PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAM Clinical Phase Handbook

2017-2018 Revised 11/3/2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

INTRODUCTION 4

ACADEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND STUDENT CONDUCT 5

CLINICAL YEAR OUTLINE 6

CLINICAL ROTATION SCHEDULING 6

COMPLIANCE IN THE CLINICAL YEAR 7

CLINICAL PHASE CALENDAR 8

PROFESSIONALISM IN THE CLINICAL YEAR 8

CLINICAL YEAR GRADING 14

CLINICAL REMEDIATION POLICY 16

CLINICAL STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY 16

VIOLATION POLICY 19

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DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this manual is an overview of current policies and procedures of the

FMOL University PA Program Clinical Phase. The implementation of any health professions

curriculum remains dynamic, and is therefore, subject to continuous review and improvement.

Provisions listed herein, are directive in nature and subject to change without notice.

This manual is meant to provide guidance for students and faculty on the usual procedures for the

day to day operations and expectations during the clinical phase of the PA Program. It does not

represent an exhaustive list of all possibilities that might arise for students and faculty. Unique

situations will arise. They will be handled in a manner that ensures fairness and mutual respect in

all cases.

THIS MANUAL IS THE PROPERTY OF THE FMOLU PA PROGRAM

AND MUST BE SURRENDERED UPON REQUEST

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INTRODUCTION

Congratulations . . . you’ve made it to the Clinical Year!

You have just successfully completed a rigorous didactic year. Your previous experiences have

varied, yet all of you are now able to explain normal and abnormal human processes, and perform

accurate histories and physical examinations. Having practiced your newly acquired clinical skills a

limited number of times in controlled settings, you may experience some anxiety as you approach

the start of your first clinical rotation. This is normal and expected – as you are still student

learners. We have every confidence that you will do well by showing initiative, professionalism

and following the policies described herein.

This manual contains policies and procedures you will need to know during your clinical year. You

should consider it a supplement to your PA Program Student Handbook. You will be held

responsible for knowing all the information in this manual. If you have questions, refer to the

clinical phase manual first. If you cannot find the information here, check the Course Syllabus. If

you need further assistance call or e-mail the Clinical Coordinator.

A word of advice: Your effort and attitude will make all the difference during the coming months.

Be cautiously assertive, not passive. Do not be content to passively observe on a routine basis.

The clinical year will be extraordinarily challenging and profoundly rewarding. At times, you will

find yourself exhausted and frustrated. Just remember that learning experiences can and do exist

under all circumstances.

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ACADEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND STUDENT CONDUCT

The Program Core Faculty Committee shall meet and review the progress of students with

academic difficulties and or behavioral issues on a regular basis and as needed. The evaluation

includes academic, clinical, and professional standards. Recommendations for remediation or

dismissal may be made because of poor academic progress, professional misbehavior or non-

compliance with program or site policies.

Students will not be allowed to participate in clinical rotations if there is reason to believe that

they are unprepared for this type of experience. Sufficient reasons include but are not limited to:

1. Academic probation gives reason to believe that a student is unprepared to participate in

clinical experiences. The clinics and hospitals assume a student has attained a specific level of

knowledge prior to treating their patients. A student on academic probation in the didactic

year may not have the level of knowledge or understanding of didactic coursework to

progress to the clinical year. A student must pass all didactic courses and maintain a 3.0 GPA

overall in order to progress to clinical rotations and ultimately earn the master’s degree with

no more than two grades of “C” applied to the degree. Refer to the Clinical Year Grading

section for more details.

2. Evidence of unethical or illegal behavior. Examples include, but are not limited to: theft,

academic dishonesty (cheating), fraud, forgery, alteration of data or records, sexual

harassment or abuse, assault or battery or arrest. Clinical students represent the university

and the profession to the public and their patients. As such, any student that is arrested for

ANY reason during the clinical phase muse notify the Clinical Coordinator and program

director IMMEDIATELY. Failure to report an arrest may result in dismissal from the program.

Any student who is unable to rotate at a particular clinical site secondary to findings on

his/her criminal background check will be rescheduled at another location based on

availability. This could result in a delay in progression through the program and/or graduation.

Any felony arrest will result in dismissal from the program per university policy.

