Nursing education requires that the accumulation of knowledge be accompanied by the acquisition of skills, professional 
attitudes, and behavior so that the graduate may assume specific role responsibilities in a safe and competent manner. LSU 
Health New Orleans (LSUHNO) School of Nursing provides graduates with a broad and basic preparation for professional 
nursing practice. 

The LSUHNO School of Nursing complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and has determined that certain 
technical standards must be met by prospective candidates and students. Reasonable accommodation will be made for 
otherwise qualified persons with disabilities. All individuals must be able to perform independently; therefore, an 
applicant to the program must possess and be able to demonstrate the skills, attributes, and qualities set forth below, 
without unreasonable dependence on technology or intermediaries. 

Observational Ability 
Observation necessitates the use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities. The student must have visual acuity 
and perception to make accurate observations, both close at hand and at a distance. The student is expected to be able to 
observe the patient holistically to accurately assess the presence of any illness or an alteration of health. 
To provide quality nursing care, the student is expected to possess functional use of the senses of vision, touch, hearing, 
taste, and smell. All data received by the senses must be integrated, analyzed, and synthesized in a consistent and accurate 
manner. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, the abilities to measure intake and output accurately; work with 
multiple tubes, drains, and monitoring equipment; visually assess patients and machines, including color recognition; 
make fine discriminations in sound and be able to hear alarms, emergency signals, patient requests, or cries for help; and 
assess by observations, palpitation, auscultation, and percussion. In addition, the student is expected to possess the ability 
to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, equilibrium, and movement. 

Communication 
The student is expected to be able to effectively communicate and receive communication, both verbally, and non
verbally. This requires the ability to see, speak, hear, read, write, and effectively utilize the English language. A student 
must be able to relate to others regardless of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds. A student must elicit 
information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A student must be 
able to communicate effectively, therapeutically, and sensitively with patients. The student must be able to communicate 
effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team. Examples of this include, but 
are not limited to, the ability to explain treatment procedures, initiate health teaching, document and interpret nursing 
actions and patient responses, and maintain composure when discussing a serious situation. 

Motor Function and Coordination 
The student is expected to have the psychomotor skills necessary to perform or assist with procedures, treatments, 
administration of medications, and emergency interventions. The student is expected to be able to perform gross and fine 
motor movements required to provide holistic nursing care. The student is expected to maintain consciousness and 
equilibrium have the physical strength and stamina to perform satisfactorily in clinical nursing experiences and to have the 
functional use of the sense of touch, hearing, and vision. Examples of care that the student must be able to perform 
include, but are not limited to, turning, transferring, transporting, exercising the patients, administering CPR, 
administering medication, applying pressure to stop bleeding, suctioning of obstructed airways, and performing physical 
examinations, performing clean and sterile procedures, specimen collection, and venipuncture. All students must be able to 
sit, walk, stand, and maneuver in small spaces. Assessments may also require the student to bend, squat, reach, kneel, or 
balance. The student must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads. 

Behavioral and Social Attributes 
The student is expected to have the emotional stability, maturity, and self-discipline to fully utilize his/her intellectual 
abilities, exercise sound judgment, complete assessment, and intervention activities, and develop sensitive interpersonal 
relationships with patients, families, and others responsible for health care. The student is expected to have the flexibility 
to function effectively under stress and to competently function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical setting. 
Compassion, integrity, honesty, accountability, altruism, autonomy, and motivation are necessary personal qualities. 

Intellectual-Conceptual Ability 
The student must possess critical thinking sufficient for sound clinical judgment, develop problem-solving skills, and 
demonstrate the ability to establish care plans and priorities. The student must possess cognitive skills and learning 
abilities to acquire, assimilate, integrate, and apply information. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to identify 
cause-effect relationships in clinical situations; apply the nursing process; read and comprehend health care information; 
learn materials presented in class and apply it to patient care; measure, calculate, analyze, and categorize; apply data based 
on conclusions arrived through critical thinking; synthesize objective as well as subjective data; and make decisions that 
reflect consistent and thoughtful deliberation of the appropriate data. 

E-mail and Computer Literacy 
The principal method of communication in the Health Science Center is e-mail. All students are expected to obtain an 
LSUHSC computer account upon admission to the School of Nursing and to check their LSUHSC e-mail frequently 
(within a 24-hour period)for school-related communications. Students are responsible for accessing information in a 
timely manner.

Students must be computer literate and be able to perform basic computer, software, editing, internet, and browsing skills, 
such as the following.

• Locating, opening and closing files  
• Using a word processor to create, edit and save documents  
• Cutting, copying, and pasting text from one document to another  
• Toggling between two applications  
• Uploading and downloading files  
• Finding and using the Internet browsers on our computer  
• Configuring your browser to send e-mail  
• Locating web sites when using a www address (URL)  
•  Searching the internet for specific topics 

Each student must continue to meet all of the TECHNICAL STANDARDS set forth above.  A student may be denied 
permission to continue in the nursing program if the student fails at any time to demonstrate any of the required 
TECHNICAL STANDARDS. 

For Pre-Licensure Nursing Programs

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN) completes a criminal background check as part of a clinical application process to approve nursing students to enter the clinical setting.  If offered enrollment, any aplicant for a pre-licensure program, must be able to complete this process and be cleared by LSBN