Objective Clinical Intensives

Objective Clinical Intensives (OCIs) are an integral part of every Nursing@Georgetown program’s curriculum. OCIs are academic visits during which students learn and practice clinical skills, and complete in-person physical assessments with Georgetown University faculty.

Lasting anywhere from two to five days, OCIs provide students with the opportunity to refine their skills through concentrated, rigorous practice. The OCIs are designed to help build confidence and develop the clinical competencies students need to excel in clinical practice. During the OCIs, students work with standardized patients (SPs), who are healthy persons specially trained to portray the signs and symptoms and emotional aspects of actual health conditions.

The number of OCIs required varies based on the student’s specialty program.

OCI I: Advanced Health Assessment (AHA) 

All MS in Nursing students complete the Advanced Health Assessment (AHA) OCI, regardless of specialization. AHA OCIs are typically three days in length. 

This is the student’s chance to meet fellow classmates and faculty in person and strengthen existing professional relationships. While the weekend is rigorous, we encourage students to interact with their peers and explore all that Georgetown has to offer.

During the first half of the weekend, students are broken into small peer groups that rotate between several different lab workshops facilitated by faculty, to practice and refine physical examination skills. After these faculty-led workshops, students will have an opportunity to practice what was learned and ask questions in preparation for the exam.

The following morning, students will have the opportunity to practice their “head to toe” physical examinations with peers. After practice sessions are completed, students are split into groups to alternate between completion of final physical examination testing and genitourinary teaching associates (GUTA) sessions for the remainder of the weekend. 

GUTAs are certified female and male standardized patients who are specifically trained to teach, assess, and provide feedback to learners about accurate genitourinary examination techniques. The GUTAs are trained to facilitate the “first” experience of performing a genitourinary exam. They also address the communication skills needed to provide a comfortable exam in a standardized manner, while using their bodies as teaching tools in a supportive, nonthreatening environment.

After successful completion of the final examination, students participate in a pinning ceremony on the last day of the OCI, during which faculty and students come together to celebrate this important milestone before entry into their specialty programs. Students receive a Georgetown University School of Nursing pin, which can be proudly worn at the student’s clinical placement site.

OCIs by Specialization

The OCI requirements for each program specialization are detailed below.

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) OCIs

OCIs Required:

2

Timing:

Upon successful completion of didactic coursework for NURO 691

OCI Length:

3 days each

FNP students’ first OCI is the Advanced Health Assessment. The additional OCI for this specialization is detailed below.

FNP OCI II

The second OCI for FNP students is held at Eastern Virginia Medical School. The students work directly with SPs to demonstrate and learn clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills. 

Students will have the opportunity to conduct assessment, diagnosis, and management of common acute and chronic conditions during high-fidelity simulation scenarios depicting various age groups across the life span.

They will also attend workshops that focus on management of primary care office-based emergency situations. 

By the end of the OCI II, students should be able to demonstrate novice skills to common primary care conditions, such as proper wound-cleansing methods, simple interrupted suturing techniques, office-based procedures, and communication skills to facilitate difficult conversations in the primary care setting.

Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) OCIs

OCIs Required:

3

Timing:

Upon completion of didactic coursework for:
AHA (OCI I immediately following AHA OCI)
NURO 673 AG-ACNP I (OCI II)
NURO 695 AG-ACNP III (OCI III)

OCI Length:

3-4 days each

AG-ACNP OCI I: AHA + Extension 

As with students in other specializations, AG-ACNP students’ first OCI follows completion of didactic course work in Advanced Health Assessment. However, the AG-ACNP students will stay for one additional day and participate in an OCI extension, AG-ACNP OCI I.

Students will receive an introduction to high-fidelity simulation during which they will have the opportunity to practice their interview and physical exam skills learned in AHA, as well as their diagnostic reasoning skills learned in their diagnostic reasoning course. In addition, students will participate in a suturing and wound repair workshop and a clinical orientation session.

AG-ACNP OCI II

At the end of the first clinical term, AG-ACNP students will participate in a three-day OCI at the Maryland Simulation Center in Baltimore, Maryland. This intensive learning opportunity enables students to develop skills necessary for the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic conditions in adult and geriatric populations. Students will attend skills workshops in central line insertion, rapid sequence intubation, and EKG and CXR interpretation. 

Students will engage in experiential learning through the use of high-fidelity simulation and standardized patient experiences. High-fidelity simulation experiences provide students with an opportunity to enhance diagnostic reasoning and medical management skills. Students participate in diagnostic reasoning and shock simulations to apply the content covered in AG-ACNP I to the clinical setting. 

In addition, students will have an SP encounter followed by time to reflect on the experience and receive faculty feedback on their performance. 