3. Student medical or psychological conditions that could endanger the safety of the student or

the patients he/she is caring for, or that prevent the student from fully participating in clinical

experience. A clinical student exhibiting signs or symptoms that may impact their ability to

perform safely clinically may be required to obtain medical or psychiatric clearance to

progress through the program.

4. Other Circumstances that may arise. The Clinical Coordinator has the right and obligation to

remove a learner from a clinical site and/or to arrange an extended clinical experience, if

deemed appropriate for satisfactory completion of the clinical experience.

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CLINICAL YEAR OUTLINE

The Clinical Phase of the Program is composed of ten 4-week clinical rotations, scheduled by the

Clinical Coordinator. During this phase, students must complete rotations in General Clinical

Medicine I-IV, General surgery, Musculoskeletal Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and

Focused topics in Medicine. Based on availability, General Medicine V may be used as an elective

rotation. Electives are not guaranteed, and if requested by multiple students will be scheduled via

lottery.

Students are expected to master the clinical skills necessary for entry-level PA practice during this

phase. Clinical knowledge is evaluated by the clinical preceptors, assignments/enrichment

exercises assigned by PA faculty, and end-of-rotation examinations. Clinical preceptors and PA

faculty members also evaluate PA students’ professionalism and behavior. A final summative

exam as well as the final Observed Structured Clinical Evaluations (OSCEs) are administered at the

completion of clinical coursework. Students must also complete their Masters Project during the

clinical year.

CLINICAL ROTATION SCHEDULING

The Clinical Coordinator will determine individual student clinical site assignments. In addition,

clinical sites may be added, deleted, or changed during the course of the student’s educational

process. Students are not permitted to request a change in clinical schedule, nor may they “swap”

with another student. Additionally, students must not contact FMOL University PA Program

contract preceptors directly in order to arrange a rotation. Students that do attempt to contact

contracted preceptors in order to arrange a rotation or request that the preceptor request the

student for a rotation will be in violation of PA Program clinical rotation policy and be referred to

the PA Program Faculty Core Faculty committee for disciplinary action.

Students may not rotate with friends, relatives or former employers. As such, students should

notify the Clinical Coordinator of any possible conflict of interest so that another rotational

experience can be arranged.

For the purpose of clinical rotations, the PA program office uses the school’s main address (5414

Brittany Drive) as the home address of each student. Though every effort is made to minimize

travel, some sites outside Baton Rouge may be required of ANY student. Each student is required

to provide his/her transportation, food and housing. The student (not the Program) is responsible

for child and/or pet care and all other personal arrangements while the student is on rotation.

Students must not seek to shadow FMOL University guest lecturers, adjunct instructors or health

care professionals while enrolled in the PA Program, other than assigned by FMOL University PA

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Program faculty. This includes shadowing during semester breaks/holidays or in the weeks prior to

graduation.

Finally, development of clinical rotation sites is the responsibility of the Clinical Coordinator.

Students may refer a physician or health care provider to the Clinical Coordinator for

consideration to become a contracted FMOL University PA Program preceptor.

COMPLIANCE IN THE CLINICAL YEAR

All students in the clinical year must meet and maintain the following criteria:

1. Successful completion of ALL didactic course work.

2. Successful completion of each previous rotation, or arrangement with the Clinical

Coordinator to finish an “Incomplete” or remediate an unsatisfactory rotation grade at a

later date (which may result in a delay in graduation).

3. Completion of all required immunizations and testing: MMR (2 or titers), DPT (10 years),

Varicella (history of diagnosis with doctor’s documentation or 2 vaccines), Hepatitis B, as

documented by University of Health Sciences Health Compliance Officer;

4. 2-step TB testing within past 12 months, as documented by Health and Safety Compliance

Officer.

5. Physical examination and review of health history by a medical professional, prior to

starting the Program.

6. Criminal Background Check and Drug Screen*.

7. Maintain current BLS and ACLS certifications.

If compliance with the above is not current, the student will be removed from a clinical rotation

until compliance requirements are completed and verified by the Health Compliance Officer.

Any absence from a clinical rotation to establish compliance with may result in need to repeat a

portion of, or the entire rotation.

