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Program & Clinical Requirements

Each clinical site has specific requirements students must provide in order to secure placement. Each tab is an explanation of the common clinical requirements. Please refer to the BSN Student Guidelines (Handbook) for additional information as well.

Professional Liability Insurance will be maintained for all BSN nursing students.

 

Please choose the link that fits your needs. All directions, customer support, and technical issues should be addressed to CastleBranch. The SON will not provide copies of the background check or drug screen to students. Students have access to those through CastleBranch.

BACKGROUND CHECKS AND DRUGS SCREENS ARE REQUIRED YEARLY.

You will receive the package codes to place your order from son@apsu.edu

 Click here to be taken to further information.

 

BSN HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

The following link provides the CDC Healthcare Personnel Vaccination Recommendations. Some clinical sites may have additional testing or vaccinations requirements that must also be followed. 

http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2017.pdf

2-Step TB:

Per the CDC

Facilities employ the 2-step procedure. In this procedure, a person is given a baseline PPD test. If the test is (-), a second test is administered 1- 3 weeks later (i.e., the second test can be read 7-21 days after the first).

If the above was not followed, you must do this process again following the above directions. Some clinical sites require we report the dates of a 2-Step TB process. If your testing does not meet these specifications, you are not in compliance. You must submit documentation of a negative TB test annually (every academic year.) 

If you test positive for TB, the program will need a completed TB health check form as well as a copy of a chest x-ray completed within the last 5 years.  Please let your faculty know that you have tested positive. Some clinical sites may require additional verification of not having an active infection.

TB Blood Test: 

The tuberculosis (TB) blood test, also called an Interferon Gamma Release Assay or IGRA, is a way to find out if you have TB germs in your body. The TB blood test can be done instead of a TB skin test.

There are two kinds of TB blood tests:

  • QuantiFERON®-TB
  • T-SPOT®.TB

If you test positive for TB, some clinical sites may not accept your placement without one of these blood test done annually.  

Tdap: Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis

Give 1 dose of Tdap if no previous vaccination. Give Td boosters every 10 years thereafter.

MMR: Measles, mumps, and rubella

If no serologic (titer) proof of immunity or prior vaccination, 2 doses of MMR, 4 weeks apart.

HepB: Hepatitis B

If previously unvaccinated, give a 2-dose (Heplisav-B) or 3-dose (Engerix-B or Recombivax HB) series. Must obtain anti-HBs serologic testing 1–2 months after dose #2 (for Heplisav-B) or dose #3 (for Engerix-B or Recombivax HB) showing you are REACTIVE to HepB. 

Varicella: Chickenpox

If no serologic (titer) proof of immunity, prior vaccination, or diagnosis or verification of a history of varicella or herpes zoster (shingles) by a healthcare provider, give 2 doses of varicella vaccine, 4 weeks apart.

Seasonal Flu Vaccinations:

Every student regardless of the semester you begin the program must be vaccinated each flu season. This means in the fall. You must have this completed by September 25th. Please be sure to ask your provider if this is the current flu season vaccine.

Vaccinations are one of the most significant public health interventions of all time. They reduce the risk of contracting dangerous vaccine-preventable diseases on the individual level and, when immunization coverage is high enough, confer herd immunity at the population level for those diseases that are contagious.  All clinical sites recognizing the public health importance of immunizations. Clinical sites have the right to refuse placement of any student that has an exemption/waiver.

All APSU School of Nursing Students are required to maintain updated immunizations and testing while attending the APSU School of Nursing. In rare instances, students may need to have an exemption made for a specific requirement. In this situation, the Director of Nursing or their appointed representative will need to review the identified requirement with the student and approve the exemption. Students seeking an exemption to a specific immunization or testing requirement should seek guidance from their faculty.

Exemptions include students born before 1/1/1957, those students graduating from a Tennessee high school in 1998 or after, online only students, medical contraindication verified by a healthcare provider,  or religious exemption requiring a signed and notarized statement by the student that the vaccine conflicts with his or her religious tenets or practices.

Exemptions include students born before 1/1/1980, those students graduating from a Tennessee high school in 2016 or after, on line only students, medical contraindication verified by a healthcare provider, or religious exemption requiring a signed statement by the student that the vaccine conflicts with his or her religious tenets or practices.

Currently, the SON has a partnership with CastleBranch to assist with BSN student clinical requirement needs.

https://discover.castlebranch.com/