College of Nursing   Tools

Dates, Deadlines, and Requirements for Incoming Seniors

The fall is rapidly approaching and there are a number of important dates and events during the summer for you to be aware of. They are outlined in this memo, and I encourage you to read it very carefully and make note of the dates and deadlines.

In order to attend any nursing class in either fall 2008 or spring 2009, all documentation must be complete and up to date. You must have verification of liability insurance, health insurance, two step PPD, immunizations, CPR, and criminal background and drug screen verification.

Name Tags

In the fall semester's clinical experience, you will need to wear a picture ID. If you do not already have a UAH picture ID please note that the picture identification badge is taken at the University Center, Room 100. The cost for this name badge is approximately five dollars ($5.00). In the spring semester, your clinical experiences may be in the North Alabama region. You may be required to have name badges at any and all hospitals you are assigned to for clinicals. You will need to pay the cost of the badges at multiple agencies. Please note: If you are currently employed at Huntsville Hospital and have a picture ID badge, you are still required to have an additional badge made indicating your student status. You may not wear your employee identification badge when attending clinicals as a student.

Liability Insurance

All students are required to purchase liability insurance by August 1, 2008, regardless of whether or not you are in class during fall semester. You should bring a certified check, money order, or personal check (no cash or credit cards) payable to UAH College of Nursing in the amount of $20.00 to the Office of Student Affairs (Room 207). Please make sure your social security number appears on your check or money order. This fee is non-refundable.

CPR Certification

All students must maintain current CPR certification throughout the program. UAH only accepts Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers through the American Heart Association. If your certification expires prior to May 1, 2009 you must be re-certified this summer prior to signing up for clinical sections. Turn in a COPY of your CPR certification verification to the Student Affairs. You will not be allowed to begin nursing classes without this certification.

Health Insurance

All students must maintain health insurance throughout the program. Turn in a COPY of your health insurance verification to Student Affairs. You will not be allowed to begin nursing classes without this verification. If you are interested in health insurance through the policy obtained by the UAH Student Government Association, call 256-824-6375.

PPD Skin Test

All students must show proof of their annual PPD skin test. (The skin test must be dated after June 1, 2008.) Turn in a COPY of your negative skin test, titer or, in the case of a positive reaction, proof of chest x-ray. You will not be allowed to begin nursing classes without this verification.

Criminal Background Check and Drug Testing

If you have not completed a criminal background check and drug testing at the College of Nursing, you must obtain the appropriate information from the College of Nursing Student Affairs Office. This information will be available in June. The Dean sent out letters to all students in fall 2007 alerting everyone of this requirement. The fee will be approximately $100. If you have specific questions about this requirement, please call and schedule an appointment with me to discuss. You will not be allowed to attend clinicals until this requirement is met. The deadline to have this completed is August 1.

Documentation Submission

All documentation materials must be submitted by August 1, 2008 regardless of which semester your class is offered. If we do not have these copies on file, you will not be allowed to attend nursing classes. Please bring all your documentation requirements at one time, do not bring them individually. Please do not bring original copies for Ms. Wilson to photocopy. Failure to submit all required documentation by August 1, 2008 may result in administrative withdrawal from all nursing classes. Students will be responsible for any late fees assessed by the University for reinstatement.

Standardized Examinations

The majority of tests you will be taking in the College of Nursing will be objective, multiple-choice exams. The culminating exam will be your licensing examination called the NCLEX-RN. In order to prepare you for this exam, you will be given a series of standardized national nursing examinations throughout your two years in the College. These standardized exams are modeled after the NCLEX-RN and will cover select content areas and results of these examinations are used for test grades in courses. You will receive an individualized analysis of your area of strengths and weaknesses. You are expected to score at least an 850 on all total program tests administered at UAH. You are expected to engage in remediation activities if you do not meet the 850 benchmark. You can work with your clinical faculty and course manager to identify activities you can review to improve your score.

Registering for Fall Classes

May 12 is when fall registration begins. You will need to register for your class and clinical at the same time, otherwise an error message will appear. If you receive an error message and when the class or clinical section fills, you will not be able to be added to the section. You are highly encouraged not to choose the same faculty you have worked with in the past in order to enhance your learning experience while at UAH. Please note: NUR 403: Family Centered Parent-Infant Nursing and NUR 404: Family Centered Nursing Care of Children are provided in seven-week blocks. If you register for NUR 403 class the 1st seven weeks, then you will need to register for NUR 403 clinicals the 1st seven weeks and then register for NUR 404 class and clinicals the 2nd seven weeks, or vice versa. You are encouraged to register for NUR 403 and NUR 404 on the same clinical day.

Program of Study Changes

Credit hours have increased and you do not need an elective to graduate. Total hours needed to graduate from the nursing program is 129 hours. You do need the NUR 306: Ethics course in order to meet program requirements. If you have not already registered for Ethics, you will need to enroll in the course during the Summer 2008.

If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.