For the sake of privacy, all student medical and immunization documents will be kept by the

FranU Safety Office. The PA Program is not responsible for keeping student medical records

updated. All health compliance information/documents must be kept current with the Health and

Safety office.

*The department reserves the right to randomly require unannounced repeat background check

and drug screens.

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CLINICAL PHASE CALENDAR

All dates are subject to change. Please note, clinical students will observe holidays that are

recognized by each individual clinical rotation site, NOT university holidays.

PROFESSIONALISM IN THE CLINICAL YEAR

PROFESSIONALISM

Students represent both the university and the PA profession while on clinical rotations. It is

therefore expected that students will display mature, professional behavior at all times during the

clinical phase of the program. Clinical Preceptors assess professional behaviors using the Final

Rotation Evaluation. If significant professionalism concerns arise, or if a clinical preceptor

expresses concerns regarding a student’s professional behavior, the issue will be escalated to the

Program Director/Core Faculty Committee for review. Any student may be removed from a clinical

rotation for professional issues at any time. This may result in need to remediate the rotation or

program dismissal.

In addition, students are expected to fulfill their professional obligations/responsibilities to the

program/university as described in this section.

Professionalism makes up 5% of the final rotation grade.

CLINICAL STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Each clinical rotation experience will be unique. Your preceptor will review your duties for each

rotation. In general you should expect to participate in all aspects of patient care – obtaining a

history, conducting an exam, formulating a differential diagnosis and developing an assessment

and plan. You will be expected to present your patients to your preceptor. You may be expected

to work nights, weekends or holidays. Some clinical rotation sites require students to take “call”.

You may be asked to hand-write all of your notes, while other sites may allow you to document in

the electronic health record. Go with the flow at each rotation site. Other expectations:

Preceptor Roles and Responsibilities: The preceptor is required to supervise, demonstrate,

teach, and observe the student in clinical activities in order to aid in the development of their

clinical skills and to ensure proper patient care. The preceptor should delegate increasing

levels of responsibility to the PA student for clinical assessment and management as the

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students’ skills develop throughout the rotation. Notification of the PA Program is required in

any circumstance that might interfere with the accomplishment of the above goals or diminish

the overall training experience. The Program strives to maintain open faculty-colleague

relationships with its preceptors and believes that by notifying appropriate program personnel

early, problem solving will result without unduly burdening the preceptor. In addition, open

communication and early problem solving may help to avoid a diminution in the educational

experience. Finally, clinical preceptors and clinical rotation sites are vetted very carefully by

the program. Any student who has a significant concern regarding a clinical preceptor or a

clinical rotation site should contact the clinical coordinator responsible for that site to discuss

in a professional/constructive manner. If there is a concern for inappropriate behavior such as

harassment or similar, or if there is a significant safety concern, the student should contact

the clinical coordinator immediately. Students will evaluate each preceptor/rotation site at

the end of each rotation.

Medical diagnostic equipment: Students should take their own medical diagnostic instruments

(stethoscope, ophthalmoscope, otoscope, reflex hammer, etc.) to all rotations.

Cell phones/tablets/electronic devices: Students must ask their preceptors for permission to

use a cell phone or an electronic device during their work hours. The device is to strictly be

used only for accessing learning resources. Receiving personal phone calls and e-mails,

accessing Facebook or other social media sites is unprofessional, distracts from learning and

NOT allowed.

Procedures: Learning to perform procedures correctly and safely is part of your training. Often

students who show initiative are awarded by being given the opportunity to perform

procedures. Take initiative and show interest. You should always perform procedures with

the supervision of your preceptor. If you feel you have been asked to do something outside

your scope of practice or that is questionable, please contact the clinical coordinator.

Initiative: The more you show yourself to be interested, the more preceptors will involve you.

By asking questions and asking for opportunities to participate, you show that you are

interested in learning. People respond positively to this and whether intentionally or not, they

will end up involving you more. If you don’t know where you are supposed to be, ask

someone. Even if you have no interest in a particular field/specialty as a career, there is a lot

to learn on each rotation. Look at each rotation as an opportunity for developing patient care

experience and honing your professional skills.

Self-Directed Learning: Ultimately, you are responsible for your learning. Because each

rotation is different and patient populations are variable/unpredictable, the syllabus for each

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rotation is quite generic. This does not mean you don’t need to read and study. It simply

means you will need to direct your reading and studies independently. Reflect upon what you

do and don’t know well and read to fill in the gaps.

