CON Professional Graduate Faculty Clinical Supervision Role
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| UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER COLLEGE OF NURSING |
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| Professional Graduate Faculty Clinical Supervision Role | Policy: 1511 (4.4.9) | |
| Faculty Policies - Clinical Supervision | Originating Date: May 2017 | |
| Responsible Reviewing Agency: Executive Council |
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Purpose
Defines the responsibilities and expectations of professional graduate faculty who provide clinical supervision for students completing clinical rotations in an indirect supervision model using approved preceptors.
Scope
This role description applies to professional graduate faculty iwho supervise students enrolled in clinical courses where:
- Clinical experiences are completed at external agencies
- Students are supervised day-to-day by preceptors
- Faculty maintain oversight of competency progression, evaluation, and course outcomes
Role Summary
Professional graduate faculty clinical supervisors provide academic oversight and structured clinical evaluation of students completing clinical experiences under preceptor supervision. Faculty are responsible for ensuring that students progress toward specialty clinical competencies and that clinical performance is evaluated using UNMC-approved processes, tools, and documentation standards.
Faculty fulfill this role in accordance with the professional graduate clinical standard operating procedures and utilize the clinical management system and official signature workflows for clinical documentation, preceptor onboarding, evaluation, and remediation processes.
Reporting and Collaboration
Professional graduate faculty clinical supervisors work collaboratively with:
- Course coordinators
- Specialty coordinators
- Clinical placement coordinators
- Preceptors
- Students
- Clinical agencies and affiliated sites (e.g., Nebraska Medicine, VA, Sandord, etc.)
Faculty maintain communication and documentation aligned with specialty processes and UNMC requirements.
Role Responsibilities
Prior to Clinical Rotation
Professional graduate faculty clinical supervisors are expected to:
- Understand the specialty clinical competencies within their role area.
- Understand and follow the written processes/policies, which guide the student-preceptor arrangement including specific agency guidelines (e.g. Nebraska Medicine, VA, Sanford).
- Communicate progress, i.e. both completed placements and those that are more difficult to locate, to the specialty coordinator or other assigned person in a timely manner.
- Work with the clinical coordinator to initiate and manage clinical contracts.
- Provide input to the preceptor orientation and student clinical handbooks.
- Establish professional communication with preceptor to include acknowledgement of role and receipt of course materials, including evaluation forms which are found in the Preceptor Handbook.
During the Clinical Rotation
Professional graduate faculty clinical supervisors are expected to:
- Complete required faculty site visits and evaluations, including midterm and final evaluations. At least one evaluation per clinical semester must include direct observation (in-person or via secure video platform).
- Document evaluations and feedback in clinical management system using designated evaluation tools (e.g., CON approved clinical evaluation tools), ensuring evaluations are shared with students according to semester timelines.
- Conduct additional site visits as needed when concerns arise regarding student competency progression. In-person visits are recommended.
- Review student clinical documentation and reflective learning artifacts every 3–4 weeks and provide timely feedback.
- Communicate student progress to the course coordinator and/or specialty coordinator, including escalation of concerns and inclusion of the course coordinator in progression decisions when performance issues arise.
- Respond to unsatisfactory preceptor assessments through follow-up site visits or technology-assisted visits to validate concerns and determine appropriate next steps.
- Determine and record the student’s clinical grade, in collaboration with the preceptor, consistent with course requirements.
After the Clinical Rotation
Professional graduate faculty clinical supervisors are expected to:
- Support preceptor recognition by collaborating with the clinical coordinator to send thank-you letters or certificates of appreciation according to specialty expectations.
- Ensure receipt and proper storage of end-of-semester evaluation documentation, including the Semester Summative Evaluation of Student Progress in Achievement of Competency Domains and the Clinical Preceptor Assessment of Student Performance.
- Support grade posting compliance by notifying the student and preceptor when required documentation is missing and final grades cannot be posted until all forms are received.
Required Documentation and Tools
Faculty in this role are expected to use required tools and documentation systems as designated by UNMC specialty processes and the professional graduate clinical standard operating processes, including the clinical management system-based evaluation tools and required clinical evaluation forms.
Compliance
Failure to complete required supervision activities (site visits, evaluations, documentation review, and grading responsibilities) may place the program at risk for noncompliance with accreditation, regulatory, and institutional expectations.