Nursing Field Experience:

Course Success

Yes. You must complete the Walden Practicum Orientation for Students before you begin your practicum experience. You must also contact your practicum site to inquire if they require you to complete orientation before you begin.

Yes. You must complete the Guide to Professional Presence, Communication, and Conduct in Field Experience training before you begin your practicum experience. You must also contact your practicum site to inquire if they require you to complete training before you begin.

You must review expectations for practicum in the Practicum Orientation for Students before you begin your practicum experience. You must also abide by the policies and procedures outlined in the Practicum Manual, Course Success page on the Field Experience website and in the Course Syllabus.

You must abide by student expectations for dress code and professional appearance for practicum as outlined in the Practicum Orientation for Students. You must also contact your practicum site to inquire about their dress code attire and abide by the dress code for the practicum site.

Review the requirements for practicum hours on the Course Overview and in the Practicum Manual in Section 2 to determine how many hours you must complete during the practicum course.

Review the requirements for practicum hours on the Course Overview and in the Practicum Manual in Section 2 to determine how many hours you must complete during the practicum course.

Course-Based Practicum:

• Graduate Courses: Practicum hours must be completed by Week 10 of the 11-week term.
• Undergraduate Courses: Practicum hours must be completed by Week 6 of the 6-week term.

Tempo-Based Practicum:

Practicum approval is valid for 13 weeks from the start date of the term for the approved practicum application. Students should complete practicum hours within the 13-week period.

Students may begin practicum hours and practicum activities with the preceptor or at the practicum site after (a) the start of the term, (b) they receive practicum application approval in Meditrek from the Office of Field Experience, (c) they are registered/enrolled in the practicum course, and (d) they receive approval from the faculty instructor for the practicum course once the course begins. Students cannot begin completing practicum hours or logging practicum hours until these conditions have been met.

No. You cannot begin your practicum experience early. You must wait until the start of the term, you have approved application in Meditrek, and you have approval from your faculty instructor to begin the practicum experience.

Each course is different so you should check in the bookstore to confirm if there are any required books/materials for the course. It may be necessary for you to explore learning resources that relate to your chosen area of interest outside of Walden resources. This is a common requirement of scholar practitioners who seek to keep current in their areas of expertise.

Review the instructions and steps outlined in the “Change of Preceptorship After the Practicum Course Begins’ in Section 2 of the Practicum Manual.

Yes, you must complete the required practicum hours during each course to satisfactorily meet the requirements of the course. Practicum hours cannot be carried over to another term.

Students usually complete their practicum without any problems. However, if you are concerned about this, you should contact your practicum course faculty instructor immediately.

• Course-Based Courses: Students may be eligible for an Incomplete Grade for a practicum course if you meet the guidelines as determined by the faculty instructor. An Incomplete Grade will provide you with additional time to complete practicum requirements. See the Student Handbook to review the policy for Incomplete Grades.
• Tempo-Based Courses: Students who need to complete practicum hours after the 13-week approval period must go through the Remedial Application process. Students must follow directions for Remedial Applications described in the Practicum Application Process section.

No. Practicum is completed onsite in person with the preceptor at the practicum site.

No. Practicum experiences cannot be completed in a private residential setting.

No. You are only approved to complete practicum experiences at the address that you listed in your practicum application for the practicum site. You must have an approved practicum application for each practicum site location you plan to attend. If your preceptor goes to multiple practicum site locations, you may not go to these other practicum site locations with your preceptor without an approved practicum application for the new location(s) in Meditrek.

Only your designated and approved preceptor who is approved in Meditrek can sign off on your time logs and complete your practicum evaluations in Meditrek. Students, preceptor designees, and administrative staff are not permitted to complete these tasks.

Students must confirm with their preceptor(s) that they have received their account information to access Meditrek. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure their preceptor completes the midterm and final evaluation in Meditrek. Students will earn an “F” in the practicum course if the preceptor does not complete the required Meditrek final evaluations by the course deadline. Preceptors may send an email to nursingfield@mail.waldenu.edu if they experience issues accessing Meditrek.

Although Walden University College of Nursing does not compensate preceptors financially for preceptorships, they are provided with great benefits for serving as a preceptor. You can review the Preceptors Benefits on the Preceptor Resources webpage.