Nursing Student Experience
Nationwide Children’s Hospital partners with more than 50 nursing schools to provide educational experiences for nursing students. In the past year, more than 1,800 nursing students gained firsthand pediatric nursing experience here.
The Center for Nursing Excellence offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate nursing student placements.
Before Getting Started...
- Do you attend an approved school for clinical placement at Nationwide Children's Hospital?
- Have you had your influenza vaccine this year?
- During flu season, flu vaccination documentation must be turned in to participate in clinical experiences, as it is a requirement by Nationwide Children's.
- Flu vaccination information can be emailed to NCHSON@NationwideChildrens.org.
- Have you gathered all required documentation for placement? (see below)
Required Student Documentation
The following information must be provided to the Center for Nursing Excellence a minimum of two weeks before beginning a precepted experience. Students and Clinical Placement Coordinators will be notified by email of student placement and when all required documentation has been processed. Epic user IDs and student access badges will be provided once all required documentation is on file.
No contact with patients is permitted without the following:
| Undergraduates |
Graduates |
| Influenza Vaccination Documentation | Influenza Vaccination Documentation |
| CPR Verification | CPR Verification |
| Immunization Records | Immunization Records |
| Current Background Check from School (within 2 years) | OH RN License |
| Liability Insurance |
NOTE: Fingerprinting will take place for all students who are planning on giving medication on their first day at the hospital.
Undergraduate Placements
Instructor-Led Clinical Groups
This traditional learning experience involves an instructor bringing a group of students, 8 or fewer, to a clinical unit in the hospital.
Each school must complete this form once a year, to continue to be considered "approved" for partnership and placement:
To move forward, every clinical instructor must complete the following form with every clinical group they conduct:
- Faculty Required Student Orientation Cover Page (1 per group)
Each Student Needs to Complete the Following Before Clinicals:
All student documentation must be received before students can provide any patient care.
Preceptorships 1:1 Nursing Student Experience
This is a one-on-one learning experience with a registered nurse offered to BSN students. There are a limited number of precepted learning experiences available and are arranged exclusively by the Center for Nursing Excellence. Undergraduate students and clinical instructors cannot negotiate preceptor placements with Nationwide Children's staff members. Faculty are responsible for accompanying the precepted nursing student(s) to the IS Depot for fingerprinting and electronic medical record (EMR) training.
Each school must complete this form once a year, to continue to be considered "approved" for partnership and placement:
Each Student Needs to Complete the Following Before Clinicals:
All student documentation must be received before students can provide any patient care.
Undergraduate Student Experience Survey
This evaluation must be completed by every student on their last day of clinical at the hospital.Graduate Placements
Necessary Requirements
A Clinical Contract MUST exist between the graduate nursing student's School of Nursing and Nationwide Children's Hospital. All graduate students must be managed through the Center for Nursing Excellence.
Graduate students are allowed One (1) preceptor per term. This will increase the availability of preceptors and allow for increased student placements. With the assistance of the assigned preceptor, supplemental experiences can be arranged with other Advance Practice Nurses.
Please Note: Family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner placements are very limited.
A faculty member or the student must complete an online request form for graduate student placement:
Requesting Schedule
Although, we do accept applications for placement on a rolling basis, one may be able to expect their assignment date closer to the generalized timeline below:
| Term | Requesting Period | Expected Assignment Date |
| Fall | April 1 to May 31 | Mid-July |
| Spring | August 1 to September 30 | Mid-November |
| Summer | January 1 to February 28 | Mid-April |
Faculty Resources
Faculty Orientation
The following orientations and trainings are required prior to independently supervising students at Nationwide Children’s:
- New Faculty Orientation: This is a required four-hour class for both employees and non-employees. This is a one-time training.
- Inpatient EPIC and Medication Barcoding Training: EPIC is the EMR used throughout Nationwide Children’s. One 4-hour class is required. This is a one-time training. Nationwide Children’s nursing employees who previously received this training are exempt.
- Unit Orientation: Required one time per unit, from 2-16 hours depending on experience. Unit contact information will be given to instructors after New Faculty Orientation registration.
For additional information, including class times, please contact the Nursing Student Education Coordinator at NCHSON@NationwideChildrens.org.
