Administrative Policies

Course Evaluations

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE POLICY ON STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF COURSES, CLERKSHIPS, AND FACULTY

One of the essential professional attributes of a physician is a commitment to life-long learning and improvement of systems that enhance patient care and the health of the population. The UF COM medical education program recognizes that learning occurs through both individual and collaborative study, thoughtful reflection and self-assessment, patient interactions, and formal and informal interactions with faculty, house staff and other members of the health care team.

For more information, see the Course Evaluations page.


Holidays

These policies were developed by the College of Medicine

  • Medical students are allotted the following holidays: Thanksgiving, summer and winter breaks (see the academic calendar for details). Third and 4th year students on scheduled clerkships and electives are NOT automatically off on official one-day holidays listed on the academic calendar.
  • Clerkship Directors, at their discretion and depending on the clerkship schedule, may permit students a holiday (example: Labor Day outpatient clinics are closed and a Clerkship Director may give the students assigned there the day off).
  • Thanksgiving break starts at 5pm on Wednesday and ends at 5am on Monday.
  • The College of Medicine recognizes that there are other holidays, both religious and secular, which are of importance to some individuals and groups. Students who wish to observe these holidays must inform the Clerkship Director before the course or clerkship begins, if applicable. The Director may provide the student with an alternative arrangement to make-up the day(s) missed, on-call assignments, exams, etc. The timing of make-up work is at the discretion of the course director and may fall during vacation periods. Missed days which can’t be completed before the course end date will result in a grade of “Incomplete”.

Behavior and Dress

  • All students are expected to interact with patients, colleagues, residents, faculty, nurses, etc. in a professional manner adhering to the ethical standards of the practice of medicine.
  • All students are expected to wear proper professional attire for each clinical venue when representing our department. Appropriate attire in non-surgical settings includes ties for men, and skirts or slacks for women. Blue jeans, shorts, and flip-flops are not acceptable at any time. Cleanliness is a must. Facial hair must be neatly trimmed.
  • A clean white laboratory coat should be worn at all times. The only place you do not wear a white coat is on Labor and Delivery.
  • Wear your name tag at all times, either affixed to your white coat or to your scrub suit.
  • Scrub suits should only be worn in surgical areas or on Labor and Delivery. If you must leave the immediate area, a white coat should be worn over the scrub suit. Scrubs should never be worn in our clinics. Scrubs should never be worn outside the hospital. Shoe covers, hats, and masks are never to be worn outside the immediate surgical or delivery room areas.

Attendance

Attendance is required at all clerkship activities. Please see the Jacksonville syllabus for their policy. The only exceptions in Gainesville should be:

  • The student on OB call who is actively participating on Labor & Delivery.
  • The student in an off-campus activity.
  • The student assigned to the OR who is actively participating.
  • The student who is post-call on the OB service.

Absences

Planned

College of Medicine policy: In the case of planned absences to attend meetings or “family” events such as weddings, etc., the student should contact the Clerkship Administrator as far in advance as possible to discuss the request and to obtain the permission of the Clerkship Director to be absent from assigned responsibilities. Once permission is obtained for the planned absence, the student must notify the Office of Medical Education of the approved dates for the absence. The Clerkship Director may provide the student with an alternative arrangement to make-up the day(s) missed, on-call assignments, exams, etc. The timing of make-up work is at the discretion of the course director and may fall during vacation periods. Missed days which can’t be completed before the course end date will result in a grade of “Incomplete”.

Unplanned

College of Medicine policy: In the case of an unexpected, single day absence due to illness or family emergency, the student MUST BY VOICE CONTACT notify the senior resident or faculty on their service AND the Clerkship Administrator or Director. If the student is unable to contact the Clerkship Administrator, he or she should notify the staff in the Office of Medical Education. If the absence is of greater duration than a single day, the staff in the Office of Medical Education (352-273-8575) MUST be notified in addition to the Clerkship Director or Clerkship Administrator. This means that an email does not suffice. If the absence occurs while in Jacksonville on a clinical rotation, the Office of Education Affairs (904-549-5128) in Jacksonville MUST be notified, in addition to the Office of Medical Education in Gainesville, and the Clerkship Administrator or Director at both sites. The Clerkship Director may provide the student with an alternative arrangement to make-up the day(s) missed, on-call assignments, exams, etc. The timing of make-up work is at the discretion of the course director and may fall during vacation periods. Missed days which can’t be completed before the course end date will result in a grade of “Incomplete”.


Accessing Medical Records

Medical records of any kind should be accessed on a strictly need-to-know basis. You should never access any medical record unless you are involved directly in the patient’s clinical care. Every time a medical record is accessed, the name of the individual logging on, what they looked at, and how long they looked is recorded and reviewed. Access not clearly appropriate is investigated by Shands Hospital and, if found to be inappropriate, can result in immediate dismissal. If you are not actively working and present at a computer workstation, you must log off. You are responsible if another party looks up patient information while you are logged in. If you have any doubt as to whether you should access a record- don’t!


Universal Precautions

Universal precautions are to be practiced with ALL patients at ALL times. As you will see, this is especially important on our service. For more information, seeĀ http://www.cdc.gov/hai/


Keeping in Contact

Email, Studycore, cell phones and the student bulletin boards will be used for updates and schedule changes. We expect you to check them daily. Please make sure that you also trade cell phone numbers with the people on your team.

University of Florida Student Conduct and Honor Code

In 1995 the UF student body enacted an honor code and voluntarily committed itself to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. When students enroll at the university, they commit themselves to the standard drafted and enacted by students. The entire document may be accessed by clicking here.