All School Nurse Certificate students must complete the following steps to start the clinical process.
Step 1
Complete your clinical clearance requirements. All requirements must be completed in order to participate in clinical.
Step 2
Secure a clinical site and preceptor.
Your preceptor must have been certified as a school nurse in NJ and employed in a NJ public school for a minimum of two years prior to the start of your practicum.
Your potential preceptor must complete the school nurse preceptor data form, provide you their CV, which you will submit, and give you a copy of their school nurse certification, which can be retrieved through the NJ Department of Education website.
Step 3
Complete the school nurse clinical placement form.
This electronic form will be sent to your specialty director for approval and then trigger the clinical compliance and site clearance process provided by the Office of Student Services.
Notes
- Every student enrolled in the School Nurse Certificate program must take Foundations of Health Education prior to taking the School Nurse course or the School Nurse Practicum.
- The School Nurse course (6 credits) is offered only in the spring. It is not offered in the fall. You must have completed Foundations of Health Education prior to taking this course. You may take Educational Psychology at the same time as the School Nurse course if you haven’t completed it prior to the School Nurse course.
- The School Nurse Practicum is offered in the spring and fall. You must complete Educational Psychology and Foundations of Health Education prior to registering for the School Nurse Practicum. You may take the School Nurse Practicum (3 credits) at the same time as the School Nurse course (6 credits), but be aware that this will be a lot of work if you have additional responsibilities. The School Nurse Practicum requires 75 hours of supervised clinical with your school nurse preceptor in the school setting and includes student teaching. There are also written assignments and discussion board assignments for the practicum. It’s the work of a 3-credit course plus the practicum hours.