Nursing Essential Abilities
Essential Abilities
- All students admitted to the Harper College Nursing Program are expected to meet all
essential abilities standards.
- Motor Ability:
- Ability to navigate from room to room and perform the essential duties in different
workspaces.
- Squat, crawl, bend/stoop, reach above shoulder level, and use standing balance.
- Lift and carry up to 50 and exert up to 100 lbs. force or push/pull.
- Use hands repetitively; use manual dexterity; sufficient fine motor function.
- Ability to perform the duties for an extended period of time.
- Perform CPR.
- Travel to and from class, lab, and clinical sites.
- Sensory Ability:
- Coordinate verbal and manual instruction.
- Ability to respond to verbal communication from patients and members of the health
care team; includes ability to respond to emergency signals.
- Ability to detect heartbeats and pulse when taking a blood pressure.
- Ability to acquire and interpret information from documents such as charts, textbooks,
or other written material.
- Visual ability sufficient to assess a patient and accurately prepare and administer
medication.
- Comfortable working in close physical proximity to the patient.
- Communication Ability:
- Communicate effectively in English with patients, families, and other health care
providers, both verbally and in writing.
- Effectively adapt communication for the intended audience.
- Interact; establish rapport with individuals, families, and groups from a variety
of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
- Assume the role of a health care team member.
- Function effectively under supervision.
- Sufficient command of the English language in order to independently retrieve information
from lectures, textbooks, or other written material, as well as understand medical
terminology.
- Computer literacy.
- Problem Solving Ability:
- Function effectively under stress.
- Respond appropriately to emergencies.
- Adhere to infection control procedures.
- Demonstrate problem-solving skills in patient (Measure, calculate, reason, prioritize,
and synthesize data).
- Demonstrate the ability to process information and reason effectively.
- Demonstrate ability to perform mathematical calculations necessary for safe medication
preparation and administration (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
- Use sound judgement and safety precautions.
- Address problems or questions to the appropriate persons at the appropriate time.
- Organize and prioritize job tasks.
- Procedure:
- The essential abilities standards are a requirement for admission to the Nursing Program
and are identified in the Nursing Student Handbook.
- Students will be required, upon enrollment into the program, to sign a statement indicating
that they have read the essential abilities standards and understand that they will
be expected to meet the Essential Abilities Requirement with or without accomodations.
- Students will be required to re-sign and submit the statement with a physician release
if any changes in health status occur during enrollment in the program.
- Students must contact Access and Disabilities Services if accommodations are needed.
Information on Access and Disabilities Services is contained in the Harper College
Catalog and Student Handbook.
- Students failing to meet the essential abilities, as determined by faculty in collaboration
with A4/30/20, may have their progress in the Nursing Program interrupted.
- Students will be required to demonstrate that they are able to meet all of the essential
abilities’ standards within a reasonable time frame.
Students who are not able to meet one or more of these essential skills due to a disability
are encouraged to contact Access and Disability Services (ADS). ADS will help in determining
reasonable accommodations based on a thorough review of disability documentation and
the functional impact it has on the required skills. Access and Disabilities is located
in Building I, Room I-103, and can be reached by calling (847) 925-6266.
