Post-Clerkship Phase Attendance, Participation and Absence policy

PURPOSE
To outline the attendance, participation, and absence policy for the Post-clerkship curriculum phase. This policy does not apply to the Transition to Residency course – see the Clerkship Intersession and Transition to Residency Attendance, Participation and Absence Policy.

AUDIENCE
Post-clerkship phase medical students, faculty, and post-clerkship phase departmental course coordinators

LCME STANDARD
8.8 Monitoring Student Time
12.4 Student Access to Health Care Services

POLICY

DEFINITIONS:

  • Time Away: not being at the post-clerkship or related educational activities for an amount of time less than 4 hours.
  • Absence: not being at the post-clerkship or related educational activities (including but not limited to academic obligations such as CPX, longitudinal course elements such as Doctoring 4, Area of Scholarly Concentration activities and non-academic obligations such as interviews and conferences), for a continuous amount of time equal to, or greater than, 4 hours.
  • Day(s): time equal to, or greater than, 4 hours of any day students are assigned to course work.
  1. Students are expected to arrive on time, fully engage in the post-clerkship experience, and act professionally.
  2. Students must send notifications for time away, and get prior approval for an absence unless it is emergent. (See Procedure)
  3. Time away or an absence may have make-up work assigned at the discretion of the Course Director(s).
  4. Excessive time away or absences that result in students being unable to meet the learning objectives of the course may require the student to complete additional work to achieve all objectives, or repeat the rotation.  
  5. Students must not miss more than 0.5 days of assigned course activity per week of the rotation (e.g., a 4-week course, students can miss a total of 2 days) without Course Director(s) approval. Increased absence allowance is at the discretion of the Course Director(s).
  6. Students who miss more days than delineated in E (above) will be referred to the Associate Dean for Students for consultation and next steps.
  7. Any student missing more than 7 days of assigned clinical activity during the academic year will be required to meet with the Vice Dean for Education.
  8. University holidays are not guaranteed. Check with your Course Director(s) and review the course syllabus for a complete schedule and list of rotation expectations.

PROCEDURE

  1. Notification of Emergent Issues
    Students must notify their clinical teams, Course Director(s), and Course Coordinator of their emergency as soon as possible.

  2. Notification of Time Away (less than 4 hours)
    Students must notify their clinical teams and Course Coordinator of time away that is less than 4 hours (e.g., appointments) that conflict with thier course experience as soon as they are scheduled. Make-up assignments are at the discretion of the Course Director(s).

  3. Notification of an Absence (4 or more hours)
    1. Students must notify and request an absence to the Course Coordinator as soon as an absence is anticipated, and at least two weeks in advance of the absence request date.
    2. Absences must be approved by the Course Director(s) or Course Coordinator.
    3. Emergent absences will be considered if a student experiences an illness or an emergency affecting the day(s) of concern. The Course Director(s) and Course Coordinator should be notified as soon as the emergent issues become apparent. Make-up assignments are at the discretion of the Course Director(s).
    4. Students must notify their teams of all approved absences as soon as they are approved or known. If any resistance is encountered, students should inform the Course Director(s).

    RESPONSIBILITY
    Course Director(s) and Course Coordinators

    REFERENCES
    UC Davis School of Medicine Bylaws and Regulations, Regulation 60: Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Medicine

    RELATED POLICIES
    Clerkship Intersession and Transition to Residency Attendance, Participation, and Absence Policy

    POLICY OWNER
    Committee on Educational Policy

    REVIEWED BY
    Curriculum Enrichment Subcommittee
    Committee on Educational Policy*
    Post-clerkship Curriculum Managers
    Post-clerkship Phase Director

    REVIEWED DATE and REVIEW CYCLE
    January 2024; annual review cycle

    * Indicates the Policy Owner