AG-ACNP OCI III

At the third and final AG-ACNP OCI, students will join faculty for three days at the Maryland Simulation Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Students will engage in three high-fidelity simulations to: 

  • Perform advanced physical assessments
  • Establish differential diagnoses
  • Implement management strategies
  • Develop communication skills
  • Demonstrate clinical competence when managing acute situations

The simulation experiences allow students to manage acute situations that they may not have encountered at their clinical sites. The students will engage in an SP encounter where they will have further opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the content taught in the didactic courses.

The final OCI also includes workshops on advanced radiological challenges, advanced EKG interpretation, and point-of-care ultrasound training. In addition, students will engage in board review and professional practice sessions. 

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Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) OCIs

OCIs Required:

2

Timing:

Before beginning coursework for:
NURO 510/511
NURO 724/725

OCI Length:

3 days each

WHNP OCI I: AHA + Extension   

As with students in other specializations, WHNP students’ first OCI is Advanced Health Assessment. However, immediately after the AHA OCI, most WHNP students will stay and participate in an OCI extension lasting 2½ days.

During this time, students will learn and discuss:

  • Microscopy for wet prep/wet smear evaluation of vaginal discharge
  • Leopold’s maneuvers for fetal positioning
  • Fundal height measurements
  • Pelvic exam techniques
  • Intrauterine device and subdermal implant placement and removal
  • Advanced GYN procedures (endometrial and vulvar biopsy, diaphragm and pessary fitting, etc.)
  • Communication skills including contraceptive counseling, screening for gender-based violence, and taking a sexual health history
  • Reproductive health, respectful discourse, and Jesuit values and health disparities

WHNP OCI II

The second WHNP OCI enables students to perfect such existing skills as cervical exams, Leopold’s maneuvers, and advanced gynecologic techniques. All simulations take place at the O’Neill Family Foundation Clinical Simulation Center on campus.  

WHNP students will also participate in an Objective Structured Clinical Experience (OSCE), which is intended to challenge them to perform a focused, complete patient care visit. During the OSCE, an SP will present the student with a chief complaint related to either a primary care or gynecological situation. Faculty observers will compare the student’s performance with preset expectations for comprehensive care. 

During the OCI, students will:

  • Show competency in interviewing and developing management plans with use of SPs in an OSCE
  • Learn the basics of suturing for in-office biopsies
  • Practice management of postpartum obstetrical emergencies

Nurse-Midwifery/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Dual OCIs

OCIs Required:

2 on campus, 1 virtual

Timing:

Before beginning NURO 510/511 and NURO 683/684, during NURO 721/722

OCI Length:

3–5 days each

NM/WHNP Dual OCI I: AHA + Extension 

As with students in other specializations, NM/WHNP students’ first OCI is the Advanced Health Assessment. However, immediately after the AHA, most NM/WHNP students will stay and participate in an OCI extension, which will last 2½ days.

During this time, students will learn and discuss: 

  • Microscopy for wet prep/wet smear evaluation of vaginal discharge
  • Leopold’s maneuvers for fetal positioning
  • Fundal height measurements
  • Pelvic exam techniques
  • Intrauterine device and subdermal implant placement and removal
  • Advanced GYN procedures (endometrial and vulvar biopsy, diaphragm and pessary fitting, etc.)
  • Communication skills including contraceptive counseling, screening for gender-based violence, and taking a sexual health history
  • Reproductive health, respectful discourse, and Jesuit values and health disparities

NM/WHNP Dual OCI II: Intrapartum

The purpose of the second NM/WHNP OCI is to introduce students to essential clinical skills prior to beginning their clinical experiences in the labor, birth, newborn, and postpartum settings. This in-depth preparation for students’ third clinical term will take place over five days.

During the intrapartum OCI, students will review previous GYN skills and add the following to their repertoire:

  • Cardinal movements of labor and birth
  • Hand maneuvers for vaginal birth
  • Comfort measures and labor support
  • Amniotomy
  • Fetal scalp electrode (FSE) placement
  • Intrauterine catheter (IUPC) placement
  • Estimating/quantifying blood loss
  • Digital vaginal exams
  • Newborn assessment
  • Suturing and ambulatory suturing
  • Neonatal resuscitation and intubation
  • Coordinated response to obstetric emergencies

NM/WHNP Dual OCI III: Virtual

The third and final OCI is designed to help NM/WHNP students polish and perfect clinical skills as they move into the final, integrative clinical semester. Unlike previous OCI experiences, this virtual OCI (VOCI) experience will be held during regularly scheduled class time rather than in between terms. 

NM/WHNP students will participate in an Objective Structured Clinical Experience (OSCE), which is intended to challenge them to perform a focused, complete patient care visit. 

During the virtual OSCE, an SP will present the student with a chief complaint related to either a primary care or gynecological situation. Students will show competency in interviewing and developing management plans. Faculty observers will compare the student’s performance with preset expectations for comprehensive care.