Undergraduate Practicum Manual

Section 4: Identification of Preceptor and Field Site

Preceptor Requirements

What is Meditrek?

Meditrek, a product of HSoft Corporation, is a user-friendly online tool that will help you apply for, track, and manage your practicum experience. Meditrek will help you:

• Collaborate more effectively with faculty and preceptors.

• Track your time spent at each clinical field site and organize it by course, term, and more.

• Provide documentation of your experience to potential employers or certifying agencies for certificates and licensure.

• Provide an easy and trackable system to submit your practicum applications.

• Access the system 24 hours a day from anywhere with an Internet connection, including your computer, tablet, and smartphone, even after you graduate. 

Student Meditrek Login

Preceptor Meditrek Login

1. Existing Account:  If students and preceptors already have Meditrek credentials created but lost their username and/ password, they request their username and password to be reset directly on the Meditrek home page at https://edu.meditrek.com  by clicking on the link for “Forgot your password or username?” at the bottom of the screen. 

2. New Account:   If students and preceptors do not already have an account in Meditrek, they may request account creation online by completing this form:  https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/CON/RequestMeditrekCredentials

Walden’s Practicum Pledge™ is an exclusive service offered by our institution to support you on your educational journey through your nursing program.  We know that finding a site or preceptor can be challenging.  To better ensure a successful placement, we’ve developed a truly collaborative process.  It involves you, practicum sites, and preceptors while Walden supports you to navigate that process.  If you get stuck – we’re here to help!  If you have worked to identify your own site and preceptor but are not able to do so, Walden’s Practicum Pledge™ will match you with a site and preceptor.

Click here for more information.
 

Practicum Advantage™

We know that finding a practicum site and preceptor can be a stressful time in any nursing program. We are here to support you throughout this journey with Walden’s Practicum Advantage and Practicum Pledge.

Walden’s Practicum Advantage™ provides the coaching, resources, and self-help tools you need to identify a practicum site and nursing preceptor that fit with your education and career goals.  At the heart of it is a dedicated regional field experience team to support you.  Here are the services included:

• Access to robust database of potential sites:  The database lists sites where other Walden students have completed their practicum experiences and where Walden may already have an affiliation agreement in place. This can make it easier to identify a potential site.
• Guidance From Walden Career Services:  Many students earning online nursing degrees say that finding the ideal practicum site and nursing preceptor is similar to applying for a job. It can take time, and Walden is here to support you in your search by offering resources such as networking tips and interview and résumé tools.
• Student Success Advising Support:  Your dedicated Student Success Advisor can assist you with all aspects of your online degree planning, including helping you to understand the requirements of your nursing program, determine when your practicum will begin, and more.
• Dedicated Field Experience Team:  Available for 1:1 appointments, your dedicated regional field experience team is available to explain the process and practicum requirements, assist with submission of documents, approve preceptor credentials, and assist with securing agreements between sites.

Learn more about the Practicum Pledge.

We are here to support you: 

• Attend a Roundtable Session for “Tips to Find a Preceptor and Site”. 
• Schedule a Coaching Call with a Field Placement Coordinator for coaching support to find a preceptor and practicum site. 
• Contact Field Experience or Schedule a Phone Appointment  with a Field Experience Coordinator for support with the practicum process. 

What do I need in order to submit my application?

From Meditrek

• Your username and password
  • You will receive one username and password for the entirety of your use with Meditrek
  • You will receive this information approximately two terms prior to your first practicum course
  • If you have not received your password a month before your application is due, please contact us here

From Your Mentor Nominee

• Their current email address. 
• Their credentials
• Their title/position
• Their phone number
• Their current position and how this will meet the required objectives of the course
• Completed Mentor Commitment Form. 
  • This form is sent to directly to the mentor via email when you submit the preceptor information section in Meditrek.  You will need to follow up with your mentor to receive the document from them.
  • Must be completed by your mentor
  • Must be uploaded by you in to Meditrek

From Your Field Site

• You will need to identify the field site administrator. This is usually someone in risk management, legal, HR, office manager, Dean, Associate Dean, Director of Nursing etc. Once identified you will need;
  • Their name and title
  • Their email and phone
  • To let them know they will receive an email from us if you are not an employee of the site

From Yourself

• Your Walden ID number and Walden email address
• Your RN license in the state you are completing your practicum
  • Must show your name
  • Must show the expiration date

For Webinars, FAQs, and Tutorials on how to submit your application, please go here.

1. Existing Account:  If students and preceptors already have Meditrek credentials created but lost their username and/ password, they request their username and password to be reset directly on the Meditrek home page at https://edu.meditrek.com  by clicking on the link for “Forgot your password or username?” at the bottom of the screen. 

2. New Account:   If students and preceptors do not already have an account in Meditrek, they may request account creation online by completing this form:  https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/CON/RequestMeditrekCredentials

1. Change of Specialization: 

Students who have officially been approved to change their specialization and/or program must request their Meditrek account be updated.  Students may submit a request to update their Meditrek account by completing this online form:  https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/SON/ChangeOfSpecialization

2. Change of Learning Modality:  Tempo to Course-Based or Course-Based to Tempo

Students enrolling in a different learning modality must request their Meditrek account be updated.  Students may submit a request to update their Meditrek account by completing this online form:  https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/SON/ChangeOfSpecialization

3. Tempo Applications:  Change Start Date for Practicum Application

Students needing to change their start date for their practicum application by two-weeks for courses in the Tempo program may request the change online by completing this online form: https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/SON/TempoApplication

4. Remedial Applications for Incomplete Grades:   

Students with an incomplete grade needing to log practicum hours during the next term must submit a request for a remedial application to be opened in Meditrek by completing this online request form:  https://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/SON/RemedialApplication . 

