Editing Herzing Issues: Clinical Placement (section)

=== HU-136: Student K: Ascension Saint Thomas West 5D Vascular/General Surgery clinical rotation postponed June 1, 2026 because remaining items necessary for placement approval were not completed before scheduled start; students carrying a previous term incomplete hours affected; cross-regional pattern with National Online placement failures; Kate Powell (South Region Clinical Coordinator) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:12em" | Severity
| High
! style="width:12em" | Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Clinical Rotation Start Date Postponed / Placement Approval Items Incomplete at Start
! Date added
| 2026-06-02
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Kate Powell (Clinical Coordinator, South Region) / South Region Clinical Team / Elizabeth Mazzo
|}
'''Finding.''' On June 1, 2026, Kate Powell, Clinical Coordinator for the South Region, emailed students assigned to the Ascension Saint Thomas West 5D Vascular/General Surgery clinical rotation to notify them that the rotation would not begin as originally scheduled and that the start date had to be postponed. The stated reason was circumstances outside of the team's control and remaining items necessary for placement approval that had not been completed. The email confirms that the institution had not finalized placement approval requirements before the scheduled start date, mirroring placement readiness failures documented for other students and regions ({{HU|HU-128}}, {{HU|HU-133}}, {{HU|HU-135}}). The email also references students whose rotation includes hours needed to satisfy a previous term's incomplete, confirming that some students carrying incomplete clinical hours from prior terms are affected by this postponement, compounding the delay for students already behind through no fault of their own. The email was sent to multiple students, and this issue is attributed to student Student K among the affected students. The pattern is consistent with systemic clinical placement readiness failures across multiple regions and terms: National Online ({{HU|HU-128}}, {{HU|HU-133}}, {{HU|HU-135}}) and now South Region ({{HU|HU-136}}).

'''Evidence.''' Email from Kate Powell, Clinical Coordinator (South Region), subject associated with Ascension Saint Thomas West 5D Vasc/Gen Surgery, June 1, 2026, 12:17 PM. Powell wrote that due to circumstances outside of the team's control, the upcoming clinical rotation would not begin as originally scheduled, that the start date would need to be postponed while the team worked through the remaining items necessary for placement approval, and that for students whose rotation includes hours needed to satisfy a previous term's incomplete, the team would plan accordingly to ensure all required hours are properly accounted for and completed. Powell directed recipients to contact the South Region Clinical Team or Clinical Coordinator, Kate Powell. Recipients included Kate Powell, Elizabeth Mazzo, and at least one additional student (attributed: Student K). Student: Student K. Source Group: Email, Kate Powell (Clinical Coordinator, South Region) to students re Ascension Saint Thomas West 5D Vasc/Gen Surgery clinical rotation, June 1, 2026; provided by the reporting student.

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>due to circumstances outside of our team's control, your upcoming clinical rotation will not begin as originally scheduled. At this time, the start date will need to be postponed while we work through the remaining items necessary for placement approval. [And:] For students whose rotation includes hours needed to satisfy a previous term's incomplete, please be assured that we will plan accordingly to ensure all required hours are properly accounted for and completed.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' ACEN Standard 5 requires that clinical placements be secured and approved before students are scheduled to begin. A rotation that cannot begin because remaining items necessary for placement approval are incomplete documents that the institution did not finalize placement readiness before the start date. 34 CFR 668.14 (administrative capability) requires that institutions coordinate clinical placement logistics so students can fulfill required hours on the published schedule. The reference to students carrying a previous term's incomplete hours indicates the postponement affects students already behind, increasing the risk they cannot complete required hours within program timelines. The phrase circumstances outside of the team's control echoes language used by the National Online clinical placement team ({{HU|HU-128}}: at the mercy of the clinical site; {{HU|HU-134}}: many of these determinations are outside my direct control), establishing a cross-regional pattern of attributing placement failures to external factors.

'''Impact.''' Students assigned to the Ascension Saint Thomas West 5D Vascular/General Surgery rotation, including Student K, cannot begin clinical on the originally scheduled date. Students carrying incomplete hours from a previous term face compounded delay. The postponement with no confirmed new start date creates uncertainty regarding when students can begin accruing required clinical hours. This South Region postponement, occurring contemporaneously with National Online placement issues ({{HU|HU-128}}, {{HU|HU-133}}, {{HU|HU-135}}), demonstrates that clinical placement readiness failures are not isolated to one region or coordinator but appear across multiple regions in the same enrollment period.

'''Notes.''' New personnel identified: Kate Powell, Clinical Coordinator, South Region, distinct from Dr. Rachel Powell, Director of Clinical Placement and Compliance, National Online. These are two different people sharing a surname. Elizabeth Mazzo is identified as a co-recipient. Clinical site: Ascension Saint Thomas West, 5D Vascular/General Surgery unit. Attributed to student Student K. The cross-regional pattern is significant: the same enrollment period shows placement readiness failures in both the National Online region (the reporting student, Student A) and the South Region (Student K), suggesting a systemic rather than regional problem. Corroborating data point, from a different, unnamed student: a separate cohort member, identified in the Nursing 2027 GroupMe only by [phone redacted], reported receiving the same type of not-cleared-to-start email for the Clarksville-Vanderbilt clinical location, stating it was supposed to start on the 6th. This is a distinct student from Student K at a different site, Clarksville-Vanderbilt, Tennessee, versus Ascension Saint Thomas West, included here to document that the placement-readiness failure pattern extended to multiple sites in the same period. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-128}} (Week 3 no placement), {{HU|HU-133}} (Student A placement error), {{HU|HU-134}} (Powell organizational structure), {{HU|HU-135}} (8-hour accommodation), {{HU|HU-137}} (Student R, Palmetto General), {{HU|HU-138}} (Janel Rizo not-cleared email), {{HU|HU-071}} (Spring 2025 placement crisis), {{HU|HU-109}} (affiliation agreements).

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