Additional Clinical Requirements
Additional Requirements for Accepted Students
CORI/SORI: As a prerequisite for a clinical placement in the nursing program, all students must undergo a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check and a Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI) check. These checks are required due to potential unsupervised contact with children, the disabled, the elderly, or other vulnerable populations during a clinical experience. Students found to have certain criminal convictions or pending criminal actions will be presumed ineligible to participate in clinical. The college is authorized by the Commonwealth’s Criminal History Systems Board, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 6, Sections 167-178B, to access CORI records. The college shall refer to regulations issued by the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services, 101 Code of Massachusetts Regulations 15.00–15.16, as guidance when assessing student CORI records. Sex Offender checks shall be performed pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 6, Section 178C–178P.
These checks may be repeated periodically. A sample copy of the forms the student signs is located on the nursing website and in the nursing student handbook. Qualified MCC administrative personnel submit the documents. At no time will the particulars of the information obtained on the form be shared with course faculty. If a student is allowed to enroll or participate in the program despite having certain criminal convictions or pending criminal actions, this is no guarantee that a future employer would also disregard such criminal record. Some clinical sites may require that students undergo CORI checks for any state that they have lived in the past 5-7 years
For more information regarding the College’s CORI/SORI check process, please contact the Dean of Health at townsendk@middlesex.mass.edu
Fingerprinting: Some clinical agencies require fingerprinting in addition to CORI/SORI.
Health Program- Health Requirements: Students accepted to Health Programs must be in compliance with the current immunization requirements specified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for Health Care Personnel (HCP) and in accordance with state law, MGL, Chapter 76, Section 15C, and its regulations at 105 CMR 220.000 - 220.700 in order to participate in an externship placement or clinical experience. Students may also be required to meet additional requirements of the particular health program and/or clinical agency as outlined below. Students who are not in compliance with these requirements will not be allowed to participate in externship placement or clinical experiences, which may jeopardize their ability to continue in the program.
*NOTE: Although currently the Massachusetts Department of Public Health does not require these vaccines, most of our clinical partners do. While a reasonable effort will be made to place you in a clinical facility if you do not have these, clinical placement cannot be guaranteed for those who have not received these vaccinations.
The Nursing Program has implemented a compliance tracking system through CastleBranch. Records and forms will need to be submitted to CastleBranch, in addition to giving physical copies of documentation of FLU and COVID-19 vaccination record to clinical sites during each semester (per DPH guidelines). Upon acceptance students will receive directions to set up a CastleBranch account and will be provided with a checklist of health records that will need to be uploaded to Castlebranch. A list of the health records to submit is located on the nursing webpage, in the nursing student handbook, and on the nursing admissions website. The Nursing Program reserves the right to rescind the admission status of any student not meeting, as well as not submitting, all post-admission requirements in a timely manner.
IMPORTANT: We encourage you to begin completing the health requirements now and save a copy of your record. Please review the onboarding requirements. Titers and vaccines are required. This process could take up to 6 months or more to complete. You must meet ALL requirements or you will not be able to begin the program.
Drug Screening: Patient safety is a paramount concern in the health care arena both locally and nationally. To ensure that patient care is not compromised, facilities and agencies engaged in patient care have begun to require mandatory drug testing of all their employees and any affiliating groups. Some clinical facilities, which are used in health programs at Middlesex Community College, require that all students participating in a clinical experience at that facility have undergone and passed a drug screening analysis. Therefore, students enrolled in health programs that utilize these facilities will be required to undergo and pass random drug screening in order to remain in the program. In addition, students may be required to undergo random drug screening at the clinical facility as part of their clinical participation requirements.
Students who either fail to pass, or refuse to submit to, or fail to schedule and take a drug screening analysis within the designated time frame will be deemed ineligible for clinical placement, and consequently will be dismissed from the program. All students will be notified, in writing, of the requirement for drug screening when enrolling in a program that requires such screening.
CPR Certification: All students must be currently certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) before entering any clinical nursing course and must maintain valid certification throughout the nursing program. Certification is valid for two years. Some clinical agencies may require annual re-certification. A student may not go into the clinical area until the requirement has been met. Each day missed for this reason will be considered a clinical absence.
The certification must include:
- one- and two-person CPR of adults, children, and infants who are conscious or unconscious.
- management of foreign body airway obstruction in adults, children, and infants who are conscious or unconscious.
- use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
- live demonstration/practice. Online certification/recertification are not accepted.
Examples of courses which meet these requirements are:
1). Red Cross CPR for the Professional Rescuer with AED Essentials
OR
2.) American Heart Association BLS for the Health Care Provider
All students should submit documentation of these requirements via Castlebranch. https://login.castlebranch.com/login. Information to create an account via Castlebranch has been provided to you at orientation and as part of your acceptance to the program. Instructions are also located in your blackboard site and the nursing website.