The Centralina Consortium for Clinical Education and Practice was formed in 2013 to continue the work developed by the Consortium for Clinical Education and Practice. This effort standardizes the credentialing requirements and placement process for nursing students within the 8-county region which South Piedmont AHEC serves.
Questions and comments may be addressed to May Cheung, MSN, RN-BC at may.cheung@atriumhealth.org
The intent of the C3EP initiative is for each student to complete only one set of requirements that will meet the needs of all facilities within each of the following regional healthcare systems:
Note: All of the requirements for participation apply to students as well as any faculty who come on-site to any healthcare facility as part of the clinical experience.
AHA's Basic Life Support-Providers – CPR Training
Background Check including the following:
Urine Drug Screen to include:
Immunizations to include: (Current CDC Recommendations)
All students and faculty participating in the clinical experience must complete the Core Orientation Course annually. This requirement applies to the healthcare facilities listed above.
Updates to the 2025-2026 Core Orientation Presentation
Resource Guide that lists all links included in the Core Orientation. New links and videos are only accessed from the Resource Guide provided. Test questions from this information are included at the end of the presentation.
Step by Step Instructions (NEW PROCESS):
The Policy & Clinical Practice Guidelines and Education for STUDENT NURSES can be found in the following link:
Flu Vaccination is a requirement at most Health Care Organizations and coupled with proper hand hygiene and strong infection prevention measures, we will effectively minimize patients' exposure to the influenza virus. We understand that there are individuals who will have medical conditions or religious beliefs that may prevent them from taking the influenza vaccine. Please carefully review and follow the hospital-specific guidelines regarding flu exemptions. Flu Season typically runs October through March or until the flu season is declared to be over by the region.
Additional information will be shared when the 2025 Flu Campaign begins.
Additional information will be shared when the 2025 Flu Campaign begins.
Additional information will be shared when the 2025 Flu Campaign begins.
We have a moral and legal obligation to provide a safe work environment and therefore, knowing whether a potential Student has been involved in criminal activity (such as drug or other substance abuse, reckless behavior, dishonesty, theft, or dangerous and violent behaviors) allows us to determine if they are an appropriate fit for the work environment.
For a positive background check, the charges are evaluated by individual facility for approval or denial of clinical access. For a positive drug screen:
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) a person's ability to react to tuberculin may wane over time. "When given a Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) years after infection, these persons may have a false-negative reaction. However, the TST may stimulate the immune system, causing a positive, or boosted reaction to subsequent tests. Giving a second TST after an initial negative TST reaction is called two-step testing. Two-step testing is useful for the initial skin testing of adults who are going to be retested periodically, such as health care workers or nursing home residents. This two-step approach can reduce the likelihood that a boosted reaction to a subsequent TST will be misinterpreted as a recent infection."
Flu Vaccination is a requirement at most Health Care Organizations and coupled with proper hand hygiene and strong infection prevention measures, we will effectively minimize patients' exposure to the influenza virus. We understand that there are individuals who will have medical conditions or religious beliefs that may prevent them from taking the influenza vaccine. Please carefully review and follow the hospital-specific guidelines regarding flu exemptions. Flu Season typically runs October through March or until the flu season is declared to be over by the region.
Please check with the Director of Student Programs at each healthcare system for facility-specific orientation requirements.
A current student affiliation agreement must be on file between your school and facility to allow employees to complete clinical learning experiences. You will then need to follow the instructions provided by your specific employer for their student clearance process.
We require documentation on each and every student that comes into our facilities for an educational experience. This is in order to keep track of where students are in our facilities at all times and also to know the number of hours that our employees are giving back to our community by offering these educational opportunities.
Each facility will have policy and guidelines to follow in relation to student identification. North Carolina law requires healthcare practitioners to be identified by name, license, and certification associated with protection of patient rights. Some facility ID badges provide physical access to the facility and facility parking locations in addition to student identification. Students are considered to be healthcare practitioners and are subject to facility rules in addition to rules of the academic institution, and corresponding state or federal laws.
We require documentation on each and every student that comes into our facilities for an educational experience. This is in order to keep track of where students are in our facilities at all times and also to know the number of hours that our employees are giving back to our community by offering these educational opportunities.
Yes, your school should contact the facility (ies) they desire to have a clinical affiliation with and discuss their process for educational agreements.
This will vary by facility and clinical departments within the facility. The first step in this process is to determine your school has a clinical student affiliation agreement with the facility you are seeking placement. This must be completed prior to requesting clinical site placements. As a general rule the more advance time you can provide the facility the better. Clinical placements are confirmed as the requested departments have the ability to accommodate the request and provide a preceptor or staff member for supervision in those situations where an instructor is not provided by the school. Some facilities plan clinical rotations with the academic partners up to a year in advance; whereas other facilities or departments may require at least six months advance notice. It is best for the academic partner to establish contact with the facility and/or clinical department leader responsible for coordinating the specific placements to determine how much lead time they require as well as the options available to the students during the specific desired timeframes.
The ability for a clinical department to accommodate a student request is dependent on the department's availability of staffing resources necessary to honor a commitment for a student or a group of students. We cannot guarantee placement but will work within our means to meet the needs of our educational partners. Vacancies and onboarding new staff members impact a department's ability to accept student placements. This may vary across the year as acuity and staffing levels may be affected by these needs. Additionally the requested department may have commitments with other students which will impact the ability to accept additional placements. Although we strive to accept all placements there may be occasions in which we may not be able to honor a request or provide an alternative solution. Sufficient lead time to make arrangements for placement helps facilities to better meet these needs.
The student will coordinate his/her schedule in cooperation with the preceptor. The student should be prepared to work the days and hours of the assigned preceptor. Preceptors do not have flexibility to work alternate hours based on student preferred hours but will provide as much flexibility as possible within the allocated timeframe to schedule shifts comparable with the student's academic schedule and availability.
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors is the designated regulatory institution in North Carolina that licenses educational institutions providing instruction in the state. Therefore, all students enrolled in an out-of-state educational program must have their school provide proof of licensure with the University of North Carolina Board of Governors when requesting clinical rotations at a NC facility.
To confirm approval with the UNC Board of Governors contact Mr. Terrance Scarborough at (919) 962-4558 or via e-mail at trscarborough@northcarolina.edu.
Additional information is available on the UNC Board of Governors website at www.northcarolina.edu/licensure
Approved Institutions: http://www.northcarolina.edu/?q=content/approved-degree-programs-licensed-institutions