Performance Standards

Due to the nature of the nursing profession, Belhaven University has identified certain minimum technical standards that are required for satisfactory completion of all aspects of the nursing curriculum.

The essential abilities required of the student by these core technical standards are in the areas of intellectual ability, professional relationships, communication, and motor skills.

• Intellectual ability: The student must be able to synthesize information, problem solve, and think critically for effective clinical reasoning and clinical judgment reflective of their academic preparation.
• Professional relationships: The student must be able to maintain mature, sensitive, effective relationships with a diverse population of clients, families, students, faculty, staff, preceptors, and interdisciplinary professionals. Collaboration is essential for nurses in today’s healthcare environment to best meet client needs and produce positive outcomes.
• Communication: The student must demonstrate effective communication skills throughout the care and treatment of clients. Communication skills are essential in order to use and interpret client information to the healthcare team in a manner that is thorough and accurate. Students
  should be able to communicate with clients in order to elicit information, detect changes in mood, activity, and to establish a therapeutic relationship.
• Psychomotor skills: In order to provide care to clients, the student must possess psychomotor skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care and perform or assist with assessments, procedures, treatments, and medication administration. The student must also have the strength and agility to assist with therapeutic positioning of clients (moving, lifting, and turning) in the clinical setting.
• Sensory skills (Auditory, visual, and tactile): The student must have the gross and fine motor abilities to provide safe, effective nursing care. The student must also have the auditory, visual, and tactile abilities sufficient for observing, monitoring, and assessing client health care needs.