Clinical Sites

For many nursing students, clinical courses are the highlight of their nursing education. This is their opportunity to apply what is learned in the classroom and skills lab to actual patient care. Clinical experiences give students an immediate sense of accomplishment as they carry out nursing interventions such as teaching a diabetic patient to care for himself, administering intravenous medication to relieve pain for a surgical patient or instructing a new mother on how to bathe her baby.

Beginning in the sophomore year, students are placed in clinical facilities with an experienced clinical instructor.  The facilities differ according to the focus of the course, and offer experiences across the continuum of patient care from acute care hospitals to outpatient clinics, community agencies and patient homes.

The School of Nursing has formal affiliations with over 80 agencies in the Bay Area. This affords students a wide variety of choices in clinical sites. All students complete a total of six (6) semesters of clinical courses, including pediatric nursing, maternal-child nursing, medical-surgical nursing, mental health nursing and community health nursing. During the senior year, students choose a clinical area where they spend over 100 hours working with a patient population under the supervision of a preceptor. This course provides a real world experience that enhances their clinical competence and confidence prior to graduation.

Clinical courses expose students to a wealth of exciting clinical experiences that range from hospital critical care units to community clinics for the uninsured. Students also interact with nurses in many different roles, including expert staff nurses and nurse practitioners to name just a few. This allows them to appreciate the numerous roles available to nurses and to begin planning their own individual career path.

Listed below are just a few of the locations across our region that have served as preceptors and clinical hosts to our students (but not limited to):

• California Pacific Medical Center (all campuses)
• Children's Hospital, Oakland
• John Muir Medical Center
• Kaiser San Francisco
• Kaiser South San Francisco
• Kaiser Walnut Creek
• Lucile Salter Packard Hospital
• Marin General Hospital
• Mills Peninsula Medical Center
• Saint Francis Memorial Hospital
• Saint Luke's Hospital
• Saint Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco
• San Francisco General Hospital
• San Francisco VA (Veterans Affairs) Medical Center
• Seton Medical Center
• Stanford University Hospital
• University of California, San Francisco among others.

Additional clinical experiences have also taken place in such innovative sites such as outpatient clinics, homeless shelters, and private practice settings.