is acceptable.
• Watches should either be digital or have a second hand, and must have no sharp edges, fancy watchbands or large buckles. A multicoloured ballpoint pen and small notepad are essential requirements. A small pocket calculator is advisable.
• Academic staff provide advice to students on other items which need to be purchased, e.g. fob watch, stethoscope, scissors.
• Students must wear the uniform from their first nursing or midwifery practice placement in Autumn semester and should ensure that their uniform is available by this time.
• All students must wear a UTS-approved name badge during nursing practice placements, available from the Student Office for a nominal fee.
• All students must carry their UTS photo identification card at all times.

Immunisation

UTS is committed to the health, welfare and safety of its students and staff. The following guidelines have been set up in order to ensure legislative requirements are adhered to, along with minimising infectious disease transmission to and/or from our students and staff.

All students and staff must adhere to current legislative requirements and practice partners policies and procedures regarding infection control and immunisation. Students should be aware of guidelines regarding immunisations and levels of required immunity, as indicated within these guidelines. At the time this policy was developed, guidelines assisting in the direction of this policy included:

• National Health and Medical Research Council (2003), The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 8th edn, Commonwealth of Australia Canberra
• NSW Health (2005a), Occupational Screening and Vaccination Against Infectious Diseases, Circ 2003/91, 27 January 2005
• NSW Health (2005b), Tuberculosis Screening and Protection – Health Care Worker, Circ 2001/71, 1 August 2001

Documentary evidence of vaccination and/or current immunity for the following diseases (completed record card plus serology) prior to clinical placement is mandatory:

• Adult Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Tuberculosis
• Hepatitis A (for rural and remote placements only)

Students must carry their updated and current vaccination screening record card plus serology with them at all times while at University and on clinical practice and may be required to show it on request.

Students are advised to have immunisations, but cannot be directed to have these.

Acceptable immunisation status is a prerequisite to attend clinical placements, due to legislative requirements. NSWHealth has the right to preclude students who are not immunised. There are academic progress implications for students who are removed from clinical placements.

Criminal record checks

Full details are provided in the Handbook's University-wide General Information.

Unsafe nursing practice performance

A student's performance is deemed unsafe if it places patients, clients, their families, staff members or fellow students at risk, and if he or she is unable or unwilling to perceive that risk. The judgment that a student's performance is unsafe is usually made on the basis of more than one incident, however, it can be made on the basis of one episode.

Students whose performance is deemed unsafe are removed from the health facility as soon as the judgment is made and are referred to the subject coordinator, who determines the appropriate course of action. Students may receive a Fail grade for the subject, or be given an opportunity to demonstrate improvement in an alternative clinical environment such as the laboratory. If satisfactory, students are given another opportunity to complete their nursing practice in a clinical environment.

Refer to Rule 16.10 in the UTS: Calendar.

Unsatisfactory clinical practice performance

A student's performance is deemed unsatisfactory if it fails to meet the objectives and assessment of a given nursing practice experience.

Each student has a formative assessment part-way through his or her clinical placement. If unsatisfactory performance is identified in this assessment, the Clinical Facilitator/Midwifery Educator/Academic Liaison Person notifies the student and identifies a plan of action. This includes major areas of improvement and specific aims to be met to achieve satisfactory performance. If the student and/or the Clinical Facilitator/Midwifery Educator/Academic Liaison Person have reason to believe that they cannot work together to implement the improvement plan, a request can be made by either person to the subject coordinator for alternative arrangements. Each student receives a summative assessment towards the end of her or his clinical placement which is assessed as either overall satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

The following diagram demonstrates the process for clinical subject assessment.

Administering of intravenous medications while on clinical practice

Third-year Bachelor of Nursing students are permitted to administer intravenous medications only under the following conditions:

1. under direct supervision of a registered nurse (including University Clinical Supervisors) accredited by the hospital to administer intravenous medications as long as all other medication requirements have been met, e.g. correct dose, patient, route, time, and written orders, etc., and
2. hospital policy allows students to administer intravenous medications under the direct supervision of a registered nurse as set out in (1) above.