The technical and professional standards for nursing are the non-academic skills including the physical, cognitive, and behavioral standards required for satisfactory completion of the nursing program. These standards are not a requirement of admission into the program. However, individuals interested in applying for admission to the nursing program should review these standards to develop a better understanding of the skills, abilities and behavioral characteristics required to successfully complete the nursing program.

Physical/Motor:

• Coordinate fine and gross motor movements.
• Coordinate hand/eye movements.
• Function with both hands free for performing psychomotor tasks.
• Maneuver in small areas.
• Attend to cognitive and psychomotor tasks for up to 7-12 hours.
• Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Transfer patients/clients in and out of bed from stretchers and wheelchairs.
• Control a fall by slowly lowering client to the floor.
• Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Lift or move (turn, position) patients
• Reach to shoulder or higher level to place or access equipment such as intravenous fluid bags, bend or squat to access equipment below bed level.
• Carry equipment and supplies to the client bedside.
• Manipulate small equipment and containers, such as syringes, vials, ampules, and medication packages, to administer medications maintaining sterile technique.
• Complete assigned periods of clinical practice (7-12 hour shifts, days, evenings, or nights).

• Acquire information from demonstrations and experiences, including but not limited to information conveyed through online coursework, lecture, small group activities, demonstrations, and application experiences.
• Collect information through observation, listening, touching, and smelling.
• Use and interpret information from physical assessments.
• Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Detect changes in skin color or condition (pale, ashen, gray, or bluish).
• Draw up a prescribed quantity of medication into a syringe.
• Detect sounds related to bodily functions using a stethoscope.
• Detect audible alarms generated by mechanical systems such as those that monitor bodily functions, fire alarms, call bells.
• Observe and collect data from recording equipment and measurement devices used in patient care.
• Communicate with patient and members of the healthcare team in person and over the phone in a variety of settings, including isolation and the operating room where health team members are wearing masks and there is background noise.
• Detect changes in skin temperature.
• Detect anatomical abnormalities such as edema.
• Feel vibrations such as an arterial pulse.

• Recall, collect, analyze, synthesize, and integrate information from a variety of sources.
• Measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize data.
• Problem-solve and think critically in order to apply knowledge and skill.
• Communicate verbally, and through reading and writing, with individuals from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
• Relay information in oral and written form effectively, accurately, reliably, and intelligibly to individuals and groups, using the English language.
• Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Read and comprehend medical orders and patient information found in the medical record.
• Sequence or cluster data to determine patient needs.
• Analyze information to prioritize and implement nursing care.
• Develop and implement a nursing plan of care for patients in acute, long term and community settings.
• Report verbally and in writing patient data to members of the healthcare team.
• Perform math computations for medication dosage calculations both with and without a calculator.

• Demonstrate emotional stability to function effectively under stress and adapt to changing environments.
• Maintain effective, mature, and sensitive relationships with others.
• Examine and modify one's own behavior when it interferes with others or the learning environment.
• Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, honesty, tolerance and responsibility and accountability for actions.
• Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Exercise judgment
• Manage time appropriately to carry out the usual patient care assignment for a particular point in the program within the allotted clinical time
• Work effectively under stress and adapt to rapidly changing patient care environments.
• Accept accountability for actions that resulted in patient care errors.
• Deal effectively with interpersonal conflict if it arises; maintain effective and harmonious relationships with members of the healthcare team.

Prospective students need to be aware that nursing involves contact with communicable diseases. All students entering nursing programs must meet the following health requirements:

• Current CPR Certification (American Heart Association Health Care Provider Course)and a Physical exam
• TB Test (PPD) 2-step initial screening and 1-step thereafter
• Tetanus or DR (must be within 10 years)
• Measles, Mumps, and Rubeola vaccines and titers
• Varicella vaccine and titer
• Hepatitis B, 3 vaccinations plus a titer or a written waiver
• Yearly influenza
• Covid vaccination, unless approved exemption

BACKGROUND CHECK AND DRUG SCREEN

In accordance with the policies of many of our clinical facilities as well as in compliance with the recommendations of the National Council, State Boards of Nursing and the Maryland Board of Nursing, Frederick Community College’s Nursing Program requires all nursing students to have a criminal background check and drug screening. This background check and drug screening will be completed PRIOR to full admittance to the program and may be repeated during the program as deemed necessary.

All students must be successfully cleared via this background check and drug screening to be admitted to the clinical facilities. If a student is not successfully cleared, the student may not enter the clinical setting and, therefore, will be unable to meet the Nursing Program’s requirements.

If, during the program, a student tests positive for an illegal or un‐prescribed drug, the student will be immediately terminated from the program.

The Maryland Board of Nursing prohibits nursing students from taking care of clients if the student compromises client safety. In accordance with this law, the instructor is obliged to dismiss students from a unit if a condition exists which compromises client safety, such as fatigue, substance abuse, physical illness, emotional instability, or inadequate preparation for clinical experience. Any student who is under the influence of any chemical substance (drugs or alcohol) may be terminated from the nursing program. All students are required to undergo drug screening and background checks.

Program applicants are advised that the Maryland Board of Nursing as well as other State Boards of Nursing may deny licensure to any individual they deem to be unsuitable for the practice of nursing. Examples include, but are not limited to, falsifying application information, habitual intoxication and/or narcotic addiction, convictions or “nolo contendere” pleas for felonies or crimes of moral turpitude, whether or not appears of other proceedings are pending or in progress (Maryland Nurse Practice Act).

UNIFORMS

Uniforms are required for clinical learning experiences. All students must wear the official school uniform.

MATH FOR MEDICATION SAFETY EXAM

All clinical nursing students are required to pass a Math for Medication Safety Exam every semester. If a student is unable to meet this expectation, the student will be unable to attend clinical and will receive an Unsatisfactory in Professional Behaviors and will meet with the Director of Nursing Education.

The Math for Medication Safety Exam is a proctored in-person exam. Only approved nursing calculators can be used during the test. Blank paper will be provided.

First attempt must earn a 95% or higher.
Second attempt must score 100% or remediate and retest.
Third attempt must score 100%. Failure to succeed on the third attempt will result in the student's withdrawal from the program.

Accepted students can enroll in NURS 50 Preparation for Nursing in the January and summer sessions to practice math concepts for the exam.

There will be 20 dosage calculation problems on each test. Content review should include:

1. Conversion between units of measure (metric and household)
2. IV flow rates and infusion times (including international time)
3. Interpreting drug labels and calculating dosage from the label information
4. Reconstitution of drugs from a powder including calculation of dose
5. Weight based dosage calculation
6. Military (24 hour) time