2a. Ethics

Student-Faculty Handbook

University of Detroit Mercy Graduate Program of Nurse Anesthesiology

Reviewed Aug 2001, Feb 2002, March 2003, Aug 2003, Jan 2004, Mar 2004, Feb 2005, Apr 2006, August 2007

Programs of Nurse Anesthesia shall be conducted within the ethical and moral standards defined by those professional groups (organizations, institutions, agencies, government boards or other entities) having an impact on the individual program and on nurse anesthesia in general.

Admissions

Nondiscrimination

The program abides by the nondiscriminatory admissions policy of the University of Detroit Mercy. In line with our mission, applicants who were or are UDM undergraduates or employees of clinical affiliate sites, applicants from underserved communities, and those from underrepresented minorities in the profession may be given additional consideration in the application process.

Categories of admission

The program recognizes only "regular" and "contingent" admission as described below.

Regular admission is selectively afforded to applicants who satisfy all admission requirements of the University and the program.
Contingent admission is afforded to applicants who appear qualified for regular admission but have not documented completion of all requirements. When the admission requirement has been completed, a decision about regular admission will be made by the faculty. Students admitted on a contingent basis, must resolve the incomplete requirement prior to registering for classes.

Technical Standards

Skills and abilities applicants and students must demonstrate

A graduate of the program must be able to fulfill the job description and duties of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. A candidate for the program must have abilities and skills in five categories: observation, communication, motor, intellectual, and behavioral/social. Reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities will be considered on an individual basis, but a candidate must be able to perform in an independent manner. The following skills are required, with or without accommodation.

Observation: Candidates must have sufficient sensory capacity to observe in the lecture hall, the laboratory, the outpatient setting, and the patient's bedside. Sensory skills adequate to perform a physical examination are required. Functional vision, hearing and tactile sensation must be adequate to observe a patient's condition and to elicit information from computerized monitors, and through procedures regularly required in a physical examination, such as inspection, auscultation and palpation.
Communication: Candidates must be able to communicate effectively in both academic and health care settings. Candidates must show evidence of effective written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work in teams.
Motor: The ability to participate in basic diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers and procedures (e.g. palpation, auscultation, drawing blood or starting intravenous lines) is required. Candidates must have sufficient motor function to execute movements reasonably required to provide care to patients, including the ability to help move or lift them. Candidates must be able to negotiate patient care environments and must be able to move between settings, such as clinic, classroom building, and hospital.
Physical stamina sufficient to complete the rigorous course of didactic and clinical study is required. Long periods of sitting, standing, or moving are required in classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences.
Intellectual: Candidates must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize, both in quiet environments and in areas where distractions, noise, and other stressors are present. Problem solving, one of the critical skills demanded of CRNAs, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, candidates should be able to comprehend graphics displays of physiologic data, distinguish artifact on monitor displays, understand three-dimensional relationships and the spatial relationships of structures. Candidates must be able to read and understand medical and nursing literature. In order to complete the degree, candidates must be able to demonstrate mastery of these skills and the ability to use them together in a timely and often critical fashion in problem-solving and patient care.
Behavioral and social attributes: Candidates must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgement, and the prompt completion of all academic and patient care responsibilities. The development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients and other members of the health care team is essential. The ability to effectively function in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical practice, flexibility, compassion, integrity, motivation, interpersonal skills, and concern for others are all required.

Candidates must be willing and able to follow program and practice guidelines. They must practice ethically and within legal and regulatory authority.

Criminal Background Check, Drug Screening

The College of Health Professions requires that students pass a criminal background check and a drug screening as a condition of participation in the clinical curriculum. Nurse anesthesia students must have a negative drug screen and criminal background check completed as a condition of admission and matriculation.

Please click below for College of Health Professions policies, forms, and instructions:

Special Accommodations

Disability Support Services are available to all currently enrolled students. Students with a disability requiring accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act should contact Emilie Gallegos, Director of University Academic Services, at (313) 578-0310 or gallegem@udmercy.edu upon admission to the University. Students must complete the intake and disability verification process to receive accommodations. Current documentation of the condition, preferably no
more than 3 years old, must be provided. Once verified, UDM will work with the student and the faculty to determine appropriate accommodations.

Students with disabilities who are seeking accommodations are responsible for contacting the UAS/Disability Support Services Office to register for services, and to request accommodations each semester. Every effort is made to ensure equal access to programs and activities, both academic and extra-curricular. However, any student who believes that he or she has been denied appropriate accommodations in accordance with the ADA and Section 504 may choose to engage in the grievance procedure outlined at ADA and Sect 504 Grievance Procedure.

