Essential Abilities
Students accepted into the IU Southeast School of Nursing program will need the cognitive ability, emotional stability, and physical endurance to complete the program and practice professional nursing. When determining professional suitability for the practice of nursing, the student must be able to do the following: exercise safe judgments based on assessment data, remain visibly calm in emergency situations, interact in a caring manner with others, follow directions, be flexible, and demonstrate honesty, integrity, commitment, cooperation, respect, and accountability. The student must not pose a significant risk to the health and safety of self or others. Qualified applicants are expected to meet all admission criteria and matriculating students are expected to meet all progression criteria, as well as the following essential abilities:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Essential intellectual/conceptual skills to include: ability to measure, calculate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate to engage competently in the safe practice of nursing.
- 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.
Students failing to meet these essential abilities, as determined by faculty, at any point in their academic program may have their progress interrupted until they have demonstrated their ability to meet these essential abilities within negotiated time frames. Refer to Student Policies for more information.