Student Clinical Placement/Student Experiences

What Is a Student Placement or Rotation?

Student Rotation

A student rotation is part of a formal education program for health care professionals. The learner rotates through various settings to gain hands-on patient care experience. Student rotations are very structured. They include learning objectives, behavioral expectations and a supervising clinical faculty member.

Depending on the type of program, the student preceptor may be a nurse, respiratory therapist, advanced practice provider or other allied health professional. The preceptor is approved by the educational program’s criteria. In such cases, the program usually has very structured objectives and approvals for practicum experiences. This type of student rotation or preceptorship is reserved for students near the end of the program. Students interested in connecting with student experiences at Norton Healthcare should contact the following teams:

Specific Programs

Surgical First Assistant Clinical Placements

A surgical first assistant, also referred to as a surgical assistant or simply a first assist, works in the operating room during a surgical procedure. They anticipate the needs of the surgical team and during an operation, assist the surgeon with tasks such as selecting equipment, holding open incisions, stopping bleeding and closing the incision, among many other technical tasks.

They are advanced allied health practitioners who provide aid in wound closure, bleeding control and other intraoperative technical functions that help the surgeon carry out a safe operation with optimal results for the surgical patient. The surgical assistant performs these tasks under the direction and supervision of the surgeon and in accordance with hospital policy and appropriate laws and regulations.​

If you are interested, complete the Surgical First Assistant Intake Form.

Job Shadowing

If you are looking for a shorter observation experience, learn more about job shadowing.

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