Mistakes: EVERY student makes mistakes. You will be corrected at some point on a clinical

rotation. Be prepared for negative feedback, but know that this is not intended to hurt your

feelings or insult you. Mistakes are part of any clinical training program, and provide excellent

learning opportunities. Be open to all feedback. If you make a mistake that results in patient

harm or potential harm to a patient, you must own it and report it immediately to your clinical

preceptor and the clinical coordinator.

Non-physician/PA staff: Always be courteous to, and show respect to non-physician/PA staff.

This includes nurses, allied health professionals, ward/unit clerks, janitorial staff – EVERYONE.

Everyone involved in patient care plays an important role, and can be a valuable resource for

learning. Often other staff will have more time for teaching than the physicians (ex: a nurse

may allow you to start IVs). In general, you will find that if you ask, almost anyone will be

happy to teach you. Additionally, preceptors will often solicit feedback from other staff

members to complete your evaluation, so be courteous.

ATTIRE

Please refer to the PA General Student Handbook for appropriate PA Student attire during the clinical

phase.

ATTENDANCE

While on clinical rotations, the student is representing the entire FMOLU PA student body/program to the

medical community at large. As such, regular attendance is expected during the clinical phase of the

program in order to maximize student learning and maintain relationships with clinical preceptors. High

quality and safe patient care requires the health care professional to report to his or her duties as scheduled

and on time. Therefore, tardies will not be tolerated and will be reported to the Clinical Coordinator by the

Clinical Preceptor. Recurrent tardies may result in failure of the rotation, which could result in the student’s

dismissal from the program or delay in graduation.

Students are required to participate in regular, on-call, weekend, and holiday schedules of each individual

clinical site. Campus, religious or personal holidays do not apply during the clinical phase of the program.

Students are not permitted to arrive late to a rotation or leave early without the permission of the clinical

coordinator and the preceptor physician.

When a student is absent from a rotation site for ANY reason, the clinical coordinator and the preceptor

must be notified on each day of absence. If two or more days are missed from a rotation for ANY reason,

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the rotation MUST be repeated, regardless of reason, at the END of the clinical phase, which will result in a

delay of graduation. Excessive absences in the clinical phase of the program are defined as more than 2

absences per rotation and more than 4 absences per semester. Excessive absences in clinical phase may

lead to disciplinary action by the core faculty committee and may include dismissal from the program.

The clinical rotation schedule is published prior to the clinical phase. All rotations are 4 weeks in duration.

During months that contain 5 weeks, students will have time for personal appointments/business. Students

should not plan to leave town during these non-clinical weeks as this time is also reserved for official

program business and/or remediation activities should the student require.

Clinical students may take one personal day per semester during the entire clinical phase. Use of the

personal days must be approved IN ADVANCE, by the Clinical Coordinator and clinical preceptor. Otherwise,

no special accommodations are made for planned absences during the clinical phase of the program. This

includes weddings, birthdays, family reunions, personal vacations, job interviews or other planned events.

Personal days cannot be used on any rotation during which the student has already missed 2 days due to

illness or emergency.

TARDIES

Tardiness is defined as reporting late for assigned duties including the classroom and clinical

rotations. Patterns of excessive tardiness will result in counseling by the Clinical Coordinator and

reported to the Program Director/Core Faculty Committee. All counseling sessions related to

tardiness will be documented and become part of the student’s permanent file. Continued

tardiness may result in disciplinary action including program dismissal.

PATIENT LOGGING

During the clinical year, students will track their hours, patient encounters and procedures

performed using the program’s web-based logging application. It is imperative that the student

log daily and accurately. The data obtained from logging is used by the program to ensure

compliance with accreditation standards and serves as evidence of the students’ experience.

Additionally the data is used to assess the quality of clinical experiences provided by each rotation

site, and finally, serves as an assessment tool for the student.

Timely logging is essential. The following describes logging requirements during the clinical year:

Hours: Students are expected to track their shift hours worked DAILY by the end of each

evening. A 24 hour grace period is provided, however, after a 24 hour lapse in logging, an

email will be generated to the student, Clinical Coordinator, and Program Director. This

will continue until logging is caught up.