If you need course accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share, or you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment each term with Emilie Gallegos, Director of University Academic Services/Disability Support Services, at (313) 578-0310 or gallegem@udmercy.edu .

Loyalty

Loyalty, as part of an ethical or moral code, is reciprocal; up and down the organizational channels. It should not be misconstrued to mean absence of valid critique, complaint or discussion, nor total agreement or consensus with decisions. It does imply that students and faculty support educational policies or decisions, and work within the system to effect change in those policies or decisions with which there is disagreement or difficulty. Therefore, third-party representations to the Council on Accreditation, or any other governing body shall not be made without first exhausting all avenues of due process within the conducting institution.

Rights and Responsibilities

Patients

Patients have a right to know who is administering their anesthesia, who will be supervising the administration of the anesthetic and the relationship between the two. No practice shall be engaged in which is intended to deceive the patient in this regard. Patients have a right to expect that those anesthesia services provided by students will be under the supervision of a CRNA and/or an anesthesiologist. This should be consistent with the anesthetic risk of the patient, the magnitude of the anesthesia and surgery, and the educational level of the student. At all times a CRNA and/or anesthesiologist shall be immediately available in all anesthetizing areas where students are performing anesthesia. Patients have a right to expect that the student and supervisory personnel providing their services are mentally competent and not impaired by fatigue, drugs or other incapacitating conditions. The patient's surgeon, or responsible physician, shall be kept informed pertaining to the anesthetic management and any complications arising from that management. Costs to patients for student and supervisory services will be fair and equitable.

Nothing shall prevent any patient from requesting not to be a teaching patient, or prevent any member of the medical staff from designating any patient as a non-teaching patient.

Applicants

Applicants have a right to:

Be treated in a respectful manner
Be communicated with in a truthful and timely fashion
Have their application considered with the same degree of consideration as any other applicant
Be notified when their application is incomplete, and what items they need to send in

Applicants have a responsibility to:

Inform the program of changes in contact information (address, email, phone)
Complete their application and send in all supporting documentation before the deadline
Be truthful and complete on the application and in all aspects of their communication
Provide the program the information necessary to make decisions about their qualifications for admission into the program.

Students

Students have a right to expect that upon acceptance into an accredited program of nurse anesthesia, they will be provided that quality of education necessary to fulfill the objectives of the program to prepare competent nurse anesthetists capable of:

integrating theory underlying the practice of anesthesia with the actual practice
providing anesthesia management to all categories of patients for most or all varieties of diagnostic or therapeutic intervention utilizing consultation as required
functioning with minimal supervision in all hospitals or agencies
assuring patient comfort and safety within the confines of those aspects of care over which a student has control or can influence through consultation, advice or other actions
incorporating sound ethical and moral practices into his/her own personal value system.

Students have a right to expect that

they will not be exploited relative to time commitment for pay or profit of the conducting institution.
enrollment in a program of nurse anesthesia grants certain rights and responsibilities to both the student and the program. These rights and responsibilities of each party should be fully understood and complied with.
A student's failure to achieve the goal within the time frame expected should be based on valid, reliable data and information from evaluations, viewed objectively and fairly and reviewed as may be required. Appeals mechanisms are available when decisions are contested. Fair and accurate evaluations of their progress in the educational program will be made and they will be kept informed of their progress.

Students will be held accountable for

the quality of preparation, completion and performance of assignments
complying with the policies and procedures pertaining to the program of nurse anesthesia and all affiliate sites. All responsibilities connected with the program defined at the time of enrollment in the program or made part of the educational experience during the period of enrollment are also the student's responsibility.
their ethical and legal responsibilities for repayment of student loans from any source, public and private.

Faculty expectations of students

Faculty expectations of students are carefully enumerated in course syllabi and clinical objectives; however, in addition to these, program faculty have additional expectations. The faculty expects that students are intellectually curious and are sensitive of the need to study independently and in depth; to return to basic physiology and pharmacology, nursing science and other basic courses; to make inferences, draw upon past experience and integrate them with the present; develop concepts, think through processes and to ask questions of oneself and others. The faculty also expects that students will learn to adapt to new stresses and experiences and not give up. The volume of material is much greater than most students may be accustomed to and it isn't possible to succeed utilizing poor study patterns. Memorization of isolated facts is not enough!! It is expected that each student's concern and respect for their classmates will be as great as their concern and respect for themselves; if a student comes unprepared for class or clinical assignments, they will require a disproportionate amount of the instructor's time and deprive them and other students of their rightful share of time for learning.

Alumni

Graduates may have access to transcripts of their academic and clinical achievements and upon their request have verified copies furnished to institutions, agencies, other programs of nurse anesthesia or others as specified by the student or graduate. There is a fee for photocopying of all transcripts and records.

