School of Nursing

IU Southeast School of Nursing Essential Abilities Procedure

1. Essential judgment skills to include: ability to identify, assess and comprehend conditions surrounding patient situations for the purpose of problem-solving around patient conditions and coming to appropriate conclusions and/or courses of action.
2. Essential physical/neurological functions to include: ability to use the senses of seeing, hearing, touch and smell to make correct judgments regarding patient conditions and meet physical expectations to perform required interventions for the purpose of demonstrating competence to safely engage in the practice of nursing. Behaviors that demonstrate essential neurological and physical functions include, but are not limited to observation, listening, understanding relationships, writing and psychomotor abilities consistent with course and program expectations.
3. Essential communications skills to include: ability to communicate effectively with fellow students, faculty, patients and all members of the health care team. Skills include verbal and written and nonverbal abilities as well as information technology skills consistent with effective communication.
4. Essential emotional coping skills: ability to demonstrate the mental health necessary to safely engage in the practice of nursing as determined by professional standards of practice.
5. Essential intellectual/conceptual skills to include: ability to measure, calculate, analyze, synthesize and evaluate to engage competently in the safe practice of nursing.
6. Other essential behavioral attributes: ability to engage in activities consistent with safe nursing practice without demonstrated behaviors of addiction to abuse of or dependence on alcohol or other drugs that may impair behavior or judgment. The students must demonstrate responsibility and accountability for actions as a student in the School of Nursing and as a developing professional nurse consistent with accepted standards of practice.