Patient Encounters: Students are expected to log their patient encounters DAILY by the

end of the evening/shift. A 72 hour grace period is set, however, after 72 hours of not

logging patient encounters for the prior 72 hours, an email will be generated to the

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student, Clinical Coordinator, and Program Director. This will continue until logging is

caught up.

A student may proactively request a logging extension from the clinical coordinator prior

to the 72 hour timeframe lapsing. If approved, the clinical coordinator will extend the

logging timeframe by 24-48 hours. Otherwise, any student who fails to log shift

hours/encounters within the 72 hour timeframe will receive a zero for professionalism

that month.

Students must view logging as their professional responsibility. As outlined above, students are

expected to log on time and be proactive about requesting an extension if on a particularly busy

month such as surgery or emergency medicine. A student who fails to log as outlined will receive a

verbal warning from the Clinical Coordinator. A second offense will result in a written warning that

will be copied to the Program Director and placed in the student’s file. A third offense will be

referred to the Core Faculty Committee for further disciplinary action such as remediation of

professional expectations/behaviors, non-academic probation and possible program dismissal.

The web application will also be used as a repository to post critical information

such as schedules, rotation directives, preceptor information, etc.

JOURNAL

Each student is required to keep a journal on each rotation. The purpose of the journal is to help

the student reflect on his/her experiences, identify needed study topics/areas, etc. The journal

should include DAILY brief entries. Examples of journal entries:

A brief summary of the day/shift

An interesting patient with a unique presentation

Unique social problems of a particular patient

A reminder to read about a particular condition

The Clinical Coordinator review the journal at the end of the rotation. Failure to keep a journal or

repeated missed entries result in a zero for the professionalism component of the grade for that

rotation.

SELF-EVALUATIONS

In addition to preceptor evaluations, the student must complete a self-evaluation to be discussed

with the clinical preceptor at the final evaluation. The objective of the self-evaluation is for the

student to rate him/herself on his in order to identify areas of strength and weakness. The self-

evaluation also serves to guide discussion with the clinical preceptor. Completing the self-

evaluation is expected and a component of professionalism during the clinical phase. Failure to

complete or submit the self-evaluation for a given rotation will result in a zero for the

professionalism component of the grade for that rotation.

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CONTENT REVIEW/PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Students will receive access to a commercial board review product. The review product contains

general medicine/PANCE content for review in both video and .pdf note format. Though there is

no grade associated with review activities, students are expected to use this material to augment

their studying/learning and to help prepare for End of Rotation Exams, in a self-directed fashion.

Content/questions may be assigned as remediation activities as well.

CALLBACK DATES

Callback/Clinical Year End-of-Rotation Meetings will generally be scheduled on the last Friday of

most clinical rotation 4 week blocks. Attendance is required.

These events generally run from 8 AM to 5 PM and consist of testing, program updates, sessions

on topics of importance, and other learning activities that assist students with consolidating the

gains they have made in their clinical training.

CALLBACK PACKETS

Each student receives their callback packets at their clinical rotation orientation session. The

packet contains:

Mid and Final rotation evaluation forms

Envelopes for final evaluation form

Thank you notes and envelopes

UNIVERSITY EMAIL

Students are expected to check their university email DAILY. Failure to check email and respond

accordingly may result in a zero for professionalism that month.

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CLINICAL YEAR GRADING

Grading Criteria/Scale

End of Rotation Exam: 50% Preceptor Evaluation: 35% Enrichment Assignment: 5% H&P Write up: 5% Professionalism: 5% End of Rotation Examinations

Students will take an exam at the end of each rotation during their callback day. Exams are

multiple choice, and are taken electronically via ExamSoft or PAEA End of Rotation Exam portal, as

to simulate the PANCE content and testing environment. Students must score a 70% on all End of

Rotation examinations.

Students who score less than 70% on their end of rotation exam will be required to re-test within

14 days. If a PAEA End of Rotation Exam is used for the re-test, the exam fee will be assessed to

the student. Students will not be excused from the following clinical rotation to study for the re-

test. The highest grade a student can earn on a rotation re-test is a 70%.

