Dear CEIN Students,
Thank you to those who met with me last week to voice some of the concerns regarding the SON's COVID-19 response and communication. The challenges of COVID-19 have hit all of us hard, and in various ways, but let me assure you that your comments and suggestions have been heard. After following up with SON administration and faculty, I am excited to tell you about some of the ways in which we'll be addressing clinical hours and the careful re-integration of face-to-face educational experiences.
Contact tracing (tracking) is a clinical evidence-based method of identifying individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 and tracking their symptoms, time to testing, and response to treatment. It requires astute skills in physical assessment, behavioral health, pediatrics, and community health. Dean Chyun has been working with the Department of Health to allow you to be part of the state's contact tracing program, which will count toward your total clinical hours. We expect to hear more from the Department of Health this week, and Dean Chyun will update everyone regarding how we can begin working on this important mission. We are also keeping close communication with our clinical partners to get you back into your clinical rotations safely. Most of our clinical partners are aiming to have students back into the clinical setting by June/July. We are also working across campuses to plan for simulations aimed at brushing up on nursing skills and procedures.
Please know that we are all committed to providing you with the education and experiences to prepare you for entry into clinical nursing practice and to be eligible to apply for the national licensure examination after the program. With this in mind, the transition to online over this semester has come with extremely heavy financial costs, and the SON has remained committed to preventing these additional expenditures from being passed on to you. We continue to work diligently on providing you with a high quality education that will prepare you to become nurse leaders of the future.
Faculty and I also discussed your concerns about using remote proctoring services for ATI and Exemplify (Exam Soft) exams. We understand that there are additional challenges when testing at home and concerns about noise during testing that may require you to test at a different time. The remote proctoring does not have a human being on the other end, watching the test taker while testing. Instead, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) for monitoring, similar to technologies used by industry and our national certification examiners. Since this is an excellent practice for the future, we plan to continue evaluating its use and consider more flexible testing schedules. Please contact your faculty if you have concerns regarding testing times during the scheduled course periods.
We understand that the COVID-19 Pandemic has changed life for each of us in profound ways. If you have concerns regarding your health, underlying conditions, and safety in resuming face-to-face education, we encourage you to contact the Center for Students with Disabilities https://csd.uconn.edu<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcsd.uconn.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C7b05c9c4af764558929708d7f7fcb519%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637250537050070552&sdata=O16rAcjk5TaduQJCynf8ghmH38IbcxiaY2171TreSyA%3D&reserved=0> now to plan for possible accommodations and alternative arrangements. Lastly, we are committed to improving communication with you regarding the program and will plan to have weekly updates and opportunities to discuss concerns. I have included my personal Webex meeting link below for open office hours on the following dates and times if you would like to meet.
Webex Meetings with Dr. Snyder: https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/meet/mas10022<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuconn-cmr.webex.com%2Fmeet%2Fmas10022&data=02%7C01%7C%7C7b05c9c4af764558929708d7f7fcb519%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637250537050080544&sdata=EUQsRQD3LgUak2neYnHfXq71ngrICB4rh7gGu6oXfO8%3D&reserved=0>
Monday, 5/18 from 9:00 -10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, 5/20 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, 5/21, from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
With Kindness,
Mimi Snyder PhD, MSN, RN
She/Her/Hers
Director, Undergraduate Nursing Programs
Accelerated CEIN/BS and Traditional
University of Connecticut School of Nursing
Phone: 860-486-5261
Fax: 860-486-0001
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https://undergrad.nursing.uconn.edu/bachelor-of-science/<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fundergrad.nursing.uconn.edu%2Fbachelor-of-science%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C7b05c9c4af764558929708d7f7fcb519%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637250537050090534&sdata=pwe4Q3DnqEt87jeOtVRv374cEYxms0dJPBZMYFL88aY%3D&reserved=0>
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