Health, Safety, Malpractice Insurance and Immunization Requirements

Physical Examination

Each student, prior to the beginning of his or her first semester of the Nursing Program, must have a satisfactory physical examination completed by a physician, physician’s assistant, or family nurse practioner. Be sure to have the examiner use the appropriate forms provided by the Health Occupations Department. This MUST be completed prior to beginning the clinical portion of your Program.  Students sign a Release of Medical Information form (Appendix C) to authorize the Health Occupations Department to provide clinical agencies copies of the students’ immunization records and physical exam forms, upon agency request. 

Physical Requirements for Nursing Students

The following list of physical requirements is to assist the MD, NP, and/or PA in evaluating your ability to meet the physical requirements of the CR Nursing Program. If at any time throughout the Nursing Program you are unable to meet any of these requirements it is the student’s responsibility to be seen by their health care provider for re-evaluation.  All changes in health status and ability to continue to meet the physical requirements of the program must be documented by the provider and submitted to the Director of Nursing and Health Occupations.

1. STANDING/WALKING – 75 – 95% of workday spent standing/walking on carpet, tile, linoleum, asphalt and cement while providing and managing client care, gathering client supplies and medications, obtaining and returning equipment. Approximate distance = 3 to 5 miles.
2. SITTING – 5 – 25% of workday spent sitting while communicating with and teaching clients, operating computers, answering the telephone, writing reports, documenting, calling doctors, and scheduling appointments.
3. LIFTING – 10 – 15% of workday spent floor to knee, knee to waist, waist to waist, and waist to shoulder level lifting while handling supplies (5 lbs – 20 to 30 times per shift), using trays (5 – 10 lbs), and assisting with positioning patients in bed/moving patients on and off gurneys and exam tables (average weight 200 lbs).
4. CARRYING – 65% of workday spent carrying items at waist level.
5. PUSHING/PULLING – 40% of workday spent pushing/pulling, using carts, utilizing crash carts, opening and closing doors, pushing/pulling beds, gurneys, and wheelchairs, and moving equipment and furniture.
6. CLIMBING – 15 – 25% of workday spent climbing stairs going to and from other departments, offices, and homes.
7. BALANCING – 15 – 25% see climbing.
8. STOOPING/KNEELING – 10% spent stooping/kneeling while retrieving supplies from medication carts, bedside stands, bathrooms, storerooms, etc.
9. BENDING – 20% of workday spent bending at the waist while performing patient assessments and treatments, gathering supplies, assisting patients with positioning, adjusting patient beds and exam tables, bathing patients, and emptying drainage apparatus.
10. CROUCHING/CRAWLING – 2% retrieving patient belongings.
11. REACHING/STRETCHING – 35% of workday spent reaching/stretching administering and monitoring IV therapy, gathering supplies, operating computers, disposing of equipment and linens, assisting with patient positioning, connecting equipment. Cleaning office equipment. Retrieving patient files.
12. MANIPULATING – 90% hand-wrist movement, hand-eye coordination, simple firm grasping required and 90% fine and gross motor dexterity required to calibrate and use equipment and perform CPR.
13. FEELING – 90% normal tactile feeling required to complete physical assessment including palpation and notation of skin temperature.
14. TWISTING – 15% of workday spent twisting at the waist while gathering supplies and equipment, administering care, and operating equipment.
15. COMMUNICTING IN VERBAL AND WRITTEN FORM – 95% ability to communicate nursing actions, interpret patient responses, initiate health teaching, document and understand health care activities, and interact with patients, staff, faculty and peers.
16. HEARING – 95% ability to hear and interpret many people and correctly interpret what is heard; auscultation, physician orders whether verbal or over the telephone, patient reports and cries for help, fire and equipment alarms, etc.
17. SEEING – 95% acute visual skills necessary to detect signs and symptoms, coloring and body language of patients, color of wounds and drainage, and possible infections anywhere. Interpret written word accurately, read characters and identify colors in the patient’s record and on the computer screen.