Students may re-test no more than two times during the clinical phase. Any student not meeting

the 70% benchmark for a third rotation will be referred to the Core Faculty Committee for review.

The committee will review the entire student’s record/performance and may recommend

remediation of one or more clinical rotations or program dismissal.

Students scoring less than 70% on a re-test will be required to remediate by repeating the entire

clinical rotation. They will be given an “I” grade for the rotation, which must be satisfactorily

resolved prior to progression (or graduation, as dictated by rotation availability). Any student who

is required to remediate a rotation must meet with the clinical coordinator and develop a self-

directed remediation plan to include strengths/weaknesses, study strategies and specific content

to be studied during the rotation remediation period.

Remediation of a clinical rotation may be exercised only once during the clinical phase. Any

student requiring additional remediation will be referred to the Core Faculty committee. Students

should also note remediation will result in a delay in graduation.

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Refer to the program handbook and university policy on testing accommodations.

Preceptor Evaluations

Preceptors are required to complete two evaluation forms for the PA student: a mid-rotation

evaluation and a final rotation evaluation. Both evaluations are an opportunity for the preceptor

to accurately identify the students’ level of performance. The preceptor should be candid during

the evaluation review.

The Mid-Rotation Student Evaluation Form should be completed after the student has been on

rotation for 2 weeks. The purpose of mid-rotation evaluation is to identify any areas of concern

that the preceptor may have about the students’ performance, and allow the student to improve

on these areas throughout the remainder of the rotation. The preceptor should complete the

Mid-Evaluation Form, review it with the student, and then fax the form to the PA program office.

If a student receives a rating of “Unsatisfactory” on his/her mid-rotation evaluation, or if there are

other areas of concern expressed, the student will be contacted by the Clinical Coordinator for the

development of an action plan.

The Final Preceptor Evaluation should be completed the 4th week of the rotation and should

accurately reflect the students’ ability and performance during the rotation overall. The preceptor

should complete the final evaluation form, review it with the student and then place in the

envelope provided to them to be returned by the student on callback day. The final evaluation

grade will be calculated by the clinical coordinator based on the grading rubric (100 possible

points).

The faculty has taken steps to remove subjectivity from the final preceptor evaluation. However, it

is recognized that preceptors may grade inconsistently or be hesitant to document negative

feedback. Therefore, the clinical coordinator reserves the right to solicit additional information

from the clinical preceptor prior to calculating the final preceptor evaluation grade.

It is the student’s responsibility to assure that the preceptor has received all evaluation forms

and that they have all been returned to the Program.

Enrichment Assignments

There will be an enrichment assignment associated with each clinical rotation/callback day. The

goal of the enrichment assignment is to further develop clinical and professional skills and to help

prepare for the PANCE. The assignment may be something the student works on for the entire 4

weeks and presents to the class, or may be an activity/assignment given at the callback day that

does not require advance preparation. Assignments may be determined by the Clinical

Coordinator and Program Faculty based upon deficiencies identified, preceptor feedback or other

criteria.

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History and Physical Write Up

Learning to document appropriately is an essential skill of the PA and is one that develops

throughout clinical rotations. Each student will submit two full H&Ps from their specific rotation

on their callback day. The H&P should be accurate and reflect the care they provided for that

specific patient. No patient identifiers may be included in the H&P, which includes, name, date of

birth, medical record number etc. Peer review of medical records is a standard of PAs and MDs in

practice. As such, the H&P will also be reviewed/graded at the callback day using a peer review

process. The H&P makes up 5% of the grade for each rotation. One H&P will be peer-reviewed

using the H&P rubric, and the other will be graded by the clinical coordinator. The final grade will

be the average of the two.

PROFESSIONALISM

Professional responsibilities were described in the previous section and make up 5% of the final

rotation grade.

CLINICAL REMEDIATION POLICY

In addition to End of Rotation Exam failure, students may be required to remediate a portion of,

or all of a clinical rotation at the discretion of the Clinical Coordinator, Program Director or Core

Faculty Committee. Need for remediation may include (but not limited to) concerns for poor

performance rating(s) by the clinical preceptor in a particular assessment area, poor professional

behaviors, and/or excessive tardies/absences.

