1. GSW School of Nursing

2.  The tips on the next few slides should be helpful to you in your nursing educational journey.  Remember to seek the advice of your nursing advisor.  Registration: check the dates on the academic calendar on the GSW Homepage link for pre- registration and contact your advisor during these times.

3.  Nursing Student Handbook ◦ Read this valuable document. ◦ Contains important information for you as it explains policies that pertain to you as a nursing student at Georgia Southwestern State University. ◦ Policies do change; however, a current copy of the nursing student handbook is always available on the Georgia View School of Nursing website. ◦ If you do not have access to Georgia View, please contact Ms. Becky Gee at rebecca.gee @canes.gsw.edu.

4.  Essential Requirements ◦ Liability insurance ◦ Health insurance ◦ Background Check & Drug Screening ◦ Physical Exam & Student Statement of Health ◦ Up to date immunizations  Must stay current while in the nursing program – be sure to upload annual PPD to keep your record current ◦ Current CPR certification ◦ You will need to purchase the RN-BSN Program package through Certifiedbackground.com using code GE06rn ◦ Contact Mrs. Jo Ann Davis if you have problems with uploading information to the tracker – joann.davis@gsw.edu or 229-931-2239.

5.  Required Nursing courses for the RN-BSN  5 Non-Clinical Courses and 3 Clinical Courses  Clinical Course notes ◦ Requires a precepted clinical experience ◦ The student is responsible for arranging their precepted experiences. The clinical services manager will facilitate this process by ensuring that required contracts are in place between facilities. It is imperative to contact the clinical services manager well in advance of taking a clinical course if there is a possibility that a new contract must be initiated. ◦ New facility contracts may take up to 8 weeks to finalize.

6.  Clinical Services Manager Contact ◦ Ms. Heather Kemp  heather.kemp@gsw.edu  229-931-4303

7.  Clinical Course Notes ◦ Preceptor should be BSN prepared and have worked in area of nursing where preceptorship occurs for one year. ◦ NURS 3200 Health Assessment: Students will submit DVDs demonstrating assessment skills. ◦ NURS 4400 Community Health: May occur in a public health facility, hospice and/or a school (approx. 70 hours at the clinical sites). Approx. 20 hours of other educational projects are required for clinical. Total 90 clinical hours. ◦ NURS 4900 Practicum: Taken AFTER all core completed. Requires 135 hours in a nursing unit other than unit where the student is employed.

8.  Be familiar with the most current edition of APA. This is the required format for class papers.  US History and US Constitution requirements must be met – a Georgia Board of Regents Policy. This tip is especially important for those of you who did not receive your ASN degree in the state of Georgia.

9.  Graduation ◦ Must apply for graduation when one-half of your NURSING courses are complete. The application fee must be paid before the application is reviewed. Contact GSW Student Accounts to pay fee. ◦ Deadlines for graduation applications are posted on the University Academic Affairs Calendar. ◦ Nursing pins, caps, and gowns may be ordered through the GSW bookstore one semester before the student plans to graduate.

10.  Uniforms for Clinical Courses ◦ Uniform  Depending on the clinical area  Scrubs with name tag  In Community Health, it may be appropriate to wear a labcoat with name tag ◦ Nametag – must state:  Name, RN  GSW BSN Student  White nametag with black lettering  GSW Student ID tag may also be used as nametag

11.  Check your radar email frequently – radar email is the official email of the GSW campus.  Your faculty of instruction may contact you prior to course beginning through your radar email address.

12. We hope that these tips will be helpful to you in your educational journey. Thank you!