PRE-REGISTRATION POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN NURSING (ADULT) Sickness/absence - information for students 1. Reporting of sickness/absence If you are off sick during theory time, please report to rea Lowery (Programme Coordinator) before 10am: If you are unable to attend your placement because of sickness, you must inform both the Programme Coordinator and your clinical placement area before 10 am. snm-pgdip@sheffield.ac.uk or 0114 222 2053 (Please leave a message if there is no answer and follow up by email). The programme coordinator will: 1. Inform your personal tutor/programme lead 2. Note absence on student record When period of sickness ends you should also inform the Programme Coordinator and your clinical base that you are returning. Your return will be marked on your student record and the cumulative time off sick/absent calculated or the purposes of NMC registration (please see section 5). You must complete a Special Circumstances form, available from Student Services or downloadable at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/forms/special.html and submit this to the programme coordinator within 7 days of your return. For sickness in excess of 7 days you must provide medical certification. 2. Request for compassionate/special /carer leave You should avoid arranging non-urgent appointments/personal activities within taught/clinical time. Where this is unavoidable a request for leave form (Appendix A) should be completed at least 7 days in advance where possible. Please provide as much information as possible in order that this can be adequately considered. The completed form should be submitted to Mrs Tracey Pacan t.m.pacan@sheffield.ac.uk so that this can be considered by the pre-assessment board. 1
You must also complete a Special Circumstances form when you return from leave, available from Student Services or downloadable at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/forms/special.html Please ensure you have a written response confirming leave before it is taken otherwise this may be recorded as unauthorised. If you have a sudden unanticipated event you should submit the notification of special/compassionate/carers leave (Appendix B) as soon as possible or within 7 days of your return in order that the board can decide how the leave should be recorded. The Programme Coordinator will update your student record accordingly. A cumulative record of absence will be recorded for the purposes of NMC registration (Please see section 5) 3. Request for annual leave Some placements require the negotiation of annual leave days. Where this is permitted you should fill in a request for annual leave form (Appendix C). This should be agreed and signed by the mentor and the programme lead. Annual leave must be arranged around the capability of the clinical area to provide adequate support/supervision. The Programme Coordinator will update your student record accordingly. 4. Unauthorised absence If you are absent and fail to inform the School of and Midwifery then the following will apply: After 5 days NHS bursaries will be informed. After 14 days the School will send you a letter reminding you of your responsibilities. At this point you will be advised that after a further 14 days you may be deemed to have withdrawn yourself from the programme. 5. Excessive Absence Unit 1 You are permitted 6 day s absence. Any absence above this must be made up before the end of the unit. If the absence is so excessive that there is insufficient time to do this, then you may require back-schooling (joining a later cohort). Unit 2 3 You are permitted 6 day s absence per unit. You will be informed at the end of unit 3 of any excessive absence and how this needs to be made up. If the absence is so excessive that there is insufficient time to do this, then you may require back-schooling (joining a later cohort). 2
Unit 4 You are permitted 6 day s absence. Any excess absence must be made up before the school can inform the NMC that you have completed the programme. If absence is so excessive that you cannot make this up this before the end of the programme you will need to apply for an extension to the programme. You will also have to request an extension to your bursary. (NB This is not guaranteed). 3
PRE-REGISTRATION POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN NURSING Appendix A: Request for compassionate/special /carer s leave Name Registration Number Cohort Unit (s) leave required Reason leave requested Placement area (In practice block) I have/have not notified my placement area Signature of student Please submit this form to Mrs Tracey Pacan t.m.pacan@sheffield.ac.uk at least 7 days in advance of leave required. You must use your university email account. If your leave is approved you 4
should submit a special circumstances form http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/forms/special.html within 7 days of return form leave PRE-REGISTRATION POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN NURSING Appendix B: Notification of unexpected compassionate/special /carer s leave Name Registration Number Cohort Unit leave commenced Reason leave required Placement area (In practice block) I have/have not notified my placement area Signature of student Please submit this form to Mrs Tracey Pacan t.m.pacan@sheffield.ac.uk using your university email account.. 5
You must inform rea Lowery snm-pgdip@sheffield.ac.uk of your date of return and submit a completed special circumstances form http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/forms/special.html with 7 days of return. PRE-REGISTRATION POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN NURSING Appendix C: Request for annual leave in placement Name Registration Number Cohort Unit leave to commence Leave to end Placement area Signature of Student Signature of Mentor Signature of programme Leader Please submit this completed form to rea Lowery snm-pgdip@sheffield.ac.uk at least 7 days in advance of required annual leave unless urgently required 6