Primary Resources

Thank you message for healthcare providers

UNLV Nursing assistant professor Rhigel (Jay) Tan is making local headlines for designing and donating homemade face shields and masks around the valley for our health care workers on the frontlines. Now you can help make your own shields and masks. Mr. Tan created a free DIY video on YouTube for everyone to see, so you can help make the proper equipment our frontliners need to stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak.

You can also read more about his community efforts in our new "Rebel Nursing Notes."

We would like to offer clarification regarding two issues that directly affect our nursing students: S/U grading and HESI testing.

S/U Grading: You all received an email recently advising that students are able to request Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades in any course. At a university level, a grade of D- or better is required to receive a grade of S. However, in the School of Nursing, the minimum passing grade is C. Therefore, an earned grade of C or better is required to receive an S. Anything below a grade of C will receive an U. The university guidance directs all students to talk with your advisor regarding this decision. The School of Nursing encourages you to do the same.

HESI Testing: The Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affairs, along with the Director of the BSN program, course coordinators and faculty have been busy working on plans that allow us to meet program needs and provide quality education to you. For Level 4 students, we are contracting to provide in-home proctored exams. This requires an external vendor. You will receive more information from the course coordinator soon.

In all other levels, the course coordinators have developed an alternative means of assuring mastery of the course content. You will hear from your course coordinators regarding these plans soon.

Please note that your Course Coordinators will be in touch with you with more details. Please wait to hear from them rather than you all flooding their inboxes with emails. The faculty are committed to your educational attainment and are planning activities that maximize your opportunities for success.

This week is our Spring Break. I encourage you all to use that time to decompress. We are living in a stressful time. Many of you have experienced changes in your personal and family lives while also adjusting to changes in your rigorous nursing education. We all need time to breathe. We are a talented, smart and resilient community and we will get through this – together.

Thanks so much for taking your time to meet with us and participate in our Town Hall meetings last week. The COVID-19 outbreak has temporarily changed our lives. As a school, we are committed to supporting our students, faculty, and staff. The town hall gave us the opportunity to hear your concerns and questions. We will try to provide information as it becomes available.  We appreciate your patience as we attempt to move forward in this dynamic and rapidly changing time. Please note that this situation has been fluid, so change is inevitable. We are attempting to give you answers based on the information we have at the time knowing that this information can change (as we’ve already seen happen). However, there are still decisions that we will make as more information becomes available.

Please check your emails for updates on the following:

  • We are exploring multiple options for HESI testing.
  • We are working to graduate Level IV students in a timely manner.
  • Contingency plans for graduate students for the summer clinical requirements.
  • Specialty endorsements for all Level III students.
  • Volunteer options with our community partners.
  • Spring Commencement rescheduling. We heard you loud and clear that you do not want any virtual recognition/graduation activities.

Other Notes

Summer semester will proceed according to the academic calendar. However, all course instructions will continue remotely. We are working with our clinical partners to plan for a return to face-to-face clinical experiences as soon as possible. The faculty are also exploring multiple options to provide for clinical education during the summer.

Late fees are being waived and final payment dates have been pushed back. Financial Aid is aware of our start date for summer (May 11, 2020) and preparing to issue aid as a normal process. If you feel you have been assessed a late fee unfairly please contact Ms. Elizabeth Gardner, SON Student Services Director immediately. She will work with Financial Aid to resolve any issues.

Please know that the faculty and staff of the School of Nursing are available to hear your concerns and that we are actively working to address the multiple issues associated with this national emergency. Please take care of yourselves and those you love.

The COVID-19 outbreak has temporarily changed our lives across the globe, specifically how we interact with one another. UNLV School of Nursing is committed, along with the entire university, to remain connected and engaged with our community to prioritize public safety and maintain appropriate health protocols until this pandemic is resolved.

As a result, UNLV School of Nursing is re-evaluating whether to proceed with Nurse Camp this summer. We will announce a decision by early May. In the meantime, campers and their families who wish to request a full refund of their registration fee can do so by contacting Minnie Wood at minnie.wood@unlv.edu.

We know there is concern among widespread uncertainty. But we know our faculty and staff are dedicated to help get the answers you seek. We will remain in constant communication with you, updating you every step of the way. We cannot get through these uncertain times alone; we will endure together, even with social distancing. Despite remoteness, nurse leaders still begin here and will continue to do so.

UNLV School of Nursing's Dean and leadership team will be hosting 2 virtual town halls this week to help students and families with all the updates we have so far. We might not have all the answers, but this will help us move forward to know what we need to address in a fluid situation like this.

The town halls will be:

  • Thursday, March 26th at 4 p.m.
  • Friday, March 27th at 4 p.m.

Students, please check your emails for login information to these town halls.

Due to limited resources and a shortage of protective equipment for healthcare professionals resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, UNLV Student Health Center, Student Counseling and Psychological Services, the Faculty and Staff Treatment Center, Student Wellness Laboratory and Student Wellness Pharmacy must end in-person visits at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 23, until further notice.

