The Rasmussen physical examination form is the medical clearance document every nursing and health sciences student must complete before starting clinical rotations. You download it from the School of Health Sciences clinical forms page on RasGuides or through the Rasmussen student portal, take it to a licensed healthcare provider who examines you and signs it, then upload the signed form along with your immunization records to Rasmussen’s compliance tracking platform. The form itself is straightforward. What trips most students up is the paperwork that has to travel with it and the deadline pressure if anything comes back deficient.
Where to Download the Current Form
Log in to the student portal at rasmussen.edu and open the clinical forms section, or go directly to the RasGuides clinical forms page for your program. Forms are organized by program, so pick the version that matches yours. If you cannot find it, email your program coordinator before you do anything else. Using an outdated form is one of the fastest ways to delay your own clearance.
Print the form before your medical appointment. Providers work faster from a form in hand than from a blank copy they have never seen, and you avoid the risk of a clinic printing the wrong version.
What to Bring to the Appointment
Before you schedule, pull together the information the form asks for and anything your provider might need to fill it out completely:
- Your full legal name and Rasmussen student ID number
- An emergency contact name and phone number
- Past vaccination records
- Results from any prior TB tests
- Documentation of surgeries or chronic conditions
- A list of current medications
Having this in a folder when you walk in reduces the chance you will need a follow-up visit to fill in gaps.
A licensed healthcare provider has to conduct the exam and sign the form: a Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, or Physician Assistant. Urgent care clinics and campus health centers handle these routinely. If your insurance does not cover a preventive visit, expect to pay roughly $30 to $40 out of pocket, though costs vary by provider and location.
What the Provider Examines
The provider records standard vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, height, and weight) and runs a systematic review of your major body systems. The musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems all get checked. Vision and hearing are usually assessed too, because clinical work requires clear communication in fast-moving environments.
Nursing programs maintain technical standards that describe the physical demands of clinical work. These commonly include standing for extended periods, lifting and repositioning patients, performing repetitive motions like CPR, and using fine motor skills for tasks such as drawing blood or inserting IVs. Your provider needs to confirm you can meet these demands or note any limitations. If you have a condition that affects your physical capacity, disclose it. Rasmussen can often arrange reasonable accommodations, but only if the university knows about the limitation before you show up at a clinical site.
Every required field on the form must be completed. The provider must sign and date the document. A missing signature or a blank section is the most common reason forms get kicked back, and resubmission eats time you may not have before your deadline.
Immunizations and Screenings That Go With the Form
The physical exam form is one piece of a larger clinical eligibility packet. Rasmussen also requires proof of immunity to several diseases, consistent with CDC recommendations for healthcare personnel. You will need documentation for each of the following:
- Tuberculosis screening. The CDC recommends all healthcare personnel be screened upon hire or preplacement. A tuberculin skin test requires the two-step process: two separate tests placed one to three weeks apart. An interferon-gamma release assay blood test (often called QuantiFERON or T-SPOT) produces results from a single draw and does not require two-step testing. A positive result on either test triggers a chest X-ray and a provider’s note confirming you do not have active TB disease.
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR). Two doses of the vaccine or a positive titer showing immunity.
- Varicella (chickenpox). Two doses of the vaccine or a positive titer.
- Hepatitis B. A completed vaccine series (typically three doses, though Heplisav-B requires only two) plus a quantitative surface antibody titer confirming immunity. If you are mid-series, you can submit proof that you have started, but full clearance requires the completed series and the titer.
- Tdap. A booster within the past ten years. If your last dose is older or undocumented, you will need a new shot.
- Influenza. Many clinical sites require an annual flu vaccine during flu season. The deadline typically falls in early autumn before rotations begin. Confirm the exact date with your program coordinator.
If original vaccination records are not available, quantitative titer blood tests serve as proof of immunity. Lab reports must include specific antibody values and reference ranges. A generic “immune” notation without numbers may not be accepted. Make sure every date, whether vaccination or titer draw, is clearly recorded on Rasmussen’s form.