Records retained by the program after graduation may include grades, certification exam application, special awards or honors, licenses and certifications (RN, ACLS), and GRE scores.

Graduates have the right to expect that a complete, accurate, certified transcript of student educational experiences will be forwarded to the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists upon graduation. It is the student's responsibility to make arrangements to take the Certification Examination at the specified site within the Council on Certification's specified time period. It is ultimately the student's responsibility to ensure that all guidelines and deadlines in the Candidate Handbook of the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists are followed.

Faculty

Faculty members are expected to conduct themselves in a fair and conscientious manner in accordance with the ethical standards generally recognized within the academic community as well as those of the profession. Members of the faculty are expected to (except in cases of illness or other compelling circumstances):

meet scheduled classes and appointments;
be available at reasonable times for appointments with students;
make appropriate preparation for classes and other meetings;
perform grading duties in a fair and timely manner;
communicate with students who have earned a failing grade prior to submitting the grade to the Registrar. The purpose of this is to ensure that the grade was arrived at accurately and fairly as well as to allow the student to present information relative to the grades;
describe to students in writing at the beginning of a course the content and objectives along with the methods and standards of evaluation. This description of evaluation must include description of the relative weight to be assigned to various factors;
base all academic evaluation upon good-faith professional judgment;
not consider, in academic evaluations, factors such as race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, handicap, political or cultural affiliation, lifestyle, activities or behavior outside the classroom unrelated to academic and professional achievement;
respect confidentiality of student information contained in University academic records. Faculty may release such information in connection with intra-University business, including releasing information to clinical preceptors and affiliate faculty without student consent, or as may be required by law;
not exploit professional relationships with students for private advantage; and refrain from soliciting the assistance of students for private purposes in a manner which infringes upon such students' freedom of choice;
give appropriate recognition to contributions made by students in research, publication, service or other activities;
refrain from any activity which involves risk to the health and safety of a student, except with the student's informed consent, and, where applicable, in accordance with the University policy relating to the use of human subjects in experimentation;
respect the dignity of each student individually and all students collectively in the classroom, laboratory, clinics, and other academic contexts.

Conducting institution

The program, University of Detroit Mercy, and affiliated clinical sites are responsible to:

provide didactic instruction
coordinate and carry out application and admission procedures
provide classroom and laboratory space as needed for didactic courses
provide for academic counseling of nurse anesthesia students
coordinate advertising and public relation efforts
provide professional liability coverage which applies to nurse anesthesia students
provide for the clinical instruction and evaluation of nurse anesthesia students
provide orientation to the clinical area
evaluate students in the clinical area
provide support for clinical research and studies
provide the resources needed for effective operation of an educational program of high quality
continually evaluate the program to ensure that it meets student needs and that graduates attain teh desired outcomes
prevent department needs from superseding students' needs
conduct the program in compliance with all legal and accreditation standards

The University of Detroit Mercy as the conducting institution has the right to expect that:

The nurse anesthesia faculty operate the program in accordance with the standards, policies, and procedures, of the accrediting agencies, University, affiliate clinical sites, and the program .
Accurate and comprehensive records will be maintained, and these will be made available to on-site accreditation reviewers
The program will submit annual reports to the accrediting agency, and other submissions as will be required from time to time.
The program represents itself with integrity and truthfulness in all communications.
It will be kept informed of program changes, accrediting agency evaluations and standards, and trends affecting nurse anesthesia education.
Applicants will be selected after review of their health and academic records, interview, and personal references.
Students will be aware of and follow department and institutional policies relative to patient care, personal health care habits, and in all other matters addressed in relevant policies.
Students will communicate with clinical instructors relative to their ability to perform procedures, throughout the perioperative period, and apply knowledge in their clinical internships.
Students will arrive prepared for classes, seminars, conferences, and clinical internship.

Council on Accreditation

It is the responsibility of the Council on Accreditation (COA) of Nurse Anesthesia Programs to publish any and all applicable standards necessary for accreditation and successful reaccredidation, and to evaluate programs in their ability to meet the published standards.
It is the responsibility of the COA to identify any areas of noncompliance and to inform the program accordingly. The COA reserves the right to conduct periodic announced and unannounced site reviews to assess for compliance to published standards.
It is the responsibility of the Program to assist the COA in all requirements necessary to conduct a thorough evaluation. The Program is responsible to provide any required supportive documentation to demonstrate compliance. The Program has the duty to provide accurate and truthful statements and documents to the Council.
The educational program is required to follow all policies and procedures published by the Council.

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