Booking Conference Rooms
While Teaching Conference Rooms are available on most units, each unit maintains ownership of them and may need to utilize them periodically. Teaching Conference Rooms must also be shared between Day and Evening clinical groups. Nursing instructors can schedule classrooms or conference rooms for pre-conference, post-conference, orientation, and other educational sessions directly via email at rmSched@NationwideChildrens.org.
In the email, please be sure to include:
- Dates
- Times
- Size of class
- Any audiovisual needs
Student Accounts & Fingerprinting
To request student accounts and fingerprinting appointments download this document. Please be sure to re-download the form before submitting information for each term. Download step-by-step instructions to assist you in filling out this request form.
A couple of things to remember:
- Submit one clinical group per form
- Make sure the “instructor email address” entered is the person you want to receive the student account IDs
- Note the email address used to submit the form is different than the one used in the past
- Be sure to supply students with their account login ID before going to the IS Depot for fingerprinting.
- Fingerprinting is not required unless students will be administering medications.
Self-Enrollment Fingerprinting
Nursing instructors now have the option of guiding students through self-enrollment of their fingerprints. Download self-enrollment instructions here.
- Nursing students can be fingerprinted at the IS Depot at 1015 Ross Hall. The IS Depot doors are open from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, but it is staffed around the clock. If the doors are closed, please knock for assistance.
- Please ensure students have their account login IDs before arriving to the IS Depot for fingerprinting. Nursing students should always be accompanied by a faculty member from their school during fingerprinting.
Contact Us
Send us an email at NCHSON@NationwideChildrens.org to:
- Make changes to your current schedule
- Submit a late request
- Cancel a scheduled group
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. The following components are required for the student uniform:
- Lab Coat
- Student Identification
- College photo IDs are now required as part of the nursing instructors' and nursing students' uniforms. The photo identification is worn above the waist.
Please Note: The dress code policy also states there are to be no open-toed shoes, no visible tattoos, and visible piercings should be in the ears only.
Student nurses are not permitted to remove patients from their assigned units for walks, special activities in the lobby, or any other social events.
A student nurse may accompany their assigned patient to medical/surgical procedures if transportation personnel or staff member of the unit also accompanies the patient.
Do not come to Nationwide Children's Hospital if you are ill. Speak with your clinical instructor for alternate arrangements.
To promote good health and maintain a healthy environment, Nationwide Children’s Hospital is smoke-free. Designated areas will no longer be available for use, and families and visitors will be asked not to smoke in their vehicles while on Nationwide Children's Hospital campus.
- Student parking is located at 818 East Mound Street, using the Pink shuttle.
Protective services will take you to your vehicle if you wish. Go to any of the main doors and call (614) 722-2128. A protective services officer will meet you at the door.
A protective services officer is also happy to escort you from the parking lots into the hospital. If you have a cell phone, call (614) 722-2128.
During the orientation you will be signing:
- OSHA and a Confidentiality and Technology Use form
- Nursing Student HIPAA Compliance Agreement
Students are not permitted to remove any type of Protected Health Information from Nationwide Children's Hospital, including information that is written, printed, or recorded electronically. Speak with your instructor or use the HIPAA Tip Sheet to learn how to de-identify patient information for your assignments.
An electronic medical record is utilized in most departments. Your instructor/preceptor will provide you with the education needed for the electronic medical record. You will be given a unique user ID and password for Epic documentation. Never share your password and never document using someone else's user ID.
Remember, Nationwide Children's Hospital is a pediatric facility and as such all conversations and language should be pediatric friendly.
Never post anything to social media about your experiences at Nationwide Children's Hospital while here as a student, and never represent yourself as a spokesperson or representative for Nationwide Children's Hospital. This includes photos, videos, and other content.
Here are some common practices to ensure that your vehicle is secure on campus:
- Always make sure your vehicle is locked.
- Do not leave cash or valuable items in view in your vehicle.
- These items should be locked in the trunk before your arrival, removed from the vehicle, or hidden.
Please Note: If the student is on the night shift, arrangements can be made to ensure they are parked in a garage. Please email Rosetta.Gordon@NationwideChildrens.org if this applies.