What Happens After an Application is Submitted

1. When you successfully submit your application, you will receive an automatic email from Meditrek stating it was submitted.

2. You should allow 2-3 weeks (3-4 during peak time) to receive a response from a Field Education Coordinator via your Walden Email.

3. The application and the affiliation agreement are two separate entities being worked on simultaneously.

4. You will receive an email reply with one of the following in regards to your application

• Your application has be returned for further work.
  • The email will identify what you need to correct.
  • You will need to log back into Meditrek, select teh application, correct the error and re-submit.
  • You will then get another email confirmation when it's been re-submitted.
• Your application is pending.
  • The application has been submitted and is currently being reviewed by Field Experience staff.
  • Click here to download this status explanation.
• Your application has been approved:
  • You are cleared to start the identified course/practicum with the identified preceptor at the identified field site during the identified quarter following registration for the course.

5. We process applications as they come in and if we identify an error later we are able to override the approval.

6. You can log in to Meditrek at any time to see the status of your application.

Who Reviews the Application?

Each application is reviewed by a region team of six.

Meet the your regional team HERE.

Schedule an appointment with an expert on your team HERE.

It is important for students to submit their practicum application by the application deadline to avoid delays.  The application deadline is important to allow enough time to complete the practicum approval process to ensure all  accreditation, compliance, regulatory, onboarding, and practicum site requirements are complete.   Students submitting an application after the application deadline will be delayed.  In order to accommodate late applications once the application submission period ends in Meditrek, the Office of Field Experience has a waitlist for late applications.  The waitlist is only available for a very limited time.  The waitlist will close at any time, without notice, for a variety of factors including the volume of requests and length of time before the start of the term.  

To be initially eligible for a waitlist late application, students must have a preceptor secured and have extenuating circumstances.  Students must also have all onboarding requirements compliant and valid for the upcoming term in CastleBranch.  Students must have all requirements set to expire before the term updated and renewed in CastleBranch.  If any expiring requirement is currently marked complete in CastleBranch, students must contact CastleBranch to request the renewal requirement to be added early to their “To Do List” in order to update the requirement in CastleBranch.  Students must also have a background check and drug test completed within 12 months of the first day of the term.  Students must follow instructions in the Onboarding & CastleBranch Instructional Guide.    

Students interested in submitting a late application through the waitlist process must submit a “Waitlist Late Application Request” form in Meditrek because students are unable to open new applications in Meditrek once application submission period ends.  This request process is only available when the waitlist is open.  The response time on requests for a waitlist application is 5-7 business days.  If granted a waitlist late application, students must be ready to submit their practicum application in Meditrek immediately.  Once an application is submitted, the application gets placed on the waitlist and is processed in the order it is submitted in Meditrek.  Final approval and registration decisions for waitlist applications are made beginning two weeks before the start of the term and continues through the start of the term.   Placement on the waitlist does not guarantee that a practicum application will be approved. 

Once the waitlist is closed, new requests for late applications will no longer be accepted through the waitlist.  The ability for students to submit a late application through the waitlist is not a guarantee.

Course Overviews

Clinical Checklists

BSN - Undergraduate (4210,4211,4220,4221):

Course-Based:

Tempo-Based:

MSN-Specializations:

Course-Based:

TEMPO-Based:

Post Master's Certificate - Specialty:

MSN-Nurse Practitioner Specializations:

Post Master's Certificate - Nurse Practitioner Specializations: 

DNP:

Resources:

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN and RN-BSN-MSN Tracks) – Field Experience is Required

The BSN Completion program requires students to participate in two (2) 6-week practice experiences and activities for 72 field experience hours. The faculty supervise and evaluate the students' work as they complete their projects. Students are divided into groups and discuss their practicum projects each week for 6 weeks. Students create a final PowerPoint presentation to share with their practicum group and the professional in their community. Faculty oversee and facilitate the discussions.

NURS 4210/4211: Practice Experience 1

The practicum experiences in this course provide the opportunity for students to apply and integrate population-based health promotion and disease prevention thereby integrating this new knowledge and skills into their practice. Students choose a common health problem found in their practice in their community. Through community assessment and selected on-site collaboration with a variety of professional colleagues and other stakeholders in their community, students develop a possible evidenced-base intervention plan to promote the health of a specific population at the community level.

NURS 4220/4221: Practice Experience 2

The practicum experiences in this course provide the opportunity for students to apply and integrate leadership and management theories into their practice. Students propose and develop a potential evidence-based change project using change theory, organizational and systems theory, and quality improvement theories. Through selected on-site collaboration with leaders and managers in their present work environment, students formulate a possible leadership change project that specifically addresses quality improvement and safety in the health care setting. 

Your mentor will receive an email with information about Meditrek and instructions for the final feedback process at the end of week 5 of the course. Your mentor is required to complete a feedback form in Meditrek before a final grade will be issued. It is required that the feedback be completed in Meditrek by Friday of Week 6 of the term.

If your mentor has not received an email with a link to complete the feedback evaluation by Monday of Week 6 of the course, and your mentor has checked spam/junk email folders, please submit this form to request the link be resent to your mentor: http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/emf/SON/FeedbackForm.