COVID-19
The federal CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare facility staff expired in August 2023, and CMS is no longer enforcing COVID-19 vaccination requirements for any provider type. Individual clinical sites affiliated with Rasmussen may still have their own policies. Ask your program coordinator whether any of your assigned sites require COVID-19 vaccination or documentation of declination, because this varies from one hospital or clinic to the next.
Medical and Religious Exemptions
If you cannot receive a required vaccine because of a medical contraindication, you will need a signed statement from a licensed provider (not yourself, even if you hold a license) describing the specific CDC/ACIP-recognized contraindication. Rasmussen’s School of Health Sciences clinical forms page includes an Immunization Medical Contraindication Accommodation Request Form for this purpose. A religious exemption form is available on the same page. Even with an approved exemption, a clinical site can still refuse to accept you. The exemption protects your enrollment status at the university; each facility sets its own rules about unvaccinated personnel.
Other Items That Travel With the Packet
Rasmussen’s consumer information disclosures note that practicum sites may require drug testing, current immunizations, and current CPR certification before allowing students on site. In practice, most nursing and health sciences programs treat these as mandatory.
BLS Certification
You need a current Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider card, not a standard community CPR certificate. BLS Provider certification covers healthcare-level skills including high-quality chest compressions, bag-mask ventilation, AED use, and team-based resuscitation. The American Heart Association is the most widely accepted certifying body for nursing programs. BLS cards are valid for two years. Time your certification so it does not expire mid-rotation.
Drug Screening
Clinical sites typically require a 10-panel urine drug screen covering amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates, methadone, methaqualone, phencyclidine, and propoxyphene. If you take a prescribed medication that could trigger a positive result, such as a benzodiazepine or an amphetamine-based ADHD medication, bring your prescription documentation to the testing appointment. A confirmed positive without a valid prescription will generally disqualify you from clinical placement. Expect to pay roughly $70 to $85 out of pocket at a commercial lab.
Background Check
A criminal background check is standard. Certain offenses can disqualify you from clinical placement, and look-back periods vary by severity. Violent crimes, sexual offenses, drug distribution, elder or child abuse, and felony theft typically carry longer disqualification windows than misdemeanor theft. A felony homicide conviction or sex offender registration can be permanently disqualifying. If you have a criminal history and are unsure whether it affects your eligibility, raise it with your program coordinator before investing time and money in the rest of the compliance packet.
Submitting the Signed Form
Once your provider signs and dates the physical exam form, scan every page into a high-resolution PDF: the exam form, immunization records, lab results, BLS card, and any exemption forms. Blurry scans where signatures or lab values are hard to read will be rejected.
Rasmussen uses a compliance tracking platform for document management. Your program coordinator will direct you to the specific portal and provide login credentials if you have not already received them. Upload each document to the correct category. Dropping your TB results into the physical exam category, or the reverse, can slow review even when everything is otherwise complete.
Allow at least seven to ten business days for processing. Turnaround can stretch during peak submission periods at the start of a semester. Monitor your student email and the tracking platform dashboard for status updates. A status of “compliant” means the university has accepted your medical clearance and you are eligible to begin clinical rotations. If a document is flagged as deficient, the notification will explain what is missing. Respond quickly, because the clock keeps running toward your deadline. Missing the submission deadline can result in being dropped from clinical courses, which delays graduation and may add tuition costs for retakes.
Keeping Clearance Current After You Submit
Clinical clearance is not a one-time task. TB screening is required at baseline, and the CDC does not recommend routine annual retesting unless there is a known exposure or ongoing transmission at a facility, though some clinical sites still impose their own annual testing. The flu vaccine is an annual requirement during flu season. Your BLS card expires every two years. If any credential lapses mid-program, you lose clinical eligibility until it is renewed, which can pull you out of a rotation already in progress.
Build a personal tracking spreadsheet or set calendar reminders for every expiration date. Waiting for the university to notify you that something has lapsed is a gamble. By the time that email lands, you may have already missed a clinical day you cannot make up.