Beginning on Tuesday, March 24, the SHC, CAPS and FAST Center will provide tele-health and have phone triage available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Students can call 702-895-3370 (SHC) or 702-895-3627 (CAPS), and faculty and staff can call 702-895-0630 (FAST Center).

Patients who need in-person or after-hours care can visit the Health Center After Hours Care page for more resources, which include urgent care facilities and emergency rooms near the main UNLV campus.

For those seeking in-person services on Friday, March 20, and on Monday, March 23, our hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The pharmacy is closed for lunch between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. All departments are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Please call for an appointment or more information:

Note: Students, faculty and staff visiting the SHC, CAPS, laboratory or pharmacy in the Student Wellness and Recreation Center on Friday March 20, or Monday, March 23, please keep in mind the building is locked but there is a doorbell and signage at the west doors (facing the Tropicana Parking Garage). Please ring the doorbell and/or call the department at the number above when you arrive so that someone will let you in. Please bring your UNLV ID. You will need to show it to enter the building.

The pharmacy, in addition to filling prescriptions and offering medication refills, has a limited supply of over-the-counter medications and thermometers available for purchase if needed. Please call the pharmacy to be sure that the item you are looking for is in stock before you visit.

Students: UNLVSON's building (Rod Lee Bigelow) will only be accessible using your keycard. This is based on the most recent communication from UNLV President Meana and Governor Sisolak's mandate urging all Nevadans to stay home.

As a reminder:

  1. All instruction will continue to occur remotely throughout the end of April.
  2. Clinical learning is suspended through the end of April. Your faculty are working on remote activities to meet the clinical learning expectations of each course.
  3. We are cancelling or postponing all community activities through the end of April. This includes our Recognition/Graduation Ceremony. For those graduating, we are working to assure that you are able to meet the requirements for graduation in a timely manner as soon as it is safe to do so.

We appreciate everyone's patience as we go through this unconventional transition. UNLVSON's faculty and staff are working hard to ensure your learning environment is disrupted as little as possible while maintaining your safety. SON leadership will remain in close communication and work to keep you updated as often as possible.

Any questions/concerns, please reach out to your course coordinators and program directors.

In light of the Governor’s directive of a mandatory 30-day closure for non-essential business the UNLV School of Nursing will suspend all in person activities during this time. This includes any simulation activities, HESI exams, and unfortunately Spring 2020 recognition. UNLVSON is currently working on a new directive to evaluate how best to move each cohort of our students forward.

All students in the School of Nursing should still attend their courses as directed via online format and complete all course and clinical assignments as directed by your faculty and/or clinical instructor. More information regarding online course instruction will be forthcoming Thursday (03/19) evening by course faculty to each student enrolled in their respective course.

UNLV School of Nursing will suspend clinicals through April 6th. As a reminder, we are preparing for remote instruction by March 23rd. During this time, we will leverage technology to meet some of the learning objectives associated with clinical study.

UNLVSON COVID-19 Contingency Plan (3/12/2020)

Dear Faculty and Students,

As you are aware, we have been actively monitoring the rapidly developing coronavirus situation and planning for a variety of scenarios that could impact the School of Nursing. The School of Nursing is committed to prioritizing academic and student learning experiences. In developing our contingency plans to ensure the best academic experiences, with the least amount of disruption as possible, the SON will have all face to face courses via an online format no later than March 23, 2020. Please note that the university has chosen this date based on the greater university’s spring break being next week. Because next week is not our spring break, I would encourage all faculty teaching any face to face course within the SON to transition to an online format sooner than March 23 if possible.

While we understand there is great anxiety surrounding clinical activity, we echo the words of AACN who stated toady that “student nurses are valuable members of the healthcare team and can provide meaningful care… and should continue their role as part of the health care team” if possible. As a result, at this time, all nursing clinical placements will continue as scheduled. However, in an effort to minimize faculty and student’s anxiety and fear, as well as maximize faculty and student’s safety, each course coordinator will work with their clinical faculty to assess individual student risk profiles as identified by the CDC. The risk profile according to the CDC is as follows:

  1. If you are, live with, or care for a person who is immunocompromised.
  2. If you live with or care for an older adult.
  3. If you have, live with, or care for a person who has a serious chronic medical condition like:
    • Heart disease
    • Diabetes
    • Lung disease

Any faculty or student with any of the above-known factors in the risk profile will be excused from direct patient care clinical. Any student with a positive risk profile will be excused from direct patient care clinical and will be assigned an alternate clinical activity/activities to meet clinical competencies as needed.

If a clinical faculty member has a positive risk profile, they will be excused from direct patient care clinical and their clinical group will complete an alternate clinical activity/activities to meet clinical competencies as needed.

Clinical faculty and students should report any positive risk profile to their course coordinator or program director.

It is important to note that Nevada, in particular, Las Vegas remains a low-risk area at this time. However, in an abundance of caution, we believe these measures are necessary. Your safety and physical and emotional health and wellbeing are important to us. The SON appreciates all that you are doing to stay safe and remain calm.

My best to you all as we continue to move through this process!

Tricia K. Gatlin, PhD, RN, CNE
Associate Professor
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs

Useful Links