For grade appeal process, forms, procedures refer to the FMOL University Student

Handbook

CLINICAL STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY

Illness/Injury Policy

All PA students on rotation with health conditions (illnesses/infections/injury) which

necessitate an extended absence of three (3) or more days must discuss their situations

with the Clinical Coordinator. The student may be allowed to continue in the program

with the written approval of his or her physician. After an absence, however, the PA

student may return to school only after obtaining a physician's written consent

documenting the student’s ability to participate in all activities inherent in the course

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description. Faculty members are not allowed to treat any student’s medical condition or

write prescriptions for students or their family members.

“Clean” Needle Stick Policy

In the event of a “clean” needle stick, first aid is rendered to the injured person and

referral made to the OLOL RMC Emergency Care Unit or the graduate student’s personal

physician. Details of the incident and the referral made must be documented on a

University Incident Report and forwarded to the Health and Safety Office. Needle sticks in

any other setting must follow the full exposure control protocol.

Blood and Body Fluid Exposure Protocol

PA students are treated for exposure to blood and body fluids during clinical rotation

according to the protocol of the clinical facility. The cost of treatment is paid for by the

PA student's primary health insurance. If the student does not have health insurance,

then the student is personally responsible.

The exposure protocol followed by Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is in the

Health and Safety Office Manual.

Latex Allergy Policy

All PA students are to report contact dermatitis or latex allergy symptoms to the Program

Director and the Health & Safety Office. Latex allergy symptoms include skin rashes, hives,

flushing, itching, nasal, eye or sinus symptoms/irritation, shortness of breath,

sneezing/wheezing or asthma symptoms and shock.

Graduate students having contact dermatitis or latex allergy symptoms are to report to

their personal physician or healthcare practitioner for assessment. The healthcare

practitioner documentation is to be forwarded to the Health & Safety Office.

After submitting physician documentation regarding the graduate students’ signs and

symptoms of latex sensitivity of allergy, the Health & Safety Office will authorize release

of non-latex non-powdered gloves for the graduate student. A written notification will be

sent to the graduate student’s Program Director. The program is responsible to supply

the graduate student with non-latex non-powdered gloves. The graduate student will be

responsible for maintaining an adequate supply for the non-latex non-powdered gloves

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for clinical assignments. Graduate students will be instructed to report to the Health &

Safety Office any additional symptoms or problems related to contact dermatitis or latex

allergies, so that they can be re-assessed. The Health & Safety Office will assess each

graduate student on a case-by-case basis and when indicated, the graduate student will

be referred to a physician for medical follow-up.

Pregnancy Policy

A PA student enrolled in clinical rotations should notify the Program Director and Coordinator of

Health and Safety Office as soon as a pregnancy is confirmed. A written report from the student's

health care provider stating that she may continue in the program is required. This is to ensure

that the student and her unborn child are not exposed to undue hazards inherent within the

program. The written release by the graduate student's health care provider is kept in the

student's health record in the Health and Safety Office. Each pregnant student will be handled on

an individual basis and may be availed for a leave of absence if desired or necessary.

Any student whose delivery date occurs during clinical rotations may need to repeat a rotation,

which may result in an “I” for a particular rotation and potentially repeat that rotation at the end

of the clinical phase which will result in a delay in graduation.

Financial Responsibility for Health Care

The graduate student is responsible for the payment of all financial obligations incurred in

securing healthcare including: Physicians’ charges and expenses incurred in physical examinations,

outpatient services: x-ray, laboratory, and emergency room charges and medication purchased

from the hospital pharmacy.

Firearms and Weapons Policy

The unauthorized possession of firearms, knives or weapons is prohibited on FMOL University

campus and resident facilities. The possession of such weapons may result in disciplinary action up

to and including Program dismissal. Students must follow this policy when on other clinical sites

that are not on FMOLU campus.

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Violation Policy

Any violation or noncompliance with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University policies or PA

Program policies as set forth will result in a formal meeting with the Program Director. The

student may be suspended and or referred to the Core Faculty Committee for disciplinary action

that includes possible program dismissal. Signed citation documentation by all involved parties

will be place in the student’s permanent file.

I certify that I have read the Clinical Phase Handbook in its entirety. I understand that I am

accountable to follow the policies and procedures described herein.

___________________ Student Name

___________________ Date