Program and License Requirements
Clinical Experience Requirements
Cabrini University’s Nursing program requires background checks, screenings and immunizations, as well as CPR certification after admission.
Required Technical Standards
Cabrini University Nursing is dedicated to preparing career nurses for the complex nursing care they will humanistically provide to diverse persons and populations focusing on health equity. Students interested in the nursing major must acknowledge that they understand and will be expected to meet the Nursing Program’s Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodation. Students in need of reasonable accommodation must meet with the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) to discuss the resources available. “Cabrini University is firmly committed to offering support and appropriate accommodations to qualified students with disabilities.”
The Nursing Program identifies the following categories of competencies consistent with the profession of nursing: Communication, Sensory/Observation, Cognitive, Motor, and Behavioral and Social.
Communication Competencies:
The ability to communicate clearly and effectively, verbally, non-verbally, and written, is a critical skill of the nursing profession. Nursing students must be able read, write, and comprehend the English language and engage in articulate communications with students, faculty, staff, patients, family members/caregivers, and clinical/healthcare professionals.
Examples of communication competencies include but are not limited to the following:
- Understand, receive, and convey information such as health histories, patient concerns, nursing diagnoses, and treatment plans
- Document accurate patient information
- Provide instruction and education to patients and families
- Timely share status changes for prioritization of care
- Freely express ideas/feelings and give/receive feedback
Sensory/Observation Competencies:
Nursing students must have functional use of the senses of touch, vision, hearing, and smell to observe and gather information and learn new skills. Information interpreted by the senses (with or without assistive devices) at both near and far distances is key to a nursing student’s intake of data relating to a patient and/or the environment as well as instructions/demonstrations relating to nursing skills education. Student nurses must use their skills and knowledge to observe situations and take appropriate action in order to provide safe, timely, and appropriate care for their patients.
Examples of sensory/observation competencies include but are not limited to the following:
- Palpate pulses and veins, identify body landmarks, and detect fremitus
- Assess skin turgor, rashes, color changes, and temperature
- Collect data from electronic health records and monitors
- Hear (soft) voices, body sounds, alarms, and call bells
- Detect odors from bodily fluids, gases, smoke, or noxious smells
Cognitive Competencies:
Critical and analytical thinking are important skills that nursing students learn and develop as they advance in their education and carry into their professional practice. Nursing students must be able to calculate, measure, reason, evaluate, recall, and apply information.
Examples of cognitive competencies include but are not limited to the following:
- Understand and follow course objectives, assignments and programmatic outcomes
- Prepare, measure, and check dosage calculations for medication administration
- Assess and monitor patients' physical, mental, and emotional status
- Recognize and document changes in patients’ movements and activities
- Review and compare laboratory studies to guide in developing priority of care
Motor Competencies:
Motor competencies consist of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, physical strength, physical endurance, and mobility. Nursing students need to have sufficient motor abilities to perform the tasks/skills required of the program.
Examples of motor competencies include but are not limited to the following:
- Move within limited spaces to ensure patients’ safety
- Use eye/hand coordination to draw up medication in a syringe
- Stand/walk for a complete clinical day (8-12 hours)
- Push, pull, support or lift 25 pounds while repositioning patients
- Bend, twist, squat, and stretch to provide direct patient care
Behavioral and Social Competencies:
Nursing students must demonstrate behavioral and social competencies through integrity, self-accountability, respect, maturity, compassion, and emotional intelligence. Students are expected to develop courteous relationships with peers, students, faculty, staff, patients, families/caregivers, and the clinical/healthcare team. The ability to recognize, understand, manage, and reason while fully utilizing their intellectual ability is necessary for nursing students to provide safe and quality care.
Examples of behavioral and social competencies include but are not limited to the following:
- Satisfy all compliance requirements and follow educational training and site regulations set forth by the clinical partners
- Learn, collaborate, and practice in a non-judgmental and non-discriminatory manner
- Flexibly adapt to changes within environments and function under stressful situations
- Exhibit awareness of social differences such as race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and religion
- Embrace diversity and inclusivity of all persons
Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing, Act 53 of 2020
The clinical requirements of the Nursing Program are consistent with the qualifications necessary for an individual to apply and be considered for a Registered Nurse License in the State of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing (“Board”) requires the Nursing Program inform applicants of Act 53 of 2020 – Best Practices Guide: Information for Individuals with Criminal Convictions Who Are Considering an Occupation or Profession That Requires Licensure, and an Overview of the License Application Process. Please also review Act 53: Rationale for Crimes Directly Related to the Professions of Nursing and Dietetics-Nutrition.